Overseas Education

In Singapore, I have always wondered whether I should spend half a million on a university education overseas, or simply go to NUS at a small fraction of that price.
What distinguishes an overseas education from a local education for it to be worth that much?

In terms of academic knowledge acquired, there is almost no difference. If you go university seeking just to acquire textbook knowledge, than there is certainly nothing wrong with going to NUS. The academic rigour at NUS can definitely match the top universities in the world.

Why than, do so many Singaporeans ran to US/UK to study? Even more interesting, why do firms offer scholarships for Singaporeans to study in US/UK at a cost of half a million dollars when they could easily recruit NUS graduates or overseas graduates without paying out half a million dollars? Simply put, all firms seek to maximise profits, and they feel that the half a million dollars invested in human capital will more than make up for itself in the 6 years you are bonded to the company. [In other words, you are worth $8000 more a month to the company having an overseas education =X]. Either that or they're using taxpayers money and simply don't care. {I wish to believe the former but I suspect the later is true for a lot of scholarship boards}

I do not yet know the answer. But I do hope that I will grow to learn that answer.