Happy at home Ms Magdalene Lie chooses to stay in Singapore on the NUS Global Merit Scholarship instead of going overseas to study By April Chua MS MAGDALENE Lie, 20, seriously considered the London School of Economics and the University of Warwick, two top universities in the United Kingdom, for her undergraduate studies. But after finding out more about what the National University of Singapore (NUS) has to offer, she had a change of heart. “I realised that an education at NUS would also provide the academic rigour and teaching quality that I was hoping for, all without having to leave the comforts of home,” says Ms Lie, currently a first-year law student and a NUS Global Merit Scholarship holder. She adds: “I don’t regret choosing to stay local at all — rather, I realised after being here for months that I am glad to still have my family and friends in close proximity. Many students my age tend to forget how difficult it is to be apart from their support systems when they go overseas.” Ms Lie, whose favourite subjects were history and literature, says she chose to do Law because she is strong in analysis and critical thinking. There is also the oratorical argument element — something she has experience in from participating in school debates. She is looking forward to a career in the legal profession and says she is particularly attracted to negotiation and intellectual property. “I think the most interesting thing about being in law is how critical it is to the functioning of a society — how a strong legal foundation along with adherence and enforcement of that foundation holds a country together,” she adds. “Law also allows you to understand how people work — how creative or destructive they can be.” She says the NUS Global Merit Scholarship appealed to her for two reasons — it is bond-free and it provides for a one-year exchange programme in her third year of studies at NUS. On the overseas exchange programme, Ms Lie says it will allow her to enjoy “the best of both worlds — the chance to study overseas at one of NUS’s many exchange programme schools, while not being separated for an extended period of time from family and friends.” But being on a scholarship can sometimes be stressful too, says the former Singapore Chinese Girls’ School and Anglo-Chinese Junior College student. “I definitely feel pressure from having this scholarship, as it requires me to maintain a B+ average in all modules each semester. It makes getting Bs or Cs that much more stressful when getting tests back!” she quips. “But the standard is definitely achievable with consistent work, and the benefits accorded by the scholarship are well worth it.”