SINGAPORE: A foreign Master’s student at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has sparked a debate on Reddit by questioning the university’s admission of Mainland Chinese students, expressing concerns over their English proficiency and lack of social interaction with peers from other nationalities.
The discussion, posted on 16 March in the r/nus subreddit, asked, “How does NUS accept students from Mainland China who barely know basic English and are not at all open towards socialising with other nationalities? Anyone experienced this?”
The post quickly gained traction and sparked a wide-ranging debate among Redditors.
“They Meet the Requirements,” Redditor Says
Some users responded by defending the admission of Mainland Chinese students to NUS, arguing that they meet the necessary academic and administrative requirements.
One user pointed out that these students have the required good entry grades, can pass the English written exam, and pay full fees that are not subsidised.
“How they speak or mingle in the university is not part of the entry requirements,” the user said.
Another echoed this, saying that they are accepted because they fulfil the academic requirements and are able to pay full fees.
“How will the school be able to predict how they behave?”
However, one user noted that NUS Master’s programmes have long been “China-dominated.”
They suggested that NUS is viewed as a top institution in China, and Singapore may also be trying to maintain the Chinese race ratio—especially if these students later become permanent residents.
“NUS doesn’t really care about being too international as long as the top students contribute to NUS,” they said.
Another commenter brought up the issue of Singapore’s low birth rate, noting that this has influenced NUS’s postgraduate marketing strategies.
“NUS knows Singapore’s low birth rate affects the number of local undergrad and postgrad students, so they focus a lot on overseas markets.”
Reddit Users Share Similar Experiences
While some defended the admission requirements, others shared personal experiences highlighting similar challenges in different institutions.
One user shared a similar experience involving their friend at a local university, NTU. During a group project, the friend was the only Singaporean among four PRC students.
Although he was open to the experience and saw it as a learning opportunity, the group later asked if he could switch with one of their peers due to “communication and cultural challenges.”
Another user recounted their own experience studying in the United States. They said they attended a regular university in New York State and encountered a group of Chinese nationals who only spoke Chinese.
“They did not interact with non-Chinese students and preferred to work alone or only with other Asians in group projects,” the user said.
Some users also raised concerns about language barriers. One commenter observed that many Chinese students struggled with English communication and comprehension, saying they often couldn’t complete sentences or present fluently.
However, the user clarified that such issues were not exclusive to Chinese students.
“This also happened with some European students too. English is my third language, and I worked hard to be understood. I hope other foreign students can do the same,” they said.
OP Defends Concerns About Cultural Integration
Some users accused the original poster (OP) of showing a negative attitude towards the PRC students, but OP defended their position.
One user advised OP to avoid being too xenophobic, recalling a similar experience and noting, “I once felt the same, but once you get closer to them, they’re like brothers and sisters.”
The user also pointed out that PRC students can be helpful in areas like networking and technical issues.
OP responded by stating that they held no ill will towards anyone and were fine with their presence.
However, they expressed frustration at being unable to collaborate effectively in group projects or engage in meaningful class discussions due to cultural and language barriers.
“There are only two non-PRC students in my class, and we often feel left out,” OP explained.
One user criticized OP for their negative attitude, questioning why they expected PRC students to socialise with them.
They explained that PRC students were admitted because they excel academically in their native language.
OP defended their stance, stating that their frustration stemmed from the lack of a global mindset among some students.
They felt that these students did not appreciate diversity and that someone needed to break the cycle of exclusion.
OP also pointed out that, as a paying student, they deserved international exposure, which they felt was lacking.
Another user challenged OP’s perspective, suggesting that not everyone would meet OP’s expectations.
They argued that OP, as an adult, should have done proper research on Master’s programmes and not blamed the university for their poor experience.
OP clarified that they would not have minded if the issue was simply weak English proficiency, but they claimed that some students struggled to understand even basic questions.
Disappointed, OP shared that they had hoped to network, make friends, and learn about different cultures, but instead, the PRC students mostly spoke among themselves, leaving OP feeling excluded.
“Rankings Aren’t Everything”: Redditor Says NUS Prestige Doesn’t Reflect Student Experience
In addition to concerns about cultural integration, OP also questioned the broader significance of NUS’s rankings, asking how the university justifies its global standing despite what they perceived as poor quality and a lack of diversity.
However, one Redditor argued the ranking doesn’t reflect the actual student experience.
They suggested that overseas, people are often more impressed by “Singapore” than NUS itself, with the country’s reputation for efficiency and order boosting the university’s image.
According to the user, NUS’s ranking is largely driven by research output rather than teaching quality. The university attracts top researchers with generous grants, but it wasn’t built to produce great thinkers like Ivy League schools. Instead, it was meant to support the local economy.
Still, the user acknowledged NUS’s academic rigour. They said they did the bare minimum during an exchange in Ireland and earned a First Class grade, but doing the same in NUS would likely land them on probation.
On diversity, the user said it depends on the definition. Singapore is already ethnically diverse, and NUS has many exchange students. Many local students also come from immigrant backgrounds.
Ultimately, they dismissed global rankings as overrated, comparing them to toilet paper—useful at times, but meaningless after.
They added that even universities outside the top 100 can be more prestigious locally, and unless one plans to go into academia, rankings don’t matter much.
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