You see, students at the National University of Singapore (NUS) are provided with a certain number of credits to exercise the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grade option (S/U) on. When we S/U a grade, we can still count it toward our degree, but it won't affect our Cumulative Average Point (CAP).
I started with 20 modular credits (MCs), or the equivalent of 5 standard modules, worth of S/Us. Last semester I S/Ued one module in which I got a B, leaving me with 16MCs, in other words 4 modules, this semester.
But I don't need any S/Us this semester, having got 2 CS grades, 2 A+ grades, 1 A grade, and 1 A- grade. Well yeah, technically I can S/U the A-, but I'm not that kind of student (read: perfectionist) and besides, S/Uing an A- can come back and bite you on the bum if you cop a B or C near the end of your university education and have no S/Us left. An A-, for all intents and purposes, is a very good grade and will effectively counteract an unS/Uable B or C somewhere down the road, so the advice from generations of seniors who've played this game before is to keep it.
Now, the problem is that this is my second semester. Next semester is my third, and according to the rules of this game, I can only carry with me 12MCs, which is 3 modules, of S/Us. Basically, 4MCs, the equivalent of 1 module, of my S/U entitlement will be wasted. Brutally snuffed out before fulfilling its true purpose in life.
That makes me sad.
Could I have avoided this sticky situation? Theoretically, yes. I could've chosen to take modules this semester and last semester that are more difficult and would've likely needed to be S/Ued. For example, I still need to fulfil my Asian Studies basket and foresee needing to S/U it because the modules for that requirement are excruciatingly abstract and turgid and I can't see myself being motivated enough to do anything better than pass it. So I could've taken an Asian Studies module this semester, passed it, S/Ued it, and have 12MCs left, just nice to carry into my third semester.
The problem was timing. I place greater emphasis on designing a nice timetable for the upcoming semester, rather than worry about purposely setting up module combinations that will allow me to use up S/Us at the end of it. After all, I'll have to live with and suffer through a badly planned timetable for four months, so it'd be stupid to contrive to take an S/U-worthy module at a lousy timeslot and risk fatigue dragging down my performance on all the other modules too.
And this was the case in the semester just ended. The Asian Studies modules that I am vaguely interested in, SE1101E Southeast Asia: A Changing Region and MS1102E Malays: Tradition, Conflict and Change, both had 4pm lectures, which is too late in the day for my liking. Besides, I'd found a configuration of modules and tutorial slots that allowed me to go to campus on just two days every week, and I didn't want to give that up.
So although I'm upset that one of my S/Us is forfeit, I have no regrets about the way things panned out.
I just have to use the last three bullets in my S/U "gun" wisely now. Nobody said university was going to be a walk in the park...
About the S/U system:
The purpose of the S/U system is to allow students to have an easier transition into university life and explore new subject areas of potential interest without the fear of "putting my grade point on the line". It is intended to benefit first-year students, which is why the rule against hoarding S/Us, mentioned in the main post, was enacted to prevent students from keeping large amounts of unused S/Us with them beyond their first year at NUS.
And another quick P.S.:
Woohoo! A double-post day! I published my module reviews earlier today. Check them out!
No comments:
Post a Comment