The price and worth of a ticket
As of right now, a 3-year university cost at NUS or NTU starts at about $27,000 for us locals. This is much higher if your child would like to pursue the premium courses of Medicine, Law and Dentistry. If you want better than local, a degree at Melbourne now costs about $38,000. These are the prices today. In 2005, a 3-year NUS/NTU course cost about $18,000. In 20 years time, when your child reaches university age, it might cost $36,000 in the best case scenario.
It is expensive. Yet it is utterly necessary to have a degree to score a good job, especially with the flux of competitors born in and outside of Singapore.
The nature of competition
The concept of a level-playing field does not make it fair. Whoever has more resources will secure a better starting line to the ever more competitive job market. Your kids will not only compete with your fellow locals ; they will compete with someone else born somewhere else today, thanks to open-border policies. These overseas students come financially prepared, and you will not see them waste their time working part-time jobs. They set their eyes only on the Employment Pass to come right after they graduate, and for that goal, they fully orientate their life to being the best student. How do you compete with that if you have to take a part-time job and worry about tuition fees?
A bad case scenario
When a young person is ready for university, the worst words they can hear are “We can’t afford it.”
If you can’t afford an university education for them, they will need to work while studying. Even smart people will not be able to keep up with the sheer load of the studying, dragged down by necessary work hours to help pay for the tuition, worrying about both their grades and the upcoming bill. It is a disaster, especially for boys already 2 years behind the starting line being held back by National Service. How will they compete with the rich foreigner casually strolling through the school grounds, fully focused on just studying?
Give your kids a first-class ticket
Give your children a first-class ticket in life, by ensuring they will not be stressed about money in their first 22 or 24 years in life. Make sure they can compete well with their peers as well as foreign competition. Start planning for it now while you are healthy, able-bodied. and sound of mind. Life is random, and letting them grow up unplanned is just wild. Start planning early, and with a realistic outcome. Set aside at least $40,000 per child.
