I REFER to the letter, 'Does NUS still prefer muggers?' by Ms Angelina Phillips (June 3).

Admission to the National University of Singapore (NUS) is based on an applicant's university admission score (UAS), comprising six A-level subjects - the best four content subjects (that is, three H2 and one H1 content subjects, with at least one content subject from a contrasting discipline), Project Work and General Paper (GP) or Knowledge and Inquiry (KI).

In computing the UAS, Ms Phillips' son did not meet the competitive requirements for admission to the course of his choice at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, one of the more popular faculties at NUS.

In addition, the best Mother Tongue (MT) subject grade (for example, H1 MT or O-level higher MT) will be included in the scoring if it raises the applicant's UAS. The selection process of some faculties, such as Medicine and Law, includes interviews for applicants shortlisted based on the UAS.

KI was introduced in 2006 and has both a knowledge (content) component and a skills-

based component, and may be offered in lieu of GP. It can also be regarded as a contrasting subject by both Science and Arts students, and offered as a fourth H2 subject. The KI grade is not computed in the same way as the GP grade. For university admission, half the KI grade points will be counted towards GP and the other half can be counted as an H1 content-based grade.

The new A-level curriculum was introduced by the Ministry of Education in 2006, and the associated university admission criteria and the computing of the UAS apply to all A-level students. They have been widely published and discussed at various outreach events at junior colleges.

Since 2004, universities have been able to admit up to 10 per cent of each intake through discretionary admissions. These are students who have demonstrated special talent or passion in other areas, beyond academic grades. These special talents will be taken into consideration and a decision is made after interviews conducted by the relevant faculties. Information on discretionary admission and submission of additional information are highlighted on the online application form.

We suggest Ms Phillips' son sends in his appeal with additional information, such as achievements in academic competitions and co-curricular activities that are relevant to the course applied to. This will help us review his case holistically.

R. Rajaram
Director
Office of Admissions
National University of Singapore