Around 20,000 prospective students and scholarship aspirants turned up at this year's Scholarships and Top Universities Fair yesterday to meet representatives from some of the world's top institutions.

Now into its 17th year, the fair featured 31 universities from across the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia, and 10 scholarship boards. The exhibitors included prestigious American institutions such as Princeton, Stanford and Brown, and Australia's University of Sydney.

Firms and organisations, such as the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Spring Singapore and the Ministry of Home Affairs, were also on site to offer advice on scholarship opportunities.

The event, organised by the Singapore Press Holdings' Integrated Marketing Division, was held at the Suntec City Convention and Exhibition Centre from 10am to 6pm.

It was an extension of The Straits Times Scholars' Choice supplement and admission was free.

Innova Junior College student Justin Indra, who is taking his A levels this year, was among those who turned up at 10am.

The 19-year-old, who spent over an hour at the fair, was able to find out more about admissions, applications and campus life for the two US universities he is most interested in. "The fair is great in terms of variety," he said. "I liked that I was able to interact with school representatives."

Representatives from organisations such as the British Council, High Commission of Canada, the US Education Information Centre and EducationUSA Singapore Advising Centre were also present to take queries about studying abroad.

Ms Zhera Ratani, director of education at EducationUSA Singapore Advising Centre, said she was heartened by the turnout at the centre's seminar on admission processes. Its booth also attracted many students. "It has been a good chance to reach out to them," she said.