One-Stop Web Portal Developed by theRightU Helps Students Enter University

Singapore, Singapore, March 28, 2013 --(PR.com)-- A Singapore-based start-up, theRightU, has developed a comprehensive suite of web-based tools, comprising a website, online discussion forum and mobile app, to assist pre-university students in applying to and preparing for university, effectively becoming an industry leader in the education counselling and consulting sector.

Conceived by former A*STAR researcher Chan Khai Leok, a PhD-holder from Cambridge University in the UK, and his friend Sean Quek, who graduated with an MBA from Harvard University in the US, theRightU aims to help youths keen on pursuing higher education adapt to and capitalise on the shifting trends within the education sector to achieve their aspirations.

In recent years, the growing demand for higher education, fierce competition among Singaporean youths as well as non-citizen pre-university students for limited places in government-endorsed universities has resulted in many fairly competent students falling through the cracks of the local education system.

For example, the number of students leaving Singapore to study in the UK has risen 10-18% every annum from 2008 to 2012, hitting a record high of 4840 last year.

As an outcome, there exists a significantly large pool of youths interested in pursuing higher education who would have to try their luck with foreign varsities; a path which might not initially appeal to them.

“One of the reasons why the Singapore education system is so stressful is the limited number of university places here. If Singaporean parents are aware that there are many university choices available, and that the cost of university education overseas is not that expensive, I think they wouldn’t stress their kids out so much, and would give them more space and time to grow and learn at their own pace.” - Dr Chan Khai Leok

Additionally, a lack of exposure to information on the wide range of (in some cases, slightly more obscure) degree programmes available internationally means that many Singaporean youths would not have been able to make fully-informed decisions on their higher education preferences, by no fault of their own.

theRightU's one-stop-portal, theRightU.com, aims to resolve this problem by means of consolidating large quantities of information and providing analytics/analysis via data-crunching tools that students and staff can use, which empowers the individual and creates a dynamic research experience.

Youths will have full access to comprehensive online databases, which will allow them to conduct research on varsities (including theRightU’s twenty university partners), courses and career options independently before approaching a theRightU consultant for personalised coaching and application support.

One of the more unique characteristics of theRightU.com is the academic and interest profiling feature, which formulates customised résumés, containing a set of course and career preferences alongside academic details provided by users.

These internal résumés can be used to algorithmically determine course and university eligibility, admission probabilities and referred to for recommendations for specific degree programmes.

Also, there will be no shortage of opportunities for students to pick the brains of theRightU staff members, all of whom have lived and studied abroad, not only in person but through the myriad of social media platforms utlilised by theRightU.

Two other highlights among the services provided by theRightU include a forum and a mobile app.

Via the forum, students will be able to communicate with their peers, exchange insight on academic matters and get any technical questions answered by theRightU consultants.

The ever-changing nature of socio-economics coupled with the state’s drive to promote certain sectors/industries over others means that the popularity of degree programmes, universities and jobs is not likely to remain constant, and education consultancies have to be able to be nimble enough to adapt quickly to these morphing trends.

Through sentiment crowdsourcing and analysis via the forum as well as data collection, theRightU hopes to stay ahead of the curve with the information and resources it provides.

The mobile app is presently available for free in iTunes under the name theRightU – University Application Forecasting, and has been used about 30,000 times since its public launch in January 2013.

This nifty tool assesses admission probabilities by analysing applicants' academic grades and subject preferences against a variety of factors such as universities' entry requirements, historical university acceptance rates and crowd-sourced application success rates.

Studying overseas has never been easier. There are a lot more universities now that take in students from abroad. There are more grants, scholarships and student loan schemes available, including the CPF Education Scheme. Tuition fees of universities in some countries such as Germany can be as low as S$1000 per year - much lower than that of local universities. The Sing Dollar has also appreciated significantly against the Euro, the Pound and the US Dollar. So it’s cheaper, better, and there are more choices.

- Dr Chan Khai Leok

Ultimately, theRightU hopes that by making university education more accessible, it can contribute to youth and societal development as well as continue to innovate within the realm of education technology.

Min Cheong
Media and Communications Strategist
theRightU
+65 9832 2241
mincheong@therightu.com

Chan Khai Leok
Director
theRightU
+65 9221 5066
khaileok@therightu.com