Record number of 12,911 applications to SMU

Overwhelming response to new School of Law which registers 15 times oversubscription with 1,251 applicants vying for 82 places

Singapore, 20 April 2007 – The Singapore Management University (SMU) has received a record number of 12,911 applications for admission to its six full-time degree programmes for Academic Year 2007/8 as of the closing deadline of 10 April 2007. This marks a 21% increase in applications from last year's figure of 10,680, making the university nine times oversubscribed with nine students vying for one of the 1,485 places offered. More than half (54%) of the applicants are ‘A' level students, followed by polytechnic students (27%) and international students (19%). Quality of students applying to SMU this year has also risen with more than one third (39%) of ‘A' level applicants scoring ABB or better in their results compared to 30% last year.

SMU's new School of Law, which was established in January this year, will be offering 82 places in its four-year Bachelor of Laws degree programme for its first freshman intake. The school has received 1,251 applications for the 82 places, making the Law programme 15 times oversubscribed. Of these, there are 466 applications for direct entry into the five-year double degree programme which gives students the opportunity to combine Law with one of SMU's existing degree programmes in Business Management, Accountancy, Economics, Social Science or Information Systems Management as a second degree. Among the applications, the two most popular double degree combinations with the Bachelor of Laws are Law / Accountancy and Law / Business Management. Quality of applicants for the School of Law is high with 67% of ‘A' level applicants scoring ABB or better in their results. A substantially high number (32%) of ‘A' level applicants scored AAA or better in their results.

Successful applicants will receive their letters of offer in the month of May.

Heralding a new approach to university education from the beginning, SMU has adopted its own unique holistic admissions criteria that seek all-rounded individuals with the potential for high academic performance which may not be immediately identifiable from exam grades. In accessing every applicant as a total individual, a broad set of criteria is used which includes academic performance, leadership qualities, community service, entrepreneurial spirit, sportsmanship and artistic talent. SMU also uses the SAT score (optional), an interview and a reflective essay in its admissions process. This progressive approach has enabled SMU to recruit many outstanding students comprising a wide diversity of talents who have the intellectual stamina to handle the rigours of our unique pedagogy as well as the passion to carve out a vibrant student life beyond books.

“We would like to thank parents and prospective students for their strong show of support for SMU. We have interviewed many excellent applicants in the past two weeks, many of whom have impressive achievements and qualifications. The warm response to SMU as a university of choice gives us the confidence to continue what we are doing – a broad-based university education that encourages independent thinking. SMU's signature American-style pedagogy which uses an MBA approach to teaching undergraduates in small seminar-style classes has been a very successful experiment in local tertiary education. We have produced three batches of graduates of great character and who are high achievers in their careers. We would like to assure all applicants that they will still enjoy and benefit from the complete SMU experience in whichever degree programme they may have been offered places,” said Professor Howard Hunter, President, Singapore Management University.