A few days ago, I bumped into an old friend in the male's toilet in Singapore Indoor Stadium. I asked him where he'd be enrolling into after ORD. He told me that he applied for SMU accountancy but could only get SMU business. I asked him why didn't he choose NTU. He said SMU graduates' starting pay is the highest amongst the 3 varsities and enjoy a 100% employment rate. Also, NTU is boring.

Of course, I blasted at him for 5 minutes before returning to my seat.

Ok, with all due respect to SMU, I, however, disagree with that saying. That is merely stereotyping NTU, on the comparison of SMU and NTU's commercials. While I must admit NTU's marketing campaign is slightly dull as compared to SMU and N' US, that however is an inaccurate portrayal of NTU. Besides, what is the basis of comparison for the 100% employment rate? Those who have done research methods would know that the 100% figure is mere gimmick without accurate, fair and transparent reference to the target group. Moreover, given SMU's small cohort, is that a fair comparison? Putting all these aside, what I wish to point out is that my friend's mind set, which is strangely contradicting and contraversial.

1. By performing a simple calculation, SMU's school fee is approximately $500 more than NTU/NUS, which comes up to a whopping $2,000 more in comparison with its 4 years program and NTU/NUS' 3 years program.

2. The additional year of school fee is approximately $6,500. Does the supposedly claimed higher starting pay justify and outweigh $6,500?

3. More importantly, looking at the context of an auditor's starting pay of $2,500 for a year, which is one of the lowest pay in the industry, it sums up to $30,000 for a year excluding bonus! So, does the supposedly higher pay of SMU graduate outweigh 1 year's salary? Besides, the pay increment in Big 4 is about $500 per annum. This would translate to a $3,000 salary in the second year. Is this amount lower than SMU graduate's starting pay? I doubt so. Putting aside the financial benefit, let's look at the 1 year of valuable experience that a NTU/NUS graduate would have gained. This certainly cannot be measured in monetary terms.

4. As we all know that SMU is located in the heart of the city, this implies the higher costs incurred in basic necessity such as food and beverage. Looking at a plate of mixed rice with 2 vegetable items and 1 meat item in Canteen A which is $2.00, and a plate of mixed rice in NUS Business Canteen, as compared to SMU's cafe, let's conclude that the difference is $1.00. How about drink? A cup of fresh green tea from Canteen A is $0.30, NUS Business Canteen sells a little bit higher, and needless to say about SMU. Let's conclude that the amount is $0.50. So, assuming that a student takes 2 meals in school for 5 days a week, 14 weeks per semester, this would translate to 1.50 x 2 meals x 5 days x 14 weeks x 8 semesters= $1,680

If you don't wish to exceed this amount, this would suggest that you are restricted to 2 meals per day with no additional snacks. Worst, you need to stick to mixed rice everyday!

5. I understand that some of us might argue that many NTU students stay in hostel. Kindly allow me to break down the figures for you. Looking in the context of undergraduates, about 9,000 students stay on campus, out of which, about 3,000 are international students. So, for the remaining 6,000 students, we need to analyze if it's a need based or a desire to stay on campus, which SMU students do not have the option. Out of the 6,000, I assume that 3,000 stay within Outram Park border, while the rest stay beyond that. Hence, we assume that 3,000 students stay on campus because of the distance. Their hostel expenditure is approximately $155 (rental) + $110 (food, assuming $2.50 per meal, 2 meals a day for 22 weekdays)=$265/month. However, the benefit of $265 significantly outweighs the cost of traveling time and transportation cost. Time is the essence of a student life, and it is beyond the measurement in monetary terms. For students involved in ECAs, there are times when meetings last all the way past midnight, hence the $265 definitely outweighs the taxi fare and midnight surcharge.

Mind you, there are many NTU students who stay as far as Sengkang but do not stay in hostel. There are also SMU students staying as far as Sengkang who need to travel at the expense of time as well. It's just that they do not have the alternative of staying in hostel.

6. SMU cannot be found in any of the world's university league, because it is a business school, just like the Nanyang Business School and NUS Business School. NTU/NUS could be ranked with the top institutions in the world, because they are full-fledged, comprehensive, multi-disciplinary universities. Hence, in terms of higher way that SMU claims, I believe that it is compared in local context. When local business/accountancy graduates step out of Asia/Australia, not many would recognize our degrees. However, NTU is the only university in Asia that is both EQUIS and AACSB accredited for its busniess/accountancy program. Hence, if NTU graduates would like to settle abroad, I believe that they stand a higher chance (I am referring to self-source and not overseas posting, or because of the link you have with the MNC you're working for in Singapore). Generally, salaries in Europe and America are higher than that in Asia.

So, having put across the various points in an objective manner, I believe that the basis of my friend's comparison is unfounded and unjustified. Moreover, my beloved friend has really contradicted himself in terms of wishing for higher monetary rewards upon graduation from SMU. Please note that the above arguments are not in any way against SMU, but are carefully scrutinized and analyzed in the most objective manner possible. I love SMU, as it used to be my dream school. The reason that I joined NTU is not because SMU is in any way inferior, but it's because of other personal reasons which I don't wish to elaborate here.

P.S. Adding up the amounts in red, it would be a mega $40,180. So, this is what my friend referred to a relatively higher pay. I wonder if this can break even in 3 years! I think he needs to wake up his idea...