She can now focus on her studies

When she was accepted into SMU this year, Tay Jing Jing Perlyne considered giving up her place. She was worried that she would not be able to cover the tuition fees for her four-year School of Information Systems course due to her family's financial difficulties – her mother is a housewife and her father owns a stall selling household goods at Bendemeer Market & Food Centre, sometimes earning barely $50 a day. Now, the former Temasek Polytechnic student can set those worries aside. She is one of 13 recipients from the inaugural batch receiving the SMU Access scheme, which ensures eligible candidates full funding for a maximum of four years of university studies. All 13 recipients were also granted the Quantedge Foundation Scholarship, a new initiative from local philanthropic charity Quantedge Foundation, which seed-funded an endowment of $8 million to SMU Access. The incoming students received their scholarship certificates at a ceremony on Monday.