TAN Siang Ting, 18, scored seven A1s in her O levels.

She went to a top junior college but pulled out after four months to take the path less trodden.

She joined SIM to pursue a degree in business administration, awarded by the University at Buffalo (UB), The State University of New York.

Currently, the second-year student figures among the top in her cohort, with a grade point average of 3.9 out of 4.

Taking this route also means she can complete her degree earlier than her peers. Increasingly, students like Miss Tan are exploring the private route, due to a plethora of courses now available.

Before the Global Schoolhouse initiative was launched in 2002, most private schools were offering courses limited to business, commerce, information technology and languages.

Now, students have never before been so spoilt for choice. Apart from a wide variety of business and finance programmes, students can pursue courses in psychology, tourism, hospitality, computer game development and art.

Many of these programmes have their own unique factors, like accreditation from overseas and local professional associations, skill specialisation and faster completion times.

There are now also more schools for you to choose from.

An Education Ministry (MOE) spokesman said that in the last year alone, 23 new private schools registered with the MOE.

This brings the list of private schools here to a total of 283 as at last month, including the two private arts institutions, Lasalle and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

This year, the sector looks to get a further boost with the introduction of a stronger accreditation scheme, to help students make better choices.

Despite news reports of a few bad hats in the industry, the sector is set to soar.

In 2002, the education sector accounted for just 1.9 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), or about $3 billion. Figures from the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed that in 2006, the sector contributed 3.2 per cent, or $6.7 billion.

Beyond the numbers, the student population has also expanded in variety and quality. In the 1990s, private education was mostly for students who could not make it into mainstream schools.

More students are now choosing the private education route even though they can get into junior college or polytechnic.

For students who are inclined towards the arts, going the private route means that they can pursue their passion and hone their craft in whatever area that they want, be it in visual arts, film, fine arts or performing arts.

In today's globalised world, there is room in the job market for graduates in these areas - they can work in advertising agencies, production houses, museums and even auction houses.

As the Singapore economy develops, ambitious students are not limited to traditional fields like accountancy and law.

Since the announcement of Singapore's integrated resorts, more schools are offering hospitality and tourism courses, some of which are featured in this guide.

Ripe for the picking

The most telling change in the private education landscape is the influx of foreign students from countries like Myanmar, India, China, the Philippines, Africa and even Europe.

Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Iswaran noted last March that Singapore hosted over 80,000 students from 120 nations in 2006.

For Singaporean students, more foreigners will help expand our perspectives with those who come from a different culture.

Foreign students who have come from far-flung Europe and the US have said that they chose this country to be in the centre of Asia, in which exciting things are happening.

For those from less developed countries in the region, Singapore is a land of opportunities.

And with the right education, those opportunities - for both Singaporeans and foreigners - are ripe for the picking.