My Exchange at The National University of Singapore
After a high school class trip abroad was cancelled due to COVID, I knew that I wanted to do an exchange while in university so I could still fulfill my desire to see the world. I found out through the UoA website that 360 International provided exchange programmes with various universities across the globe, and wanted to make the most of the opportunity. I decided on the National University of Singapore (NUS) as it was a highly ranked university that was also well positioned within Asia to travel to and from.
The first thing I noticed upon landing in Singapore was the heat and humidity. People do not exaggerate about these qualities of Singapore’s climate, and for several weeks after landing, I had to get used to feeling like a swamp. However, I was also wowed by how nice the campus was, it integrated lots of greenery among its various food and study facilities, and gave me a unique campus life vibe different to that of UoA. My room was one of four in a shared apartment, which had a nice view from the tenth floor of the tower. Orientation was helpful in providing numerous opportunities to connect with other exchangers, and during orientation week, I had many chances to bond with the other NUS exchangers from UoA, all of whom I can now call close friends. My courses were similar to those at UoA (they even used Canvas for all the course admin). The key difference was that learning was much more self-directed, and students were expected to learn many concepts outside of the classroom. All in all, I was surprised that despite how high-ranked NUS is, the learning experience is not so dissimilar from UoA.
Singapore was quite a liveable city as an exchange student. Food was definitely a highlight, with cheap and tasty Asian food readily available all over the city. Transport was convenient, with the MRT system always being reliable with frequent trains. In general, Singapore was cheaper than Auckland, although notably fresh fruit and veggies tended to be a bit more pricy. Like Auckland, Singapore is also a multicultural city, shown in the myriad languages, cuisines and cultures represented throughout. A highlight of Singapore is that it is a travel hub, making it an ideal hub for convenient travel throughout Asia, especially when compared to New Zealand. I certainly took advantage of this throughout my exchange, travelling to more countries than I’ve been to in my entire life leading up to exchange, and I would encourage prospective exchangers to do the same no matter where they end up.
The biggest worry for me during exchange was underperforming academically, as my standards for grades were set quite high at UoA. However, failing a paper is actually quite hard at NUS, as lecturers have to go out of their way to fail students. Once I leaned into the pass-fail mindset of exchange, I was able to much better enjoy my travels and overall experience there, without being weighed down by worries of grades.
My biggest advice for those thinking of exchange is to just go for it. My exchange was certainly a life highlight, and I saw so many cool things and met so many cool people that it’ll be hard to top this with any future experiences. Out of all the exchange stories I’ve heard, not one has ever spoken poorly of their experience, so I genuinely think that if you have the opportunity to do so, going on exchange will be a life-changing experience that you will not regret!
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
I enjoyed having an actual campus, in the sense that the campus was not split up by public roads and buildings. I could easily spend several days just on campus and not feel claustrophobic, because it was expansive enough that there would always be a variety of study spaces or lunch options. Shuttle buses frequently run between buildings, which were the preferred way of getting around as the AC of the bus provided a nice reprieve from the heat outside. Learning was much more self-directed at NUS compared to UoA, and although local students tend to be more study-oriented, most exchangers were relaxed due to pass-fail.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
Singapore has lots of yummy + cheap food, both on and off-campus, so make sure to take advantage of this. The tourist attractions like Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands are cool as one-offs, but the variety of Michelin-rated foods and hawker stalls are quintessentially Singapore and should be taken advantage of.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
1) Make the most of every day! A semester feels like a long time, but with all the new experiences you’ll be having, it’ll fly by in an instant. Don’t get bogged down by stress over your grades, and take the opportunity to travel, see new sights, and explore.
2) Be open to making many friends! I met many of my closest friends on exchange in the most random places, such as in line during registration. Of course, you’ll become tight with the other UoA students on exchange to your uni as well.
3) As much as possible, try not to stress about money. Exchange can be costly, but money is saved to be used for experiences like this, and once you begin working, it will come back.
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
Although I set a ‘hard cap’ amount, I seemed to constantly exceed it before reestablishing another ‘hard cap’. I had the luxury of doing this because I had been working part-time from a young age, so had savings to fall back on. However, the bulk of my expenses were on travel outside of Singapore, so if the need to budget heavily came up, I would limit my spending to daily necessities, which were relatively affordable in Singapore.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
I didn’t realize how much I loved travel until I suddenly found myself in a new country almost every week. Constantly being in a new environment, from a cultural, linguistic, and societal point of view, was extremely enjoyable, and although it sounds cliche, my worldview was certainly broadened through the experience. I knew this exchange would be a once in a lifetime experience to travel as much as I was doing, so I really wanted to make the most of it.
Is there any advice you could share about accommodation options at your host university and/or in the local area?
I lived in UTown Residence, a common on-campus residence for exchangers. The apartment was similar to Carlaw style, with four bedrooms and a shared living room and bathroom. It’s important to be aware of key deadlines for accomodation applications, as there were many forms to fill out, but every exchanger I knew managed to find some form of accomodation on campus. I highly recommend any accomodation in UTown, as it has a high concentration of exchange students and therefore makes it easier to meetup with your friends and make new ones too.
Do you have any advice on what mobile phone apps and/or phone plans that were useful in your host country?
Google Maps was generally quite good for getting around, and contactless payment was able to be used on all public transport. It’s helpful to download Grab, the Uber equivalent in Singapore, to help get around especially to and from the airport. Setting up a Wise account was probably the most crucial, as it allowed easy payments with one card in several countries. It’s also important to note not all places in Singapore accept Visa, so it’s important to have at least one alternative form of payment readily available e.g. cash, GrabPay, DBS. I got a Singtel SIM card pretty arbitrarily because I just needed one on the first day. Data is cheap in Singapore, my $19 plan gave me more data than I could ever use, even when I never turned my data off. For travel abroad, eSIMS are the go, with many cheap options being found online. Airalo is a good start and generally reliable.