Less than two days back, the Singapore GCE A-Level results were announced, leaving students all over Singapore with either the exhilaration, happiness and triumph that come with excellent results, or the disappointment and sheer weariness that come with less-than-good results. But no matter the results, key questions remain. What do you do now? What do you want to do in the future?

For students with excellent results, the general approach is obvious. Overseas university offers are to be replied to, and scholarships are to be scouted and applied for. But even these seemingly easy steps may not be as simple as they look. If you are among the few with the luxury to choose between the very best of universities, which conditional offer should you accept now that you’ve garnered top rate results? Which scholarship should you focus on given that you meet the requirements for every single one of them?

The answer is a cliche: It depends. Now, it would take at least ten pages worth of text to discuss the various factors involved in such choices, so the only advice I’ll give is to make sure you do your research. You’ve done it for the past two years, so persevere in these last moments, and make sure your decision is the best you could have made. Understandably, many choices would already have been made. Options with regard to universities are now limited. If you haven’t already applied to US or UK universities, you’re probably out of luck. (However, certain US and UK universities may still accept late applications, which they will only consider if they have unfilled spaces.)

But choices on scholarships will still have to be made. A government scholarship, or a corporate one? A local or overseas one? While it is possible to apply to every single scholarship in Singapore, it will not be possible to focus on every one of them. You’ll need to do research on the company or organisation offering the scholarship, the universities that organisation prefers, the interview and testing style employed by the organisation, etc.

So, get your butt moving if you haven’t already. After all, the deadline for most scholarships is two weeks after receiving your A-Level results (March 1st). That’s less than 12 days from now.