I was reading this post when this struck me, as you can see I wrote some preliminary ideas in the comments box.
In much of the Singaporean community, it is common 'wisdom' that finishing an American undergrad degree program in 3 years (instead of the standard 4) saves money.
In much of the Singaporean community, there is also a warped obsession in finishing in 3 years. I get terribly sick and bloody annoyed when I hear "Why does University A grant only X number of credits for A-Levels, when University B grants Y>>X credits, how can I/my son/my daughter finish the degree in 3 years?". Solution? Transfer to University B, which is usually of lower ranking and prestige than University A. Simple, right?
So some Singaporeans take summer school, sometimes more than once, to be able to fulfill degree requirements in 3 years. I'm not disparaging everyone who has done summer school, I know people who do so for various reasons, and I've done so myself, except that it was at a very much cheaper place. (I wanted to see that particular school too, and I've since decided never to apply there for grad school.) But if you wanted to finish in 3 years under the guise of saving money, you might be surprised to learn that little money is saved.
In most colleges, summer school costs as much per credit as the regular term. So that $1000+ per credit price tag (at my college) that you've been complaining about is still there. You pay almost the same amount in tuition whether you did summer school or you finished your degree in 3.5 or 4 years. You still have to pay for lodging, food, etc, at very similar rates to the regular term time. Unless you sublet, but most Singaporeans move off campus, and live in their own apartments during summer. So your living expenses do not reduce by very much. In other words, there is little money saved.
Unless you take classes at the local community college, but then, community colleges have less than zero prestige and the people there are stupid, isn't it?
Actually, I think the CC option is brilliant, especially if you're doing classes you'd loathe to take during the regular term. The local CC charges around $70 per credit, compared to $1000+ per credit for my college. As an Indonesian friend who clued me in to this idea said, "Even if I take a cab there every day, I still save a lot of money." The caveat is that most universities won't accept CC credit after you have junior standing.
Anyway, after performing this calculation, I just wonder, are these Singaporeans unthinking sheep who take in common 'wisdom' unquestioningly, or are they more concerned about 'face' and 'losing to' their peers/their peers' children, who are so smart that they can finish the degree in the shortest time possible?
Why are Singaporeans obsessed with numbers anyway?
My motivation for finishing in 3 years? I'm not charitable enough to contribute any more towards the Pay Administrators More Fund, when I can slave away get paid to take very similar classes. And I'm eagerly awaiting financial independence (or the closest approximation to, considering the grad student stipend). On my financial declaration forms for grad school apps, I just wrote "Department funding", whether that's an option or not.
