Studying abroad in Singapore has been a journey like no other. I think that studying abroad has been beneficial both for my personal growth and academics. I learned a lot about an extremely different culture, and the culture shocks I experienced throughout my journey helped me gain a better global perspective. The personal growth I achieved while abroad isn’t something that can be taught in any classes, and I’m very grateful to have been able to spend a semester abroad.
Academically, NUS offered a huge variety of courses that allowed me to have a unique academic experience that I very much enjoyed. As a Computer Science major, it was very helpful that NUS had a School of Computing. The SoC department were very helpful and had a larger range of courses available than in Northwestern, and all the professors in my computer science courses were very engaging and helpful. Other than Computer Science courses, NUS also had a lot of cultural classes that were very interesting and wouldn’t have been available in Northwestern, such as “Crime Fiction in English and Chinese”, or “Politics of Singapore.” Overall, I had a wonderful academic experience in NUS.
In terms of student life, NUS local students were always very friendly, and there were plenty of events held in dorms to get to know everyone. There were also exchange student welcome/farewell parties, and the study abroad office in Singapore made sure that all exchange students felt welcome in NUS. I personally had an amazing study abroad experience in Singapore, and hope that other Northwestern students would also strongly consider NUS as an option when deciding where to study abroad!
