There’s absolutely a lot of concerns a student has to deal with while in university.

Among the most common are the extensive fees, especially tuition fees. Some students resort to getting a part-time job to sustain their needs in a university while others rely on financial aid to pursue their respective courses.

Do you know the existence of the various forms of financial assistance? Are you among the students qualified to receive financial assistance? Check out the following options before you give your application a go:

1. Bursaries

Bursaries are financial aids given by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and administered by your respective schools. The amount is not humongous but bursaries are non-repayable and come with no obligations at all! You can also apply for it every year as long as you meet the requirements! The size of bursary that a student receives will depend on his or her residential household income.

Based on MOE’s statement on their Financial Assistance and Bursary Scheme, a student is only eligible for bursaries if he or she has a Per Capita Income (PCI) not exceeding $690-2,250 per month. PCI is simply the aggregated income of all your family members divided by the number of family members. The actual criteria will vary depending on the school you are in and the type of bursary you are applying for.

Application is a breeze. For most schools, you just have to log in to your student account and within a few clicks, you are set. Of course, don’t forget to ask for your family members’ proof of income in the form of a CPF or income tax statement, to be submitted to the school. Several thousands of students have already successfully tapped on this scheme to subsidize part of their tuition fees.

NTU Students: Check out NTU available bursaries and application —HERE.

SMU Students: Check your bursary qualifications and application–HERE.

NUS Students: For bursary financial aid– CLICK HERE.

SUTD Students: For eligibility and application–CLICK HERE.

SUSS Students: To avail for the application–CLICK HERE.

SIT Students: For more information and a guide to the application process — CLICK HERE.

2. Scholarships

Similar to bursaries, scholarship grants do not have to be repaid. Instead, they usually come with obligations, which differ from organization to organization. A scholarship from a corporate organization, for example, will require you to work for them for a couple of years upon graduation, while a scholarship from a school may require you to taking up ambassadorial duties. Scholarships are provided by a long list of government, college and even independent third party organizations to selected students. The selection of scholarship holders is based on merit, by looking at either academic or CCA achievements. It usually covers the entire tuition fee along with allowances for various expenditures you’ll incur throughout the course of your studies.

If you are contemplating to apply for a scholarship, be sure to check out our scholarship guide for tips and tricks you never knew existed. We’ve also included a brief list of scholarships within!

NTU Students: For a list of freshmen scholarships – CLICK HERE. For current undergraduates, you may check available scholarships and eligibility HERE.

SMU Students: For a list of available scholarships for both freshmen and current students, CLICK HERE. Note: Click the respective scholarship names for details regarding eligibility or qualification.

NUS Students: See the list of scholarships offered in your university HERE.

SUTD Students: See the list of available scholarships offered HERE. Note: Click the respective scholarship names for details regarding eligibility, and for the terms and conditions.

SUSS Students: To apply for SUSS University Scholarships, you’ll need to submit your application online by the stipulated closing date. To apply for the SUSS Scholarship, click HERE. You can also find a list of externally awarded scholarships HERE. 

SIT Students: Details on the SIT Scholarship, bond-free scholarships, MOE administered scholarships, as well as external scholarships can be found HERE.

3. Study Loan

If you fall short of the criteria for the previous 2 financial aids, fret not. You can always fall back on a loan which is certainly more inclusive. A study loan is designed to help students pay for university tuition, books and living expenses. It somewhat differs from the other kinds of loans, with lower interest rates and an extended repayment schedule to help students until college completion.

NTU Students: For eligibility, requirements, application and repayment method – CLICK HERE.

SMU Students: Check your university tuition fee financing loan schemes HERE.

NUS Students: Application, eligibility, repayment and requirement can be found HERE

SUTD Students: The university study loan scheme is available HERE. For application forms, CLICK HERE.

SUSS Students: To check for the requirements, eligibility and application method CLICK HERE.

SIT Students: For eligibility and application procedures, CLICK HERE.

4. Tuition Grant

According to TG Online, a portal managed by Singapore MOE, tuition grants were introduced in Singapore in 1980 to fund the cost of tertiary education in the country. It is a special scheme open to students enrolled in full-time diplomas, or undergraduate students to 14 colleges including Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore Management University and Singapore University of Technology and Design.

Successful applicants are granted financial aid from the government to pay a portion of the college tuition fee. Grantees (Singapore permanent residents and non-Singaporean students) are obliged to sign a Tuition Grant agreement as their bond to render service to the country for 3 years after college completion.

For most students, the tuition fees reflected on websites of all universities already take the tuition grant into account. Click here to find out the tuition fee before/after tuition grant for all universities in AY2017/18.

NTU Students: CLICK HERE for eligibility, application and agreement on tuition grant in your university.

SMU Students: CLICK HERE to learn about the tuition grant scheme and application at your university.

NUS Students: CLICK HERE for Frequently Asked Questions on the NUS tuition grant.

SUTD Students: CLICK HERE for eligibility and application on tuition grant in your university.

SUSS Students: CLICK HERE for eligibility and application on tuition grant in your university.

SIT Students: More information can be found HERE.

With the various financial aids available, tertiary schooling in Singapore is certainly very accessible to anyone who wishes to pursue world-class education in this little red dot. With your financial concerns allayed, you can now focus on achieving your highest potential as a student and maximizing your university life!