[14 April 2004]
Singapore Management University Receives Record Number of Applications for Places in its Four Undergraduate Schools

Singapore Management University (SMU) has received an overwhelming response to its admissions exercise this year, with available openings 9 times oversubscribed. Over 7,700 students have applied to study at SMU, representing a year-on-year increase of 33% over the 2003 figure of 5,800. There were 870 openings for SMU’s four schools – Business, Accountancy, Economics & Social Sciences, and Information Systems.

The School of Accountancy and the School of Economics & Social Sciences recorded the highest rate of oversubscription with each school 10 times oversubscribed. The School of Business was 8 times oversubscribed. The School of Information Systems saw an oversubscription of 7 times.

Especially impressive about this year’s applicants was the marked improvement in quality of students, especially at the top-level. There are:

• 30% of A-level applicants achieved results of ABBs, AAAs and higher
• 40% of A-level applicants scored above 1300 for SAT1

Prof. Tan Chin Tiong, Provost, SMU, said, “We are thrilled - but not surprised - at the rapidly growing interest shown in our degree courses by some of Singapore’s brightest young people. Right from the start, SMU has set out to offer a different educational experience for thinking, discerning students. Our interactive, US-style approach is best suited to prepare students for a global economic environment where the only constant is change – and this new generation of entrepreneurial students has recognized the value of SMU’s proposition.”

This year’s admissions exercise also saw over 1,000 students vie for 50 openings which is oversubscribed 20 times in the new Bachelor of Social Sciences (BSoc Sci) programme, launched in September 2003. Modelled on the successful “Philosophy, Politics and Economics” programme at the University of Pennsylvania, the BSoc Sci programme is the first multi-disciplinary social sciences degree programme available in Singapore with a focus on business and economics applications in the Asian marketplace.

Commenting on the response to the BSoc Sci programme, Prof. Tan said, "We are pleasantly surprised by the enthusiastic response to the Social Sciences programme and we are very impressed with the quality of students who have applied with over 20% scoring ABBs, AAAs and above in their A-level results."

SMU's new academic year will start with an opening convocation on 14 August 2004.