This is one of those rare posts I make about my personal life so that one day I may look back at this blog and realize that I was once a young and naive idealist. It is the cumulation of a train of thought that has been running on and off for the past six months and a snapshot of me at what I consider to be the first major crossroad in my uneventful life.
I was offered the Public Service Commission’s Overseas Merit Scholarship (Open) earlier this year (2009). While it was an honour to be given one of the most prestigious scholarships in Singapore, I ultimately resolved to turn down the offer. It is a decision that few of my peers (and perhaps even myself) fully understood at the time.
Seeing as we are once again approaching the end of the year and a new batch of A-level graduates will soon be going through the same things I did, I thought it’s about time I finally put my thoughts down in words.
The Scholarship
PSC OMS (Open) is one of the many scholarships administered by the Public Service Commission, a state organ that manages and grooms public servants. It is given to Singaporean A-Level graduates selected through a standardized IQ/personality test, a psychological interview and a panel interview. It covers tuition fees, housing and allowances for the duration of the student’s overseas undergraduate studies in exchange for a 5- to 6-year work bond with the government under various ministries or statutory boards. It is also an open secret that OMS scholars enjoy faster career advancement and better work opportunities than local scholars and non-scholars working in similar capacities within the civil service.
Just to make my position clear, I am of the opinion that OMS (Open) is an excellent opportunity in many ways (job stability, competitive pay, fast-track promotions, prestigious brand name) and that people intending to enter the civil service should definitely take it up. But unfortunately, it turned out that I was not one of these people.
The Commitment
There are many passionate arguments surrounding the merits and demerits of the work bond that comes with government scholarships. Here are what I feel to be some important points to consider.
A government scholarship is not just a simple exchange of goods and services, but a complete career package. It requires one to make a major commitment that will last well into one’s early thirties. Many people I know see the scholarship as a simple work contract or even a form of student loan, but this view misses the bigger picture. The purpose of the scholarship is to develop future leaders of Singapore and its sponsorship of undergraduate education is but a portion of an extensive talent-grooming programme designed to produce future top-level management. If one’s intention were to leave the civil service after having served the work bond, then the bulk of development would not have achieved the intended positive outcomes, both for the organization and for the individual.
While it is often said that the civil service (in Singapore) serves as an excellent platform from which recognized talents (i.e. scholars) can enter equivalent high-paying private sector jobs with ease, this is only true if we only consider management positions. Despite what the PSC claims to be a diversified career offered to its scholars and the highly corporate nature of Singapore’s government, the civil service is ultimately an enclosed ecosystem populated by its own performance benchmarks and cultural oddities. Beyond corporate management positions that mirror those found in government ministries, there are few other careers into which one can easily transit, after having spent 5-6 years in this unique environment.
Therefore while it is true that an OMS (Open) award may not necessarily tie one down to public service, it does at the very least make things very difficult for one to move out of corporate management. That is, unless you are willing to start again from scratch at the age of 29-31 in a completely unrelated field, pitting yourself against fresh graduates who have yet to forget the things they learnt in their major. This is of course irrelevant for people who intend to remain within the eco-sphere made up by government-linked organizations and semi-private companies, but should be a major consideration for those who see scholarship as merely a mean to pay for college.
I personally cannot see myself either as a bureaucrat or a politician in the long run. I am not very good at following rules.
College Experience
This brings me to my second point: your college major. The fact that you want to spend four years studying something (presumably in a decent college overseas) should mean that you have at least some interest in the topic. (You should reconsider your choice of major if you don’t.)
The college experience, particularly an overseas one, is a catalyst for great change in a person’s life. New sights, new sounds, new people and new experiences will change you, no matter how impervious you are to external influence. Many of the famous startups of our time came from ideas incubated during their founders’ years in college. During the four years of undergraduate studies, you may end up falling in love with journalism, philosophy, physics, politics or bio-tech. Most of these studies are unlikely to be put to any significant use during your time in government service.
My point is that a scholarship commits you to a bureaucratic career (albeit a well-paid high-flying one) at a stage of your life where you have probably next to no idea what your real talents are and what you truly want to achieve with them.
Although many would probably disagree, college to my naive mind is supposed to be where we find that certain elusive purpose that aligns with our natural and nurtured talents and interests. When I enter college, I wish to spend four (or five) years discovering and affirming my purpose in life, and I do not wish to commit blindly beforehand.
If one is lucky enough to discover that purpose and if it happens to lie outside the civil service, then the six-year bond that comes after graduation can only be seen as an unpleasant obligation, bringing us into the politically-incorrect realm of bond-breaking and all the passionate arguments it engenders.
Breaking Bond
I am personally against bond-breaking, but I do not subscribe to the blind patriotism message, nor do I believe that it is acceptable to accuse people who break scholarship bonds of being “immoralâ€. To me, bond-breaking is merely a pragmatic decision and a formalized part of the contractual agreement signed when one receives the award.
The whole of Singapore can be summed up by the word “pragmatic’. Every government decision has to be backed by facts in the form of spreadsheets and pie charts. Indeed, many of the talented scholars recruited by the government are put to use to churn out these reports and statistics on which critical decisions are made. The end result is a highly technocratic and prosperous nation, a classic success story that has instilled in the people a strong belief in the power of pragmatism.
Bond-breaking is therefore a natural outcome of such a fact-intensive system. If one stands to earn significantly more working in the private sector, then bond-breaking is the obvious logically-sound option after one weighs the facts. It is as simple (simplistic?) as the reasoning that if we raise our corporate taxes to provide better social welfare, foreign investments will run off to other countries — the government-promoted idea that we should not sacrifice pragmatism for sentimental reasons.
But if one, in spite of being a product of the system, happens to be a believer in the importance of the intangible irrationalities in life, such as compassion and social justice, then bond-breaking does seem like an unpleasant last resort. Of course, such a hypothetical person may not be best suited for the pragmatic culture of the civil service in the first place. After all, it is difficult to quantify compassion as a KPI in a PowerPoint bar graph. Stop me before I get too bitter. Heh.
While I personally see bond-breaking as a necessary evil that should not be encouraged, I find it offensive that bond-breakers are put in such a terrible light by the media when they are merely practising what has been preached. I mean even ex-PM Goh Chok Tong apparently broke his bond, so what gives?
All in all, the whole bond issue just seems to be a huge schizophrenic doubespeak mess that I don’t want to get myself into, so I decided not to.
Big Picture
At the end of the day, the intention of the PSC Scholarship is to recruit talented individuals to work in the civil service. The emphasis should therefore be on public service and not career advancement.
Unfortunately, the core purpose of the scholarship has been long lost in translation through all the glitzy publicity, scholarship talks and peer pressure. A lot of talented JC students become caught up in the idea that securing a prestigious government scholarship is the way to success, even though they have no prior interest in civil service and little understanding of what policy-making entails. Some may argue that this is an intended feature of the scheme: attract the talent first and then make them interested enough to stay on.
I personally find the merit of this methodology somewhat questionable. Given a limited pool of talents, the success of the PSC Scholarship in attracting talents will always come at the expense of something else. For every IPhO winner absorbed by the civil service, Singapore loses a potential future Nobel Prize winner. There is always a trade-off involved, a fact that is often overlooked when we talk about “grooming the next generation of leadersâ€.
If the PSC Scholarship becomes too effective in attracting top-tier talents, then what effect will that have on the rest of Singapore? The PSC Scholarship should therefore ideally strive to attract not merely talents, but talents whose passions coincide with its core purpose of public service.
It was once said that the economic boom of the nineties drew so many talented mathematicians and physicists into financial engineering that it might have statistically delayed the emergence of the next Albert Einstein by half a century. That may be a wildly simplistic guesstimation, but it describes the invisible economic balance behind talent management.
Before people accuse me of proclaiming myself the next Albert Einstein, my point is simply that I decided that the best I can achieve lies elsewhere. PSC can decide if a person is suitable for the civil service by offering him/her a scholarship, but it cannot determine whether the person might be better suited for something else. That is a decision that has to be made by the individual.
And from a larger perspective, I believe that Singapore would be better off as a whole if the best talents excel in the fields that match their abilities than if they were all concentrated in the government, even if we buy into the (debatable) basic assumption that the government is the most critical entity in ensuring Singapore’s long-term success.
Conclusion
The extensive bond-based scholarship system in Singapore is both a blessing and a curse. It gives poorer students the opportunity to study overseas and richer students the added incentive to join the civil service, but at the same time it also serves to discourage organic growth and innovation in Singapore. Creativity and entrepreneurship thrive in uncertain environments and the comforting and calculated certainties offered by scholarships to our top talents are, in my opinion, not entirely beneficial to Singapore’s efforts in cultivating future leaders. They grow averse to taking risks and that can only lead to complacency.
Having been through the system, I arrived at the conclusion that my life so far has been too smooth and well-planned. Though I do not come from a well-to-do family, my academic performance and luck have brought me to the top of the rat race that is our education system. I saw the PSC Scholarship as an opportunity offered to me to continue riding this boat to the end, and I decided that it’s time to try something else.
But ignoring all my personal ramblings about the macro-economics of scholarships and my somewhat unrealistic expectations of life in general, the overall take-home message is that it’s always a good idea for one to take a step back and seriously consider the personal motivations behind taking up a bonded scholarship. The excuse “everyone else is doing it†doesn’t work for drug abuse, and it won’t work here either.
Of course, reality is always imperfect. Parental pressure, peer expectations and financial constraints are ever present in the decision-making process of every scholarship applicant. The reasons for taking up a scholarship are sometimes beyond the individual’s control, occasionally resulting in unfortunate situations where both the scholarship sponsor and receiver end up unhappy… That’s life I guess — a reality which may yet catch up with me. Heh.
A Tale of Interest
Let me end off with an interesting anecdote.
In Japan, there is a bond-free scholarship for foreign students called the Monbukagakusho (or Monbusho) offered by the MEXT. The undergraduate award covers tuition fees and expenses for five years of studies, including one year of language and foundation courses.
Singapore sends around one to two Monbusho scholars to Japan every year. The Japan embassy in Singapore conducts selection tests here but, until last year, the applicants were pre-screened by PSC to only include PSC scholars selected to be sent to Japan. The end result was that these PSC/Monbusho scholars were bonded to the Singapore government even though their education was actually paid for by the Japan government.
This amusing system, which as far as I know existed for decades, was abolished last year (at whose volition I have no idea) and the Monbusho in Singapore is now opened to all local applicants. (The deadline for 2010 is over, by the way.)
I think there’s a moral-of-the-story in there somewhere about differing philosophies of scholarship in the two countries and Singapore’s brand of ultra-pragmatism. I’ll leave you to decide what exactly that is. :P
P.S. Longest blog post ever?
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Yay.
Very good read
“young and naive idealist”
You got that right.
Awesome.
Btw, while the Monbusho is now open to all interested Singaporeans, all PSC scholars bound for Japan still have to apply for it, and in the event that they are awarded the scholarship, have to serve out their bonds to their respective scholarship providers upon completion of their education in Japan.
So the system continues to thrive.
Nice post; lots of good points to ponder…
you really should consider turning these articles in for the local papers. open up a few eyes. let the gahmen know what the rest of us think.
The content would be good enough to be put in the papers but totally needs to trim it down length-wise if not the common people won’t really bother to read. But yeah, we shall spread the Gospel of DM far and wide.
So what’re your plans now?
Omg, the Monbusho now comes without a bond?!
Ah well, I’ve pretty much given up on a University education at this point…
The Monbusho has always been without bond. Technically. :P
kwok: I ROAM THE WORLD LIKE A FREE-SPIRITED UNICORN.
Hear hear, the voices of dissent should never be equated to the voices of disloyalty. I am playing too much MW2 when I am pulling the death quotes out too readily.
The Gospel of DM, I like that. May you continue to ROW ROW FIGHT [THE POWER] your way through this, DM.
Longest blog post ever? Nah, more like Most Enlightening Blog Post ever, together with what you’ve written before this ^^
Freaking GAR this is.
This kind of reminds me of what happens to students that get into Ivy League schools like Harvard in the USA. It’s not a formal contract there like it appears to be with your scholarship, but it works the same way informally where everyone, no matter what their talents/interests/goals/etc. are drawn into management, consulting, and/or finance. There are numerous quotes on the Harvard-only FML of people that are like “I want to just breed cats on a farm, but I just can’t throw away this opportunity that’s been given to me”. It serves to devalue the worth of basically any job that isn’t one of those high-paying (and I think many would argue, wealth-destroying) jobs in fields like those. Being a teacher or a writer are for those lower people. I am supposed to be an executive/corporate lawyer/lobbyist!
This is a very enlightening read, DM. I have to admit, I look forward to reading posts like this from you more than than anime-related ones nowadays.
Well, at least Singapore is a successful country, we northern neighbours on the other hand….
A very well put and interesting post you’ve made. It was especially interesting for me as someone from a different government system and country. While I knew that most Asian countries tend to put the bureaucracy in a higher place of respect than in some other parts of the world, it was really surprising to me how structured the scholarship program is. And amazingly so that the morality or immorality of bond breaking is even a publicly discussed issue.
Thank you for your insight into the scholarship program and the government in general. For someone soon to be getting into the government or government-related aspect of international relations in the US it was a very interesting comparison. Good luck striking out on your own, it sounds like you’ve made the best decision for yourself and your future.
Heady read that almost made me miss my train this morning. Had to stop half way and finish later.
I think your take on the PSC is fair, and it’s a great look from someone who had to grow up dealing with it. I mean speaking of my own experience, my eventual college choice was something that became a part of my life since my early teens, and it’s good to see how it is for a Singaporean teen.
From my very limited experience as someone who are friends with people who are/were on the scholarship as oversea students (both Singaporeans and others) in the US is that ultimately, regardless of private or public sector, someone with a PSC is going back to Singapore after graduation. This ties into a bigger problem China and India experiences: brain drain.
How do you enable the smartest people in your country to get the best education overseas, and then haul them back? I mean, it’s not to look down on Singapore, but a country of over 300 million people will offer countless more opportunities and countless more varieties of opportunities than a country of 5 million. And if China can’t keep their smartest and brightest home, how can Singapore even comes close? I guess that’s because Singapore isn’t so terrible a place to live, and people enjoy their modest prosperity. But really? If you are top 5% academically speaking in China, I’m sure you can make a pretty good living back in China too, private or public sector. But I doubt you’ll be making 80,000 USD a year, at least for a while. China OR Singapore.
Compare that with an average CMU CS grad:
http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/students_alumni/post-grad-survey/pdf/scs.pdf
I don’t want to poke too hard, but PSC is about money in the end, doublespeak or not. Your choice, no matter how you present it to us and defend it or explain it, also has a pragmatic component. I see you kind of phrased it the way you did, and it makes sense, but let’s just say that to a true opportunist, getting a fresh start at 30 years old is not too late. It never is too late to do something you like. To say it is, well, odds are it’s because you were already counting your eggs! It’s not to say “don’t” but you were doing a double speak kind of thing when you start to talk about “well I don’t know what my college experience will take me to” etc. Life is like that. Maybe it’s easier to just say that having less debt (in this case, you pay back by making certain life choices rather than with money) gives you more freedom in life.
PSC merely gives people who can’t afford the choice something to think about, right? Let’s leave it at that.
It’s a matter of priorities. Passion over prestige (or whatever it is society deems as successful). Been through a somewhat similiar situation. Much lesser stakes and very different variables, but the same hard decisions.
May you live with as little regrets as possible. :)
Yeah, the extreme cost of college in America is another reason why people at prestigious schools take those high-paying but often unsatisfying jobs rather than working for say, a non-profit organization. You’ve gotta pay back that $100k+ somehow!
Might totally bore you but my physics teacher started out going to Stanford and went to Europe for foreign study, but while he was there, his parents divorced and neither of them wanted to pay for his education.
SO HE SPENT A FEW YEARS TRAVELING ALL OVER EUROPE, doing min-wage jobs while learning local language and architecture.
He eventually came up with the modular system that US satellites now use, was part of the team that developed the first Pentium processor, and eventually built Stanford their first electron microscope.
SO ROAMING THE WORLD AS A FREE UNICORN MIGHT WORK OUT PRETTY WELL.
His wife is kind of strict though.
While I think it makes sense from a taxpayer point of view for PSC scholars to Japan to at least apply for some kind of outside funding if it is available (Monbusho or otherwise), I wonder if its fair to the recipients to be legally obligated to Singapore, or if their obligation is not correspondingly reduced, should outside funding replace PSC funding. I take it from your article that this is not the case.
While Monbusho administrators have every right to specify their own eligibility criteria that excludes non-PSC scholars, it does not make sense from a Japanese taxpayer perspective to pay for a foreigner’s education and not get anything back from it if they are legally bound to go back home afterward. Therefore I am skeptical about whether such an arrangement was initiated by the Japanese side. The primary beneficiary of such an arrangement is the PSC, which has effectively neutralized potential competition. While the Singapore taxpayer probably gains on average from ‘underpaying’, the opportunity cost falls most heavily on prospective Monbusho applicants who had no inclination to sign up with the PSC.
Well said, DM, well said.
An interesting read that I’m inclined to agree with. Anyway, DM you’ve got mail =)
“…I personally cannot see myself either as a bureaucrat or a politician in the long run…”
Finally someone who realizes that a scholarship as more than a means to a free overseas education. It’s soul-destroying when one sees girls who have shied away from strenuous activities sign up for the SAF scholarship just to get free university tuition.
That being said, do use this opportunity to rub shoulders with the people who actually accepts the scholarship. as rightfully pointed out they are being groomed to be the next generation of leaders, and you never know when this networking might come in handy.
Nice article.
Everyone who is interested in this topic should also read this: http://s-pores.com/2009/07/once-bonded/
It is extremely well-written and everyone who considers any govt scholarship should read it.
Read the complied pdf file of responses (and highly aggressive defences for scholarships) to that article as well.
You definitely don’t belong in civil service. I can understand how you aren’t attracted to a kind of lifestyle that isn’t “your” lifestyle- I think everyone should understand that. You’ve chosen your dreams over formality- that might be suited for others, but not for everyone. In fact, I see this decision as a test of character. In a way it is a choice of what’s easy and what’s right. Although the lines of both answers are blurred. We either fight for what we have been dreaming about ever since we were old enough to formulate coherent thoughts. Or we give in to that easy way in to success. Now, I’m not saying that the easy way is the wrong way, no- to be honest, there is no wrong way. But one decision is different. The difference is in what “we” want. I believe you made the correct mistake, and should you fall into idleness later on in life because of you choice, you shouldn’t blame it on your decision. For me living in the United States your decision seems very understandable, dare I say I have resisted the urge to cheer out loud. But maybe that’s my selfish American way of dealing with the “established order”. Nevertheless, I’ve found your slice of life interesting. While there are many here, and somewhere else that might not agree with you, those people aren’t you and that’s all that matters! This argument isn’t a matter of opinion (aren’t I a fool) but of personal discovery. It will impact your life one way or another; small or big. You might lose or win, but it was your own will.
Is there something similar here in the U.S? Definitely. Any sort of workforce that promises a lucrative life with the only condition that you remain loyal. That’s what I call a double-edged sword. Sadly a lot of talented people choose the workforce- to train and be the next Obama, the next leader of any large company- over discovering themselves; or allowing their minds to meander through useless rubbish, senseless ups and downs. I know my thoughts must be a bore, but it’s been inspiring reading your words.
Ya i agree!!!
While I agree with your article, it crossed my mind that since you had thought this through enough to make such a compelling argument, why did you even apply for the scholarship anyway? It also makes me wonder if you had stated your opinions to the panel of interviewers, would they have offered you the scholarship?
I did not seriously give much thought to the matter until I actually had to make the decision. Partly because I didn’t think I would actually get it and partly because I only applied for it due to parental pressure.
I applied to PSC during my BMT. In my current NS posting, I have had the opportunity to know what kind of path awaits a PSC scholar. This also contributed to my final decision.
Furthermore, I was also turned off by the actual selection process. At one point I was asked if I thought bond-breaking was “immoral” and I said that I did not think so. However, I also stated my position that I would not take up any scholarship with the intention of breaking bond, even if I saw it as a legitimate fail-safe option. This remains consistent with my current stand, and is also part of the reason why I chose not to accept the scholarship (because I decided that I will not want to serve the bond).
Finally, I did in fact mentioned during the interview that I believed Singapore is overly pragmatic and tends to overlook important factors that cannot be quantified by numbers.
I suspect that what you actually think (fresh out of JC) is not very important because PSC is set on molding you into whatever it has planned for you and has plenty of time to do that. ;)
I do hope you’re prepared for the collapse of the American Dollar
[Singapore sends around one to two Monbusho scholars to Japan every year. The Japan embassy in Singapore conducts selection tests here but, until last year, the applicants were pre-screened by PSC to only include PSC scholars selected to be sent to Japan. The end result was that these PSC/Monbusho scholars were bonded to the Singapore government even though their education was actually paid for by the Japan government.]
Stunned when reading this….
Japan probably has the strangest system for international students in the developed world.
It’s probably common knowledge to all that Japan’s universities are ranked ratherly lowly on international ranking scales that take into account the percentage of foreign students in each university. Therefore, in a bid to increase the ranking of its universities internationally, the Japanese government has come up with a whole load of initiatives to attract more foreign students, one of them being the bond-free Monbusho.
Recently, the government also announced a plan to offer financial and other forms of aid to universities with a certain number of foreign students, in an attempt to hit their target of 300000 foreign students.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20081028a1.html
However the generally xenophobic (I generalise) atmosphere of Japan means that while the government is earnest in welcoming foreign students, it’s not all rosy once they actually get here. Any self-funded foreign student in Japan can attest to the amount of paperwork and level of obfuscation in the screening processes for university entry, not to mention the various social and cultural barriers that I suspect aren’t unique to people studying in Japan.
There has also been a sudden spike in the number of Japanese universities offering degree programs in English, most of them liberal arts. A notable example would be Waseda University’s SILS. Somehow though, many people see it as a means to contain foreign students within certain environments, while at the same time increasing the enrollment of said foreign students.
As such, the Monbusho is probably one of the only ways to study in a Japanese-medium university in Japan, for those who are unable to obtain funding from other sources and/or unwilling to go through the tedious and nerve-wracking process of applying for university in Japan.
The Japanese taxpayer is probably paying for the chance to bask in the glory of yet another of his country’s universities rising to the top 20 worldwide. Or something like that. Also, it would do the Monbusho no harm to increase the diversity of their intake of foreign students, hence the acquiesence to PSC’s rather strange demands. (Note that most of the foreign students in Japan hail from neighbouring countries.)
Either way, the Japanese government does not expect any form of repayment from the Monbusho scholars, so from their perspective it wouldn’t matter much what Singapore decideｓ to do to these scholars after they graduate，　as long as the PSC supplies them with a steady stream of scholars each year.
Also, there are rumours that the Monbusho decided to open up application to the general public in Singapore last year following consecutive years with little to no PSC applicants.
It’s nice to be a free-spirited unicorn. There’s always a chance that when you’re 40 you’ll regret something you did when you were 20, and at 60 you’ll think differently ｙｅｔ　again. Good luck with your life :)
@Kesenaitsumi: 10 years ago there were many more applicants. There were 10 applicants in one particular year. Last year, there were 60 applicants in total after the Monbusho became available to everyone. And back then, the bond was way longer than the 5 years now. 8 years of service to the Singapore Government.
Pragmatism… can it guarantee good quality of life?
Not just in pragmatic sense, but in every other perspectives.
It is your life, go strive and pursue for your passion.
I have an exam tomorrow, and you better prove my time spent on this entry has been worthy =]
Actually if you look under the criteria of the Monbusho scholarship, people who are already holding on to another scholarship (inclusive of government scholarships) are not allowed to apply. I don’t know why exception was made for Singapore in the first place.
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A long well written blog.
If you have taken the scholarship and work for the government, I’m sure you will be a very good civil servant.
But since you did not, please get rich and be a powerful business leader. Then alot of people will have to listen to you!
Go and change the world!
Good job DM, at knowing what you don’t want at the age of 19. For what it is you want, there’s 4 more years of university education to take care of that ;-), as you rightly point out.
Coincidentally, I recently penned my own version, Yu-mei style. It’s interesting to read about your experience. More people should write about their experiences so that our youths can be better informed.
There’s nothing wrong with taking up government scholarships. Just make sure you know what you’re signing up for, and not find yourself in a position to lament about the high opportunity cost later on.
Awesome post (:
However, your decision is premised on a few caveats. Firstly, the idea that PSC scholar should be a civil servant enthusiast is rather feeble. Even if it lands you in a civil service job, why should the scholar, or for that matter, the scholarship assume such an identity. This brings me to the second point.
Secondly, you suggest that serving your bond for the next 6 years means a truncation of your dreams/ beliefs. It will not. If college does not firm your self-identity to an extent that the path thereafter is clear, serving these 6 years would provide an opportunity to reinforce your beliefs/thoughts and dreams. But to be sure of what you want, yet having to fulfill the bond is most unfortunate. Still, nothing is ever not worth learning and your passion will not see its end.
You mention that you aren’t from a well to do family, would the scholarship not greatly lessen the burden of those supporting you? Your dreams are on hiatus, not dead. In fact, having a scholarship would boost your credentials, and in turn your job opportunities where ever you go. Ok, putting aside that pragmatic talk of credentials, will pursuing and gaining knowledge about your interests stop just because it has no relation to your career?
This absolutely not an attempt at dissuading you for standing by what you belief in is part of this whole discussion <3 I am as much an idealist as you, just different in the nuances.
Longest blog post ever is an inspiring read, DM. Sometimes you just have to make a bet on life, to try to live your beliefs, not your parents. And I bet you can create a great future for yourself without that scholarship, you’ve got more than enough talent and smarts. You should do like Ashitaka in Mononoke hime, to travel out into the world so see it with eyes unclouded…
Really good post. Coincidentally, I’m currently in JC1 and I’m interested in furthering my studies in physics.
I’m a Singapore PR from a middle-income family and I always thought scholarships was my only way through.
I guess the word ‘bond’ in any scholarship is scary and very much more than any commitment I make like maybe a research attachment I recently signed up for.
So I guess I’ll spend my next few years looking for a way to get through uni while at the same time, constantly ask myself what I want to do in life.
@Sair – Don’t worry, you’ll probably have a better idea once you go through NS and learn more about the world from your peers from all walks of life. You’ll get to meet schoolmates, scholars, bookworms, street-smart tech geeks (not every geek is a bookworm), ah bengs (they are nice people if u know them, just that they are a bit loud and rowdy).
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Pragmatism has no principles, no morals, no ethics, no laws, no restrictions, no limitations, no whatever. In the Singapore context, pragmatism actually means
“I will do whatever that is practicable for me to achieve the desired result to my fullest advantage, as quickly and as long as possible, under any circumstances, irrespective of:
1. Whether it is moral or immoral – people’s opinions and views do not matter; however I will pretend to get their inputs, but actually I have already decided on their behalf and I am not going to let any of them derail what I am going to do anyway. Morality is only for the saints. Lets be practical. We are living in a real world, you know.
2. Whether it is ethical or unethical – I know what is good for the people, never mind about the Gini Coefficient, whether they are happy or not, never mind what they say, they have voted for me, therefore they have put their trust in me, therefore they have forfeited their rights to criticize my decision. Whether it is ethical or not is for me alone to decide.
3. Whether it is lawful or unlawful – if what I am going to do is against the existing laws, there is no problem at all; I can easily amend the laws because I will always make sure that I have the majority of more than two-third in Parliament; and all my whip-controlled zombie MPs will obediently support and vote for whatever I propose to do. Would they dare to vote against my proposals? Don’t forget, I have the ISA and the ISD behind me.
4. Whether it is against our Constitution or not – never mind, who the hell cares about the Constitution? They were put up by me some years ago anyway. Just like our existing laws, I can also easily amend the Constitution to favour and support what I am setting out to do; all my lackeys would have to vote for the motion in Parliament too; they simply have to tow the line; remember I am the one who has the whip. Remember, I have a hatchet in my bag and a knuckleduster that I can use in a cul de sac? I can also hit them where it hurts most – their pockets; I can sue them until they go bankrupt.
5. Whether it is against the people’s wish or not – our people are so busy making a living, which I have through my deliberate policies and schemes ensured that they will have no choice but to slog and slog, pay and pay until they drop dead. Where do they have the time and money to go all out against me? Don’t be silly. My wish is also their only wish. All I need to do is twist somebody’s arms and the ever-ready boot-lickers in the newsrooms will willingly do my calling, to ensure that the people get the ‘right’ message, and after awhile they will forget the whole matter and just move on; everything will be normal again. I have done it again! See, so easy!
6. Whether it is good for the people or not – most of our people are stupid, lazy and only know how to complain and complain, but when a situation requires them to take concrete actions to go against me, they simply lost their balls. They are actually the worst cowards in this world, not only kiasu but also kiasi as well. Why? Because I have already instilled fear into them and I have totally wiped out all possible dissenting leaders who can lead them to go against me. So, as long as it is “in the interest of the country” and benefits me and my lackeys, whom I am sure will never rock the boat or bite the hand that feeds them, who really cares whether it will be good for the people or not?”
Can you still remember what was said by someone a few years ago?
“When a lie is repeated often, after a while it will become the truth.”
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Either simple or simplistic works in that context. I’m no English major, but I am a natural English speaker. I believe the most important thing when choosing words to write is that it flows. Simple flows a little better.
Well my point in that sense is that it is both simple and simplistic. Simple in the sense that it is supposed to be the logical conclusion. Simplistic in the sense that it really isn’t, because it overlooks some important details.
Sair:
A bonded scholarship is not the only option. There are plenty of undersold opportunities for you to get financial aid to attend a US university. For starters, check out the list of need-blind US universities at
http://igfas.wiki.zoho.com/USA.html
Or feel free to email me for more tips ([myname] at gmail dot com).
If you like doing physics, it is difficult to find a bonded govt scholarship that will let you do what you love. Besides trying for financial aid, another option is studying physics at NUS for your undergrad, then applying to physics PhD programs overseas. Most US PhD programs in physics offer full tuition remission and a decent living allowance to the students they admit. If you do well at NUS, you will be able to get a spot at one of these programs.
Oh I learnt something DM, cos a bunch of profs from a certain Agriculture (it’s totally like Moyashimon the anime) uni in what appears to be Shizuoka or Shikoku came to my department to recruit students for their accelerated Masters programme in eww Frozen Food technology. So I was listening to them sell their “product” and it was pretty horrible. They’ll only sponsor 2 years of your life and fees there, and it’s under the Monbublahblah scholarship as well, except they want people with awesome grades, AND already know Japanese, which effectively weeded out everyone in the room except me and I don’t have awesome grades.
And it turns out their programme is pretty shitty too, packing huge amounts of work, in purely Japanese, into 1.5 years on top of having to do a research thesis. The only people who take up the offer are Thai people, for some reason. It’s no wonder Japan finds it hard to get postgrad people compared to the US.
i definitely think that that’s the way to go. there are so many things that will be problematic in the future (global warming, multiple drug resistant infections, a new epidemic of diseases, war, poverty), that it would be bad to lock oneself into a set out career. plus seeing as how you were smart enough to get the scholarship, i’m sure that you could find another way to go to an amazing school without having to lock yourself in. It’s the similar way with me, if i join the military in Canada, they will pay for my medical school completely and I get about half a million dollars after graduating from my 4 year program. however, i’m locked into service with them and into only the specialties that they need.