Yale-NUS College, which took in its fifth batch of students this academic year, has the largest intake to date, of 248 students.

At this number, the liberal arts college, a tie-up between US Ivy League university Yale and the National University of Singapore, comes close to its original plan to grow its annual class size to 250 students. It took in under 200 students for the first three years and increased its intake to 225 last year.

College officials yesterday said the 129 Singaporeans coming in this year make up the largest pool of students. They are from 28 schools across the island, including the polytechnics.

They will be joined by students from 44 other countries, with the largest number coming from the United States, India, China and South Korea.

Yale-NUS said the students were selected from 8,773 applicants worldwide based on a holistic admission process which takes into account the students' academic and extracurricular achievements.

Yale-NUS director of admissions Laura Severin said: "The drive and passion for learning that we have seen in the incoming class, combined with their diverse skills and experiences, will enrich the lively exchanges of ideas in the Yale-NUS community of learning."

College officials noted that some members of the new class are following in the footsteps of their siblings who joined Yale-NUS earlier.

One of them is American Boden Franklin, whose sister Anne Caroline Franklin graduated recently. He said he was encouraged by his sister's "transformative experience at Yale-NUS".

Yale-NUS officials said many incoming students are deeply involved in the community, such as Wong Cai Jie from Meridian Junior College. Fluent in sign language and a volunteer with the Singapore Association for the Deaf, she hopes to bridge the gaps between the hearing and deaf communities.

Another student fired up over causes is Ngee Ann Polytechnic graduate Terence Choo.

The 24-year-old, who studied business and social enterprise, learned sign language to help the hearing impaired. He said part of the attraction of Yale-NUS was the opportunity to learn with students from different cultures.

His classmate Jannell Natasha Job, who also came through the polytechnic route, said she is looking forward to the broad-based education. "At Yale-NUS, I hope to combine the study of law with psychology. I can also take up other subjects and, over the years, gain an understanding of issues that impact societies and people," she said.