NUS vs NTU Financial Aid 2026: Bursary Comparison

Q: Which university has better financial aid, NUS or NTU?
A: There is no universal winner. Both universities combine the same AY2026 government bursary with institution-specific support. Your citizenship, household assessment, programme, year of entry, and approved expenses can change the final package.

TL;DR Start with the four AY2026 government bursary bands below. Then compare the university top-ups: NUS publishes full tuition coverage up to PCI S$1,100, a S$4,000 annual living allowance up to PCI S$750, and a conditional S$10,000 Opportunity Enhancement Grant. NTU publishes full tuition coverage up to PCI S$1,100, a S$3,000 living allowance for its "lowest income tier", and a separate NTU Opportunity Grant for eligible freshmen from AY2026/27.

Last reviewed: 19 July 2026. This comparison covers full-time Singapore Citizen undergraduates in general degree programmes. Medicine, Dentistry, Permanent Resident, international-student, part-time, and loan arrangements have different rules or amounts.

Important source discrepancy: MOE changed its government bursary bands from AY2026. NTU's current bursary page still describes full tuition support using "the two lowest income brackets" and PCI up to S$1,100, while MOE's two lowest AY2026 bands now end at PCI S$1,375. Treat NTU's published S$1,100 university top-up threshold as a separate rule, and use your formal financial-aid assessment for the living-allowance tier.

Quick links: Bursaries hub, NUS Enhanced Financial Aid profile, NTU Bursary profile, Scholarship and Bursary Matcher

AY2026 Government Bursary Base

The Higher Education Community Bursary and Higher Education Bursary are government schemes. Their annual amounts are the same for eligible general-degree undergraduates at NUS and NTU.