The cost of an education

Now that I'm almost done with school, I'm facing the next big question: should I stay or should I go?

This is a beautiful city I live in-- it's clean, there's no pollution, you'll never lose your stuff unless you're really stupid, and nobody looks at my scarred legs. All in all, perfect. But there are social issues that may just limit my job prospects. The government has increased the levy a company has to pay for each foreign worker it hires. Singapore's government is doing this to slow down the massive intake of foreign talents in recent years. That's not exactly good news for many foreign students, I'm telling you.

Not that I don't want to go home. I super miss my friends and former colleagues. The Philippines still remains an option--an option I don't mind taking. Nothing beats working with wacky, irreverent creative minds, which Manila has in abundance. And there's nothing more comforting than talking to somebody in my native language without worrying that I'll end up being misunderstood.

I'm just really glad that if I do go home, I don't have any loans to worry about. I've met a couple of people who took out loans with massive interest just to study here. And while I salute them for their passion for learning, I would like to give an advice to fellow Flips who may think of doing the same thing: don't. Try to get a scholarship, like I did, especially if you want to study a liberal arts/communication postgrad degree. Worrying about your debt will surely keep you up late at night. Don't waste your 20's paying off your student loans. You may even end up in your 30's still paying them off.

If you plan to take an MBA in foreign institution, go ahead. MBA's are now dime a dozen, but to have that under your resume will surely open numerous doors. But a liberal arts, mass communication degree? It's debatable.  I've met Filipinos here who never studied in Singapore, but are earning 4,000 SGD-- far more than what I can hope for, in spite of being educated here. They're earning that much because they're engineers. But it's still a little disheartening to know that they never had to study here like I did. And let me tell you, NTU was super stressful, at least during my first sem. (Now, I don't care anymore, hehe!)

So there. That's my advice: don't take out loans to study in a foreign university, unless it's an MBA. Or if you're really loaded, ask your parents to pay for it. Calculate the financial cost of getting a foreign degree-- because sometimes, it may prove to be a burden rather than an asset.