In all honesty, I'm not an NUS guru or anything like that. What I can say is that I was definitely a lost sheep when I first stepped into NUS, where I was still in Architecture and I was more lost than ever when I headed into FASS (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences). I had really nice friends, especially Gernelle Ng, who helped me a whole lot along the way (& I really thank God for that!) and I thought maybe I should give some introductory advice about how to go about when you start school. Also credits to Zach for also provided me with so much info about FASS and uni on the whole.
If you are my friend or stalker(hee.), the key reason why I decided to change my course was because I really hated my life in Architecture. 1) I wasn't enjoying university at all, in fact, I always felt very negative. 2) It wasn't what I had planned my university life to be. I wanted to have friends, CCA, lots of fun and social life which obviously design students can never afford. Unless you're some damn zai student which I was not! 3) Don't even talk about life, I barely had enough sleep. 6 hours was a privilege.. 4) Architecture required a mother load lot of passion which I guess I didn't have. 5) Ah well! the list goes on.
I'm really just not cut out for that kind of lifestyle I guess.
I actually wrote a module review for my first semester but it's really full of profanities, maybe I'll upload it after omitting it abit. heh!
Perhaps you have had already heard these advices from seniors or friends around you but here are some tips to go about starting your first semester in NUS and FASS in particular. But here it is:
The Unofficial Freshmen Guide to surviving your first semester in NUS, particularly FASS
1) Know what is a bell curve
Holy crap! I think many of us freshies will think of it like Poly days or A levels where we can just do really well and get straight As all the time. Here, unless you are from China or your brain does not fall under the category of an average human, it is almost impossible. And this I say, is because of the bell curve. The bell curve of the particular determines your grade, and the grade of the bell curve is determined by how smart the students taking that module in that semester are and how hard the paper of the module is. I've seen many blogs (like here) taking a whole entry talking about the bell curve but what you have to know is only 25% of students in a module achieves above an A-, which means not everyone can get the A they deserve. This is because NUS wants some differentiation CAP and honours classification.
Thus, be ambitious, aim high, start the race strong but you shouldn't feel too disappointed if you do not get an A because in my opinion, getting a A-/B+ can be strangely satisfying too.
If you're feeling superstitious, you can also pray to the bell curve god, here. lol.
2) Know what is a core, GEM, Breadth, SS module + clearing basket (for FASS students)
NUS has this "smart" idea to create for us students a holistic education system by requiring us to take extra modules outside our faculty. It's quite a good thing that they let us S/U the module, which means the grades do not count in our CAP but it's more or less pretty time consuming itself. When I first entered FASS, I knew NOTHING about module selection even being one sem in NUS thus I did the most ridiculous thing by choosing ALL the core modules under the same basket, WTS. Well anyway, There isn't much explaining to do except personal naiveness and stupidity.
Here's a useful link you can see that details out the whole modular system. It explains what is a GEM, Breath and SS, for FASS students the clearing basket stuff, and all you need to know under the sun about modules to clear.
3) Read every module review but take everything with a pinch of salt.
If you had went to orientation camps and all that sort of stuff, you'll probably hear many seniors emphasising to read module reviews. It can through blog entries or personal accounts in real life which gives you transparent opinions to modules that you are particularly interested in taking. There's a module review website too, which I don't actually use because it loads so bloody slowly.. ugh lol. Anyway upon looking up on module reviews, look for semester, year and professor - the 3 main things that determine the review of the each module.
It is in FASS where modules are particularly important because we do not exactly have a fixed set of modules to take and we need to look out for what we are suppose to take. Thus, module reviews can be useful guides to choose the "right" modules.
Why do I say take module reviews with a pinch of salt is because everyone has a different opinion for each module and sometimes grades they receive also affect what they feel about the module. You will still encounter terribly time consuming/ difficult modules which are mandatory for your major, thus you must know that hard work is still required. Also, don't forget Mr. Bellcurve smiling at you, even if it's an easy/ slack module, the bell curve is there to differentiate you from the rest. Thus, it can be useful but it may not be all truthful nor necessary. I suggest that when you look at these reviews, see certain traits they had describe of how they had studied for the module and match it with your mugging style.
I'll be putting my sem 2 module review up as well , heh.
4) Go make friends
No man is an island. Don't be a lazy ass, go for camps and orientation week. Actually my first note should be, you NEED friends in any faculty and especially FASS. Seniors, freshmen whatever, you need friends from everywhere to tell you how to go about studying, living in university. If you are solely relying on guides online, then maybe you are retarded. Friends will give you ad hoc and downright opinions and know exact advices to give you. Make as many friends as you can first then settle down to a comfortable group of friends that you can hang out with.
5) Don't only go for the smarts, make good friends that are reliable and sociable
Maybe this might not apply to everyone but to people who are so pumped up to score super well for their first sem. Making friends with those high flyers, wouldn't exactly benefit you the most but really, it's the friends who stick with you through thick and thin and are willing to lend a hand to share their notes with you that are gonna benefit you (and each other) a hell lot. I'm not trying to say they are not intelligent (I mean they're, after all, in university) but they are much less selfish than those people who wanna ruin the bell curve. They also probably have seniors or other friends who would provide you with some tips of going about a module. Not only that, they're probably much more friendly and less competitive, so you'll feel really at ease and happy in school. You can bitch about your profs, assignments and almost anything under the sun. Plus, you guys can join CCAs, club, go gym and do nonsensical stuff together.
Ultimately, they make your university a lot more interesting and worth while, and you can slack more, hee.
6) Have lotsa fun!
Don't just study your life away, make sure you have fun. FASS students have the slackest time table. Of course we have to mug, but seriously, don't be a no life because there are many opportunities to learn new things and do make the most out of it. :) Same applies to other faculty students!
Final Note Oh yes, the Year 1s in 2014 are fortunate enough to have a CAPless semester for the first semester (seniors all grumbling abt it. heh!) but don't be fooled by your privileges as taking this sen for granted may hinder your dilution of Bs and Cs grades, so be warned and do your calculations to that. I may not be the best or most mathematical person to tell you about it but you can read about more about the CAPless semester here.
Yup, I really thank God for having really good friends who are willing to open up to a new student to FASS and helping me through so much emotional and mental downhills during this semester 2. I feel really blessed and fortunate to have them around :'))
All the best for the exciting university life that awaits! Feel free to ask questions :)
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