Deconstructing a University Education

Why do people seek a university education? The number of people with a degree is increasing in Singapore. It has become such a common phenomenon.

So what are the motivations for getting a university degree? I present three main reasons. There are other reasons but I just decided to include the most important.

1.Getting an education
Okay, this seems like stating the obvious but let me draw the distinction between getting an education and getting accreditation/qualification. The first involves the development of the mind while the later involves improving one's job prospect. People often confuse between these two as both are achieved by attending school. However, their motivations cannot be any more different.

2.Getting a job
This seems to be the main reason why many people attend university. More people are interested in their career prospects than in living the 'life of the mind'.

3.Getting a new life experience
For many people, whether they are studying overseas or at home. Going to university is a first step towards independence where your parents meddle less into your lives and even lesser into your studies.

Further Analysis
So now that I have mentioned these three reasons, let us examine them further by looking at the case of an overseas education, a local uni and an external degree program..

Education
When we look at education, we can further break it down into learning knowledge and thinking skills. Knowledge can be learnt anywhere from a book. With MIT's open course ware. You can even download lectures to self study. When it comes to these book learning knowledge, there is no distinction between an overseas university, a local one or an external program. They are all made of paper and they have the same words so it really doesn't matter. Knowing about Newton's law of motion can be just as easily achieved at Stanford University or NUS.

But how about critical thinking? Here it becomes more tricky. It is not so much the university itself that is responsible but your peers. If you are in a group of fellow students who are smarter than you, and challenge you intellectually in your social interactions, you are more likely to develop your thinking skills further.

There is only so much a teacher can do. He is most probably doing research or grading or has to allocate his time evenly among many students. You spend more time interacting with fellow students than the professors, even in a liberal arts college.

The true benefit in a university education comes from being in the presence of fellow students who are smarter than yourselves. Imagine going to a place where people are not smarter. It can get really frustrating.

So where you study really matters for this case. From Skeptic's observation of undergrads overseas, going to a large state university in the US doesn't help because the quality of one's peers varies a lot. In contrast, if you go to an elite private school like MIT, you may have a much better experience.

Job Prospects
This is the most important reason that people have for getting a degree. Like it or not, sometimes the job prospects has nothing to do with the quality of education. A person graduating from a third tier college in the United States may have better job prospects (after graduation) than a graduate of NUS.

Why? Because we are all bounded by geography. A graduate from the third tier university would have physical access to jobs in a country that is half of north America. In contrast, it is harder (though not impossible) for a fresh local graduate to look for a job beyond the Island; which has a much smaller labour market.

Our local universities are aware of this limitation of geography and doing something about it. NUS has created overseas colleges and tie-up programs so that our local graduates can physically be present overseas to look for jobs. I think NTU and SMU are doing the same.

Skeptic think they should go further and get accreditation for these overseas colleges. Make them degree granting institutions so that our local grads can apply for student visas that allow them to look for work more easily.

The worst job prospects are those on external programs which does not involve leaving the Island. The degrees are not as recognised in Singapore as local degrees and they face the same difficulties as local graduates in applying for an overseas job.

Getting a new life experience
This is a no-brainer. There is more 'potential' for an interesting life overseas compared to a local university. There is more 'potential' for socialising in a local university compared to an external program.

But I use the word 'potential'. Skeptic remembers that in the undergrad university he went to. There was a large group of Singaporeans who always hung around other Singaporeans and didn't mix with the locals.

And it is also possible to have an interesting life as a part time student. It all depends on the individual. It is just that being in certain places gives one the options to explore more things.

Now what?
So I have given my somewhat naive analysis of university education. Now what is my grandfather advice?

If you are considering doing an MBA program
Be aware that the primary aim of the MBA is to improve your job prospects and not get an education. The worth of an MBA, is in the prestige, network and contacts. If you are considering an external MBA with no potential networking benefits, forget about it. You are just wasting your time and money. You'll be one of many people in Singapore with useless MBAs. It may even work against you.

If you are considering an external degree
This is for those whose primary aim is to get a job. Get into a twinning program! I can't stress it enough. It gives you the chance to go overseas to look for a job while abroad.

If you are considering a local University
Get into those programs that give you overseas exposure and look for a job overseas.

If you are considering overseas studies
An American liberal arts program has a lot of breadth in their study but it sacrifices depth for breadth. In contrast, a British style education has a lot of depth but little breadth. There are pros and cons to both approach. Skeptic has encountered graduates of liberal arts colleges who knows about a lot of different subjects but can't give beyond a cursory analysis of his concentration (field of study).

On the other hand, Skeptic has encountered law students from the British education system who can't think quantitatively and engineering students who can't articulate their arguments. Given the short amount of time, one can either choose to develop unevenly (but strongly in your chosen field) or develop evenly (but weakly in your chosen field).

I can't comment much about Australia as I don't know much; so please feel free to leave comments about the Australian system.

Also be aware of the cost. It can be very expensive.