400k for degree in economics is not worth it.Do you realise that with 400k you can even take MBBS in malaysia...IMU MBBS cost 350k...while AIMST will be much cheaper.

NUS all the way, and this is coming from a current UCL student.

firstly, keep in mind that the 95% of graduates who were offered a job includes those who went back. If you ask anyone who is applying for jobs in the UK right now, getting a job in any sector other than finance is an uphill struggle and it will only get worse.

secondly, you do not want to be limited by a set budget in the most expensive city in the world. In the event of something going wrong, you won't have backup. For instance, one of my classmates lost everything when her flat burned down a couple of months ago. Luckily, she's from sweden so affording a new wardrobe, laptop etc. wasnt too much of a stretch.

Work on getting scholarships for the UK, but if you cant... take the NUS route.

just my two cents

Since you have obviously done some decent research and planning b4 coming up to this post. I may highlight some WCGW (what could go wrong),food for thought :
1) Wage rate : Yeah it may be higher but I am sure you are aware of tax right ? UK tax rate is exceptionally high compared to other countries. And if I am not mistaken, its even higher for foreign residents. So your net pay will not be much. And living cost there is not cheap either although inflation is lower.

2) 95% secured what job ? You have low, medium, high ranked jobs not to mention is permanent or temporary taken into account ? How about the remaining 5%, do you think you "may" be one of them ? And not to mention, like MYS, if you are son of an Earl, Sir, Lord, Duke,.... your employment chances are higher too. So inequality bound to persist as very country does have some domestic biasness.

3) Culture huh ? Its good to learn other culture but getting acknowledged or recognised is different issue. Will you be able to blend in immediately ? Well judging from some Uk college/ uni students comments, british generally think highly of themselves especially compared to students from commonwealth. And our education method geared and favours "quantity", number of A's. Theirs more to quality based, which hardwork < analytical thinking. More all rounded. So not easy to adapt quickly.

Your concern :
1) And UK are crazy with their post graduate programme especially anything to do with charter body, so without one it is quite less appealing there :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_..._United_Kingdom

2) Will your future job be able to pay off your debts ? Have you checked what type of job that you can do ? Which and what type of company you can enter ?

3) This is rather risky as bond or scholarship will bound to have many terms and regulations. One may never know what they may incorporate inside. How about coming back straight after finish studying ?

Anyway, hope you will choose wisely. Your future beckons.

This post has been edited by Topace111: May 23 2010, 09:18 PM

I agree with Syd G. TS seems to set his mind to go UK anyway.

I don't know if I'm old fashioned or outdated but here's my take.Technically, I would say it's an insane move to take 400k of debt for a piece of paper.TS stated it as investment for future.

Even then, he cant confirm whether in future, he can yield in something greater than that.It's a big risky "investment"

The 400k as stated, is pure loan fund, excluding interest.If the interest rate is 7.45% as stated, for more than 15years(20years for JPA loan), then it's far greater than just 400k in debt.You do the maths.

TS also stated that The remainder of the figure might come from family/relative borrowings, which sums up to 400k.So, in conclusion, you owe more than three parties money for the sake of studying overseas.

TS then followed up with his reasons of why he is keen on a UK move rather than a SG move.

Firstly,mathematically, you might be able to pay the debts by working there.However, I think you should have taken everything in consideration before you make your decisions,including the future uncertainty.No one is sure of the future.Now and then, the cost of living is increasing and whether you can earn that much to repay your debt remains unknown.On paper, it sounds possible.In reality, it might not be the case.If I'm not mistaken, they just enforced a new tax rate that is much heavier than previous years, you might not be able to earn much anyway.Go and check it out yourself.Try ask google.

Secondly,If you are talking about just securing job, NUS grads secured their job successfully after graduation with no problem.That can't be the reason why you are going there, isn't it?

No one is denying you a chance to experience the new environment in a new country.Like most have suggested, you can take your master in UK instead of spending 3 years in UK and get yourself in a huge debt.Or you can choose to do twinning(not sure if your course have it) like 2+1 ...which spend lesser time there and indirectly reduce the cost.It's common sense that the longer you are staying there, the more money you will have to spend.

I don't know what happens to kids nowadays.You are not the first I met that took bank loan for the sake of studying overseas.There is this one malay saying that you guys fail to understand. "Ukur baju di badan sendiri".If you can't afford, dont go for it.You think only you will suffer.You forget though, that your parents have to suffer with you because of your unrealistic dream of experiencing new place to study.The financial burden on them, can you imagine?


I have no intention to change your mind as I can see you are all set and pretty determined to go there but let me just tell you one simple thing.

Ranked 1st university or not, new environment or not,you will be in heavy debt.That's for sure.You graduate,come out after enjoying 3 years, experiencing new stuff but you suffer for the next 15-20 years because of your debt.While your friends who grads from local uni which do not even ranked in top100 university, enjoying their life like usual...Buy new car, buy new house...and you?Just another oversea grads heavily in debt.

P.S: Meant no offense but that's reality you should know.

This post has been edited by solstice818: May 23 2010, 09:29 PM

The answer is a simple no, the white has taken the wealth of our nation since colonised era, I couldnt find a reason to convince myself to give more $ to them.
By the way, taking the risk beyond what you can control is not "INVESTMENT", it's called "GAMBLE".

This post has been edited by Critical: May 23 2010, 09:45 PM

Second that.

I don't like London (2x rusher than KL), I studied there for few months for accounting course, and work as a waiter (which is way faster) to cover back all my study fees.

IMO...try to get the JPA scholarship for UCL..they do offer for top unis..

but i've seen many people..one of my relative included..really got into massive debts to send their children to overseas to study..

they not only borrow from banks..but from friends/relatives as well..

all hoping one day that their child will successfully graduate and pay back everything..

so if u take the loan..by all means go where ever u want..

but please don't forget those who spent their time/money/blood just to fund u so that u can fulfill ur dreams..

paying back the debts is one thing...

but hopefully u will come back to malaysia when u earned to enough to spend more time with those who sacrificed so much for u..

my 2 cents..=)

400k is too much for plain education. for much less, we can learn so much more if we work instead or even if we choose to study in a different manner (apart from enrolling in an expensive uni) money isnt everything when it comes to education, it is merely a token to guarantee you'd learn something for it.... for the price you pay, they make sure you graduate.. thats all.. just my 2 cents..

btw, try broaden you search, give yourself more options rather than just 2 unis.. there are many more unis in the uk that are good in economics studies (eg. cass business school) with lower fees

This post has been edited by siokjinlim: May 23 2010, 10:31 PM

Go NUS, use the 400k(or the amount of $$ you have) to invest in forex or property, work after completing your degree.

Gain working experience , get your company to sponsor you to continue post grad studies at UK.

Then save up money to migrate to UK.

agree with kirii here. With the EU in doldrums and unemployment rate rising. The EU is a stagnant economy and it would be better to work in Singapore which is also easier for you to adapt.

I did not get any outstanding results like the best in the world/malaysia for any subject but generally, I've straight Aces in all my subjects, even in the all the papers as well (except for 1 paper out of 15). As for SPM, I have also scored 11A1, 1B3 in Chinese. I am not trying to brag or boast anything at all, but I would say I have a relatively fine academic records.

Speaking of scholarship, yes. I would say even if I have quite a slightly above average co-curricular records in high school, some scholarships I've applied rejected me even before an interview was conducted. And most of them were financed directly the government, I do believe part of the reasons is due to certain "pre-determined-quota", however this is just a baseless assumption only. And no, despite facing many rejections, I hope there is still some positive replies out there, which as of now, I have heard nothing from.


Yes, I'm trying hard on that, umm mind if I ask, are you a current UCL student?

Hei. Your reply actually struck me really hard. It seems that I have been over confidently naive and ignorant, or I may have look at the world today too optimistically. But if we are talking about logic, forking out 400k and be heavily indebted for a student is obviously a completely ridiculous, if not absurd move.

I did consider the circumstances ahead, the possibility of me screwing up, but deep down in me there is a dream, a dream I aspire to accomplish. Aren't great things accomplished when people have a great dream? I may put my family and the people around me in great distress should I fail (yes, a very selfish way to say it) but IF things worked out, I could be enjoying an entirely new lifestyle. Of course nobody knows the future, this thing seems to be too much of a risk for somebody like me, if anything goes wrong, I might end up at the wrong side of the road.

Yet, trust me, I'm still considering my options now, which was why this thread was started in the first place. As much as my heart tells me to go there, but the logic in me is constantly baffling me, to decide between dream or reality..

ccm123,

<<I did consider the circumstances ahead, the possibility of me screwing up, but deep down in me there is a dream, a dream I aspire to accomplish. Aren't great things accomplished when people have a great dream?>>

Pardon me. You are CONFUSING your REAL DREAM with going to UK.

YOU REAL DREAM and GOAL is to get a GOOD JOB in economic area. Perhaps as an investment banker and so on. Maybe, even working in UK. It is NOT getting an economic degree from UCL. That is just a STEP to your FINAL GOAL.

There are MANY WAYS to achieve YOUR REAL DREAM and GOAL. UCL is just one of the ways. It is NOT the only way.

Now, to really get where you want to go, you need a MASTER DEGREE. Undergraduate degree is NOT good enough. In fact, by spending 400K for your undergraduate degree, you will have a lot more problem financing your master degree. Hence, you will face a lot more obstacle in getting your master and achieve your final goal.

In Sun Tzu's "Art of War",

A) Do not fight unless you can win

B) Do not expend all your resources on inter-mediate battles.

C) Not fighting is not equal to losing. It simply means that you are conserving your resource to fight when you can win.

Dreamer

P.S.: When you asked the WRONG question, you will NEVER get the RIGHT answer!!! In this case, the RIGHT questions are

A) What is MY FINAL GOAL??

B) What is the BEST WAY to get there??

C) What gives me the BEST CHANCE to get there??

So far, you are asking all the WRONG QUESTIONS!!!

This post has been edited by dreamer101: May 24 2010, 12:06 AM

I would not spend 400k on my degree if i were you. Sometimes people tend to think that Malaysia is hell, and foreign countries are all paradise.

Borrowing money from bank in order to further study in overseas is actually not a wise idea. You should know that not everything will go on as what you've expected. What if something's gone wrong during your period of studying ? What if you can't find a highly paid job in UK after graduation ?

If you really borrow loan from bank, you will be a debtor. Just try to think about it. You have not yet graduated, and yet you're already a debtor who has RM400k loan to pay back ? Do you really want to spend so many years to pay back the money which is used to get a degree in 3 years ? Does it worth ?

I would suggest you to choose NUS as it is highly ranked in Times Ranking 2009. Besides, the currency rate of SGD is 2 times lower than GBP.

The risks are definitely there and frankly, I think the percentage of you getting things right(as in staying debt-free after grads) is pretty low.Not that I'm looking down at you but it's very competitive there and if you are planning to work part time over there, I'm pretty sure it will somehow affect your studies in some way(even if it's a little)

My advise is don't listen to your heart.Use your brain to think the rational side of everything.

This post has been edited by solstice818: May 24 2010, 12:58 AM

erm, im pretty sure i already said i was in my first post.

FYI, I havent met anyone doing econs on a JPA scholarship. GLCs, yes. Give Petronas or Bank Negara a shot

I will try to put you in the right perspective. First of all, trying to finance your studies with a 100% third party financing is totally absurd. Since you are interested in economics, simple economics will tell you this is a "very, very high risk venture". Moreover, being a first degree undergraduate will not put you way ahead of other graduates. You should also understand it will give you a head start over other graduates but the starting pay would not be very much different from the other graduates. And you have to work your way up which would take you at least a 5 years period to prove that you are "good material" which is worth nurturing.

You should also bear in mind that an economics graduate from UK will not open many options for you. You are neither an accountant as the most you can get from some of the professional bodies is some paper exemptions. In the UK also, before you can opt to take the Chartered Accountants exam you will need to be a first degree holder first and the big firms there would only consider you if you are first class degree holder.

If you also harbour hopes of joining the top merchant banks like Goldman Sach, Morgan Stanley or Credit Suisse, these firms need any additional qualifications which would require further investments in your education and push you further into debts.

I do agree with the other commenters that NUS would be a much better choice as their qualifications are also world ranked.

Why choose economics and not accounting and finance as the options are much greater here?

Economists merely expresses opinions and they dont create values while finance graduates can identify good investment opportunities.

crazy.. 400 k for juz a education... i duno how long i can earn bck 400 k...

Young man do you know how much is RM400k ? You assume you can repay it off by working in UK etc etc. Wait till you start paying. Only then you will realize the true value of what RM400k is worth. Make the decision yourself.

But dont regret it when you become a slave to work due to repaying that HUGE LOAN.

400k is nothing compared to those who spent rm1 million to do medic/dentistry at uk/australia..

NUS man!

the reasons? well all the previous posters did a superb job of explaining them, so i wont cover what's been said.

- Singapore's not bad AT ALL! Racism will probably be the last thing you should worry about. I dont think Brits are 'that' kind to foreigners, especially Asians.

- So u wanna experience so-called 'western culture'.
You can do that even if u graduated from NUS. Travelling around the world is so common nowadays, and the airplane tickets are pretty affordable!
Travelling once a year to a different country sounds cool.
If u were in debt, how ya gonna travel? you're gonna work like a horse!