BrightSparks Survey 2020 was conducted for its 13th consecutive year, polling GCE ‘A’ Level and International Baccalaureate (IB) students and graduates, polytechnic students, and university undergraduates to examine their higher education, scholarships, and career preferences.

A total of 4,009 participated in the survey this year, 794 more than the 3,215 respondents last year. We have gathered some findings particularly pertinent for students below:

NUS tops scholarship provider rankings

NUS and NTU remained the top scholarship providers for three years running from 2018 to 2020 for JC/IB and Polytechnic students. This may be because their scholarships are bond-free.

Healthcare still the most attractive sector

Same as last year, healthcare and government service remained the most attractive sectors for respondents. Healthcare experienced a steady interest and government service seems to continue to be perceived as an “iron rice bowl” with little job volatility.

Graduates expect pay of at least $3,000

Graduate pay expectations continued to be in the $3,000 - $4,000/month range. However, same as last year, a significant number of respondents expected pay in the $4,000 - $5,000/month range.

BrightSparks continues to be leading source of scholarship information and application

BrightSparks continued to be the leading source of scholarship information for a majority of students, vastly preferred over other sources. It also was the preferred method of scholarship application, as it offers a one-stop application service which allows the student to apply to many different organisations at once without having to re-enter the same data.