Let's continue talking about life in Singapore — studying abroad

Many friends have privately messaged me asking about studying in Singapore, what the education system is like, how much the monthly expenses are, and which young study abroad options are better, so today let's discuss these aspects.

First of all, from my personal experience, it is purely personal, the younger you are when you come to Singapore to study, the better it is.

Before primary school, children can enter public kindergartens in Singapore. Kindergartens in Singapore start accepting children from four years old, and some parents enroll their children in nursery at three years old. For friends from Mandarin-speaking regions, the success rate of entering public primary schools after attending public kindergartens is very high. Moreover, a good foundation in English is established.

Many people are not satisfied with Singlish (Singapore English), but I don't think it's a big problem because as long as international students pass the PSLE, GCE N, O, or A-level exams, they can directly apply for permanent residency (PR). So, it's very important to lay a solid foundation in English at a young age.

Of course, many parents have also discussed that if they come too early, they worry that their Chinese language ability will not keep up, which indeed happens frequently. Some classmates from the squirrel have this situation; they came to Singapore very early, speak English very well, but struggle with Chinese. This ultimately depends on personal choice.

If you want to establish a good foundation in Chinese and catch up with public education's last train, from my personal experience, around nine or ten years old is when the difficulty level is relatively low. Once they surpass fourth grade, the difficulty level increases sharply unless they already have a native-level English foundation; otherwise, it can be quite challenging to adapt. Generally speaking, transfer students often choose to “stay back” a year for better adaptation. (I have seen cases of staying back for two years.)

Generally, for Chinese private schools, it becomes very difficult to enter Singapore's public schools after the fourth grade. Even if they manage to enter, the primary six examination can be very distressing.

The primary six examination is equivalent in importance to the traditional college entrance examination for public school students in Singapore.

Of course, not all children can study abroad at a younger age, and not all families will choose public schools, so Singapore also has private schools and international schools.

The education in private schools partly follows the public school education system (MOE) and partly has its own curriculum. I don't know much about private schools, but from what I've heard, they are primarily used as a transition to public schools. However, the educational standards in private schools are uneven, making careful selection necessary. Some private schools focus on specialized areas, such as sports and arts.

Most friends coming to Singapore's first stop might be international schools. There are many international schools in Singapore, mainly accepting foreign international students. Especially parents with EP or SP will often prioritize international schools. International schools have different systems, mainly including the IB, British A-Level, and American AP.

Almost all international schools do not follow the Singapore MOE curriculum and do not participate in local standardized exams such as PSLE or O Level. The main reason is that not all EP or SP holders wish to stay in Singapore; they may work in Singapore for three to five years and then return to their home countries. For many employees of Western companies, this is the case. Studying at international schools allows them to continue their education after returning home.

Some students who plan to study in Europe and America for university also choose international schools. Of course, if they choose IB, they can also apply to local Singaporean universities, as the IB diploma is widely recognized as an entry qualification by top universities around the world (such as Oxford, Harvard, etc.), and applying to NUS (National University of Singapore) or NTU (Nanyang Technological University) is also feasible.

Why do I say international schools are often the first stop? Because international schools provide comprehensive English supplementary education. For example, Stanford International, where the squirrel studies, offers two levels of language tutoring, PCS and EAL. For international students who do not have strong English skills, learning here will be more systematic. Not just from China, there are also many students from Japan and Korea, and international school students can also receive tutoring to help them qualify for public schools.

I previously wrote a post specifically introducing studying in international schools; interested friends can take a look.

Address: https://x.com/PhyrexNi/status/2034151357494792221?s=20

Public, private, and international schools in Singapore generally run up to 12th or 13th grade, which corresponds to high school graduation. In terms of tuition fees, public schools are the cheapest. If you obtain PR or citizenship, it rounds down to almost no cost. For EP holders, it still requires a few hundred Singapore dollars each month, which should be the lowest education cost.

Next is private schools. As mentioned earlier, the educational standards of private schools vary, so the fees also differ, typically ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 per year.

International schools are the most expensive, mainly divided into four tiers:

SS level: UWCSEA, Tanglin Trust School, Singapore American School, and Dulwich College, etc.

S level: SAIS (Stamford American International School)

A level: Dover Court, Overseas Family School, Canadian International School, and Chatsworth.

B level: One World International School, Global Indian International School, and Invictus.

SAIS is singled out because it is the only international school in Singapore that offers multiple graduation pathways. Students can choose the IB diploma, AP international diploma, or BTEC vocational diploma. In 2025, the average IB score was 34 points with a 96% passing rate.

These four tiers correspond to three price ranges; SS level and S level tuition fees are similar, typically around $45,000, while A level is about $35,000 and B level around $25,000. Commonly, the lower the grade, the cheaper the tuition, and the higher the grade, the more expensive the tuition. Therefore, tuition at international schools in Singapore generally increases each year.

There is also an application fee for schools, which is around $1,500. Different schools may have slight variations, but the differences are not significant. Registration fees can typically be transferred within schools of the same system. Additionally, I should mention that SAIS is often the first stop for friends in the cryptocurrency circle and is also the first stop for many Chinese students coming to Singapore.

Schools in Singapore generally have five years of primary school, three years of middle school, and four years of high school, and students generally follow their grade level, such as 10th grade being the second year of high school, and 6th grade being the first year of middle school. Most schools, including private and international schools, do not provide boarding, and only a few schools offer accommodation. Accommodation is generally off-campus.

In Singapore, there are many situations where parents are not around, and children study independently. In such cases, they often look for companies that specialize in providing boarding for students. There are several options, one person in a room costs around $2,000 per month, while two people sharing a room costs around $1,200 per month, of course, there are also more expensive and cheaper options, but this is generally the range, and there will usually be a "teacher" role to help handle some issues.

To be honest, I really do not recommend this arrangement; it is best if one or both parents can accompany the student. The international schools in Singapore are quite complex. If the parents are accompanying, it is not too extravagant; $3,000 a month can still secure a decent living environment, mainly consisting of HDB flats.

In addition to tuition and accommodation fees, Singapore's international schools also charge for equipment and other expenses, and every year there is an opportunity for study tours, mainly to places like Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia. In the past two years, Cambodia has been heavily criticized, so fewer trips have been made. These two items can add up to around $4,000 a year. The equipment fee includes a MacBook, which is basically not allowed to be taken home, along with some miscellaneous fees, so the total school expenses apart from tuition can be around $5,000 a year.

This doesn't include meal costs; most schools, except for private ones, have cafeterias, but you need to spend money. Some schools allow students to leave campus for meals starting from 9th grade, while students below 9th grade can only bring their own meals or eat at the school cafeteria, which is mostly self-service with various cuisines costing around $10, with slight variations but not significantly different.

So many friends ask me about pocket money apart from tuition; this pocket money actually includes meal expenses. Some boarding hostels provide dinner, while others do not. But generally speaking, daily meal expenses can be considered around $20 as saving money, especially since a meal at McDonald's costs over ten dollars here. Adding some clothing expenses and phone/internet costs, a budget of $1,000 per month is relatively low. However, if you can live on that, of course, there is no upper limit. I calculated that around $2,000 can provide a quite comfortable living since, after all, students' primary task is to study.

I almost forgot; schools also offer some extracurricular classes, some of which cost money while others do not. Each school is different, and students can choose. Popular sports in Singapore include football, basketball, swimming, and badminton. Singapore's public schools have a DSA (Direct School Admission) system, specifically allowing students to apply based on their special talents.

My personal suggestion is that less common opportunities may have a greater chance, like fencing, shooting, and equestrianism.

So overall, studying abroad in Singapore —

The median demands for international schools are:

School-related expenses: $40,000 per year.

Accommodation-related expenses: $20,000 per year.

Pocket money-related expenses: $20,000 per year.

Total: $80,000 per year

The median demands for private schools are:

School-related expenses: $20,000 per year.

Accommodation-related expenses: $20,000 per year.

Pocket money-related expenses: $20,000 per year.

Total: $60,000 per year

The median demands for public schools are:

School-related expenses: $10,000 per year.

Accommodation-related expenses: $20,000 per year.

Pocket money-related expenses: $20,000 per year.

Total: $50,000 per year

That’s about it; is there anything else to add?

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