Name: Neeshaa Cheong
Year of Graduation from TJC: 2019
Current Uni: London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Current Major: BA Geography, 3-year programme with honours
Current year in Uni: Graduated Summer of 2023
Clubs and Societies: Singapore Society, Christian Union, Geography Society
Background
Your average TJCian mugger who was afraid of failure. I studied 4H2s – GELM, plus Chinese in JC1. I was a member of the drama society, THP and TDP. Much like many of you who are reading this, I never considered myself fit for studying overseas.My finances was one thing, being smart(er) was another, but most of all – I was afraid of applying, getting my hopes up and having to cope with a sense of failure should things go south. If it wasn’t clear enough – I am a natural pessimist, so please take everything with a pinch of salt! I missed the internal dateline application for overseas study, but many thanks to my teachers – they allowed me to submit after the dateline, and wrote up letters of references for me under mega short notice (sorry and thank you Mr Wong and Mr Tay!!!).
Studying overseas and applying for government scholarships was never on my mind until Mr Koh (no longer in TJC) broached upon the topic with me. I was sceptical and scared. But because he was so persistent to get me to try, I did. Obviously, I lowered my expectations to not get my hopes up (it was my coping/defence mechanism), and told myself there’s nothing much for me to lose anyway – apart from the application fees haha. So if studying overseas is something you desire, be first cognizant of your grades, your experiences and your capability. If these are settled well, fear should be the last thing stopping you from simply trying!
Knowing I wanted to study Geography, the UK was the most appropriate destination since that is the birthplace of Geography (no thanks to the colonisers). Going abroad would also allow me to be surrounded by international people, worldviews, cultures, which is essential to studying human Geography at the LSE. It would’ve been lovely to study and live in the US, but apparently (and unironically), the Americans do not acknowledge the value of Geography, so that was never an option. I’d also highly recommend that you first consider which university offers the best programme for your interested course of study, rather than the ‘name’ of the university itself. I decided on LSE because I wanted to study only human Geography, it was based in Central London, they were ranked 2nd in the world for Geography, and had a decent name as a university. I would’ve applied to Oxbridge, but sadly missed the deadline for that application.
En route to LSE!
Applications
[Only for applications to the UK]
Straightforward. Don’t miss TJC’s internal school deadlines, apply via UCAS, notify teachers in advance to write letters of recommendation for you, draft your personal statement (PS) and let your teachers, parents, friends read through it and vet it for you. The UK doesn’t bother much with holistic learning as much as the US does, so I’d say 80% of your PS should focus on your academic proficiency, flexibility, adaptability and critical thinking. I cited academic literature in my PS (ask teachers how to do this) and linked all my experiences to some form of academic learning. Reserve the other 20% for discussing your character, hobbies, personhood, CCAs etc. For instance, if you went on a fieldtrip – 80% of the critical analysis of your field trip should revolve around your intellectual growth, and the 20% around your personal development in leadership, problem-solving etc. To put it bluntly, UK universities want your international school fees and for you to contribute towards their pool of 1st class honours graduates, more so than they are concerned with your personal development. The academic year begins at the end of September for UK universities. You should get your CAS number for Tier 4 student visa application by June/July. Apply for accommodations during this period. READ your emails. Universities dispatch information via emails and their portals. I arrived in London mid-September with my parents (thankfully), who helped settle me in and get ready before the start of term.
I’m bonded to the Singapore Land Authority, a statutory board under the Ministry of Law. I first applied to UK universities via UCAS (note that Oxbridge applications are earlier), then applied to the various government ministries/ statutory boards via BrightSparks (I think). After which I got called in for various psychometric tests, essay tests, video interviews and senior executive interviews with the board. A fellow scholar at SLA had applied for >16 ministries… please don’t do that HAHA. I’d suggest that you first identify what course you would like to read. Then practically think which ministries would most likely sponsor your course of study, and which ministry your study might best contribute to. Because I wanted to study Geography, I applied to SLA, URA, MND and PSC. Tip: check if the statutory board/ ministry also sponsors postgraduate degrees like a masters. SLA only recently updated their policy to allow their scholars to do an undergraduate and postgraduate degree without extending the bond duration. As far as I know, LTA, EDB, HDB and MINDEF have the same policy.
First Impressions
I was homesick and crying every night because London felt foreign and distant from home. So try to busy yourself with things – plug yourself into Singaporean societies (you will find too many Singaporeans and Asians in central London universities), cook food, grocery shop, do sports, clean your flat, grab a coffee, live life. Eventually, I grew out of homesickness, and London became home. I was anticipating racial attacks (especially because it was during the Covid-19 period), but thankfully, central London is diverse enough so I never felt discriminated against or attacked. Looking after myself was the biggest challenge and difficulty, and nothing could have prepared me for it. After leaving Singapore I began to realise how sheltered life can be in Singapore. Your buses and trains come on time, you never have to worry about theft, how late you stayed out at night etc. But to worry about all these things on top of studies was new and painful. But you’ll eventually grow and get used to it, for sure!
The most important thing about making friends and the first week of school – stand your ground whilst being open-minded. It’s too easy to have your worldviews, values, beliefs shaken and challenged at university. You will encounter the sweetest and smartest human beings offering you to smoke weed and do drugs, so be careful and don’t make stupid decisions out of peer pressure. Always remember that you’re at university only for a short few years, so make them count and don’t waste your resources. You’re studying abroad for a reason, so try your best to move beyond the Singaporean clique, and interact with the British and Europeans. You’ll be able to learn and appreciate the local neighbourhoods, culture, slang, humour so much better and faster! Most of all, you’ll move outside your comfort zone into your learning zone.
Pals from the LSE Christian Union! (I’m at the top row, 2nd from right)
Experience
Depending on your course of study, workload and intensities will be different. If A- levels were about studying hard, university is about studying smart. You won’t get far with rote learning and memorising, but you must be able to verbalise your own opinions, think and analyse critically. Western overseas universities place loads of emphasis on individuality, you are less so a ‘student’ than you are an adult. You decide what you want to do, what activities you want to participate in, how you divide your time and balance your opportunity cost in life. No one will be there to dictate these for you, hold you accountable or scold you if things go wrong. You make the decisions, and you bear the consequences – so your university experience and commitments depend on you! Choose your battles well, you’ll be fine.
As for safety, just be aware of your phones, don’t carry laptop bags around (they should be inside your backpack). Always watch out for young punks on bicycles – they are usually the ones who snatch your valuables and cycle off, leaving you with nothing but an inefficient police force. Try your best not to fall gravely ill in the UK, the NHS is useless. Always be aware that university strikes (throw in doctors, bus drivers, train operators, fire fighters, border security strikes) are commonplace. I once had no school for 2 weeks out of an 11-week term. Try not to let your Singaporean-self get too riled up and angry, I’ve learnt that sometimes a que sera, sera attitude is healthiest for the soul. I comfortably spend £100-£130 a week. On days where I cook more, I spend £80-100/week (this is excluding utilities, house bills, rent). The bulk of my expenses come from taking public transport, watching musicals, eating out (I live to eat, your priorities may be different from mine). I don’t believe in travelling for the sake of travelling and ‘maximising’ my time there – I believe that’s good, but I easily get travel fatigue and my pocket only runs so deep. I usually keep my travels reserved for my reading week and winter/easter/summer breaks (I highly recommend Portugal!). I have friends who travel every other weekend and occasionally skip lessons – you could do that if that’s your style but it wasn’t mine. Always remember that doing things differently from others doesn’t mean you’re missing out!
Also, with regards to accommodations, I did distance learning during my first year of university. Had I gone over to London, I’d likely have found a place at a student accommodation provided by the university. There are university-specific accommodations and intercollegiate ones available that tend to be more budget friendly since they are affiliated with the universities. Assuming you are looking to study in central London, you will unlikely find student accommodation for your subsequent years as they tend to be reserved for freshers – so renting a flat is very common amongst university students.
I rented a flat on the market with 2 other friends for my 2nd and 3rd years. Zoopla and Rightmove are quite popular sites for flat hunting in the UK. Flat hunting is hell, so start early – the property market (both in terms of increased demand from by international students and release of properties on the website) gets crazy around mid-May/June for contracts beginning in Aug/Sept of the academic year (both in terms of increased demand from international students and release of properties on the website). Make sure you read up beforehand about how rental for international students work in the UK (e.g. fully / partially furnished homes, appliance insurance, guarantors, council tax exemptions, TV license, utility and wifi provision etc.)
If however, you’ve loads of cash to burn and don’t want to bother with the hassle of renting, there’s always the option of boutique-esque private accommodation like Chapter Living, Urbanest, CantoCourt etc. These are run by private developers so rental prices are steeper. As of 2023, one week at these accommodations could range between £370-550. However, I’d say you wouldn’t stretch yourself/grow as much as if you lived with friends, deal with obnoxious wifi-providers and engineers who don’t turn up on time to fix your boilers. It’s rough, but it's these little experiences and opportunities of growth that makes a person.
Advice
Studying abroad is not as romantic as it may seem. It is difficult, challenging, painful in many ways, and it may possibly be the most stretched you will be during your academic career (not so intellectually, because if you can do the A levels you can do anything in life), but more so in terms of living for yourself and handling yourself. I was subconsciously on survival mode for the majority of my time abroad, and it got tiring. Another thing I’d caution - the process of uprooting yourself from Singapore and settling in a foreign country is no easy feat. You will lose relationships and gain new ones, but intentionally maintain the ones that are indispensable - you will need all the support and love, especially in your first year abroad.
With all that’s been said, studying abroad has been by far the best decision I’ve made in my life and one that has been so worth the journey. I’ve chosen to intentionally focus on the more challenging and realistic aspects of studying abroad in this article, only because the gems of studying abroad are far more easily imagined and experienced. Moreover, you don’t need me to tell you how to have fun, or how liberating and exciting it is to live away from your nagging parents (whose nags you will come to miss). So if resources are available, if the opportunity is there, I’d encourage you to grab it, and use it well!
Our friend’s parents hosted a steamboat night for us!
Regent’s Park!
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