This is not a drill.
I will be starting university next Monday.
I'm not really sure how I feel about this. On one hand I'm excited. The long break I've been on since April was getting bothersome as I didn't know what to do with myself every day. At least studying is doing something. Furthermore, there are lots of interesting modules in the university that I can't wait to try.
On the flip side, I'm apprehensive about a lot of things. University is a step up from polytechnic and I'm afraid I won't be able to cope with the heavier demands. Multiple-choice questions in tests and examinations now also come with a strange new mechanic called negative marking.
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Negative marking
We all had to do problem sums in primary school right? You might recognise a type of problem sum that looks like this:
In a Maths quiz, each pupil had to answer 20 questions. 5 points were
given for each correct answer and 2 points were taken away from each
wrong answer. Mirabel answered all questions and scored 79 points. How
many questions did she answer correctly? (Taken from http://studyroom.sg/11/)
Don't waste your time working out the answer (which is 17, by the way). I just wanted to use this example to illustrate what negative marking is. Basically, it means taking away marks for wrong answers. Sadistic eh? And who knew that those irritating problem sums were actually based on real life scenarios? I certainly didn't. Not when other problem sums talked about Ali carrying home 25 watermelons, Shruti baking 148 cupcakes, or Ah Boy raising 37 horses on his farm!
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A new school and new environment also means new people. That frightens me. Heck, even old people frighten me.
But I have to simply suck it up and move on, and survive as best I can like I always have.
Preview of Year 1 Semester 1
This is something I intend to do before each semester. I will write briefly about my CORS bids and modules I will be taking during the semester.
But first, what on earth is CORS?
Many adults I know, and even some of my peers, have problems getting their head around the concept of bidding for modules. But it's really not that hard to understand.
In NUS, the Centralised Online Registration System (CORS) functions as the "auction house" where we go to "buy" our modules of choice. Before every semester, we are each given 1000 points to spend. We typically take five modules per semester. This means we have to split the 1000 points among the five modules we want. No, we can't simply put 200 points on each module because some modules are more popular than others for various reasons and go for a higher price. Also, naturally a student might want one or two out of the five modules more urgently or fervently and choose to bid more for them and less for the other modules. So all these have to be taken into account when weighing up the bid amounts.
Let's look at a practical example from my own CORS bidding exercise. I was pre-allocated two-and-a-half modules so I only bid for three more. Pre-allocation simply means you are given the module and don't have to bid for it, though you do have to pay one point. I wanted NM1101E, PL1101E, and EL1101E.
Those three modules are paid for using the Programme account, which holds 600 points out of the 1000 with the other 400 going to the General account. I had 598 points left after paying for two of the pre-allocated modules. The third was paid for with the General account as it is a university-wide compulsory requirement. Note that this 600-400 ratio applies to students from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) and may not apply to students from other faculties.
So basically I had to split 598 points among the three modules. I looked at historical trends to base my decision on. PL1101E is traditionally expensive because it is required for psychology majors and psychology is a popular major. NM1101E was a strange creature. In some years it went for one point while in others it spiked to almost 200. EL1101E is insipid and can be secured for one point most of the time.
Obviously I bid higher for PL1101E and NM1101E. But during the bidding exercise itself, it is possible to react to the situation too. This happened when I saw that the number of students bidding for EL1101E was about 100 fewer than the total capacity of the module. In cases where modules are undersubscribed like this, everyone who bids gets the module for one point. I also saw that PL1101E was oversubscribed, with more bidders than available places. With about an hour left before the close of bidding, I slashed the allotment of points for EL1101E and redistributed them to the other two modules.
After the close of bidding, and in the event that a particular module is oversubscribed, the system will rank all the bids from highest to lowest, and the top X will get the module where X is the quota of students accepted by that module. All successful bidders pay only the lowest successful bid amount, with the rest of their bid points being refunded. Unsuccessful bidders are fully refunded.
Leftover points are carried over to the next semester's bidding exercise.
I hope this crash course in CORS helped you to understand it a little better if you aren't acquainted with it already! Moving on...
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
This is important to know as I will mention it again later.
The Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) option allows students to "wipe away" undesirable grades. The modules that are S/U-ed will still contribute modular credits (MCs) towards graduation as long as the student passed, but the grades will not be counted in the calculation of the Cumulative Average Point (CAP).
Of course there are rules. Students can only S/U 32 MCs worth of modules, or 20 MCs for polytechnic diploma holders, which is equivalent to 8 or 5 modules respectively. Not all modules are S/U-able: only Level 1 and a handful of Level 2 modules are eligible.
The common practice among students going for Honours is to S/U anything worse than a B-minus, though judgement and caution are required. There is no one-size-fits-all approach.
My modules this semester
CFG1010: Roots and Wings
Number of MCs: 2, so I call it a "half-module" as a regular module is 4 MCs
Grading: CS/CU, does not count towards the CAP or S/U allowance.
CORS bidding result: Pre-allocated for one point from the Programme account
Format: There are no physical lectures and only two face-to-face workshops in
the entire semester, although obviously some effort is required for
coursework in order to get the CS grade.
This is a career-preparedness/lifeskills/motivation/meditation/leadership/some other fluff module. It is pre-allocated to all freshmen in either Semester 1 or 2 by default. Although it has not been formalised as a graduation requirement at the time of this writing, it is a prerequisite for ALL internship modules including Compulsory Internship Programme modules like NM3550Y.
GER1000: Quantitative Reasoning
Number of MCs: 4
Grading: Standard letter grades, eligible for S/U
CORS bidding result: Pre-allocated for one point from the General account after successful appeal through CORS
Format: All lectures are e-lectures and face-to-face tutorials are held on alternate weeks
All students in NUS will be pre-allocated this module. In my case, I wanted it this semester as the schedule was a match made in heaven with my other modules. But I was unlucky and it was not given to me at first. Fortunately, my appeal was granted and I was pre-allocated the module in the end. The module is about statistics and probability, and is intended to impart skills such as scientific and critical thinking so that students will stop blindly believing any report that has numbers in it. Correlation =/= causation, anyone?
FAS1101: Writing Academically
Number of MCs: 4
Grading: Standard letter grades, eligible for S/U but if I am forced to S/U it I would be a disgrace to my Academic Writing lecturer in Temasek Polytechnic
CORS bidding result: Pre-allocated for one point from the Programme account
Format: All lectures are e-lectures and face-to-face tutorials are held every week
The title of the module is self-explanatory. This module teaches students how to write academic papers. Its sister module, FAS1102, teaches writing for public consumption in various formats. Students in FASS take one module in their first semester and the other in their second, with the exact order being decided randomly for each student.
EL1101E: The Nature of Language
Number of MCs: 4
Grading: Standard letter
grades, eligible for S/U but if I am forced to S/U it I would be a
disgrace to my mother, who graduated from NUS with a Bachelor of Arts in English
CORS bidding result: Bid two points, won for one point
Format: Face-to-face lectures and tutorials every week
This fulfils part of the Exposure requirement where FASS students have to explore the introductory modules from the three divisions within the Faculty. I am actually quite excited for this module. Its content includes things like phonetics, morphology, semantics and syntax. I would love to know more about what goes on in the English language and how everything works!
PL1101E: Introduction to Psychology
Number of MCs: 4
Grading: Standard letter
grades, eligible for S/U but if I am forced to S/U it I would be a
disgrace to the entire Psychology Studies department in Temasek Polytechnic
CORS bidding result: Bid 303 points, won for 10 points
Format: Face-to-face lectures and tutorials every week
My plan is to do a minor in psychology so this is one of the modules I must do. What more can I say? This module touches on the key areas of psychology like biological, cognitive, social, developmental, and abnormal. Assessment is 100% test- and exam-based with plenty of memorisation necessary. In other words, a bog-standard psychology module. I predict a lot of my stress coming from here...
NM1101E: Communications, New Media and Society
Number of MCs: 4
Grading: Standard letter
grades, eligible for S/U but if I am forced to S/U it I would be a
disgrace to myself
CORS bidding result: Bid 293, won for one point
Format: Face-to-face lectures and tutorials every week
This is the basic module for my intended major in Communications and New Media (CNM). It touches on the three areas within CNM: media studies, interactive media design, and communication management. I hope this will be a fun module with plenty of coursework, to offset the dreariness of some of my other modules.
I will be taking on a total workload of 22 MCs this semester. This is slightly more than the usual 20 MCs because of the extra 2 MCs from CFG1010, but that module will have to be cleared at some point so I might as well do it now while I still have all my S/U allowances to fall back on if I drop the ball on any of the other modules.
Well, just like everything else in my life, the next few months look set to be a crazy and wild ride. I can only buckle up and hang on, take things one day at a time, and see what comes out on the other side.
