To add on, I did not stay in hall/RC/PGP, hence I cannot share any tips regarding living on campus.
Note: everything I write is just my opinion from my personal experience! It is not representative of my cohort or my school :-)
1. Qualifying English Test (QET)
If your Alevels GP is A, B or C you would NOT have to take this QET. I got E for GP so I had to sit for the paper. If you're from poly, you probably have to take this as well. I took the QET before entering NUS (I think was in July), however, a friend of mine only took it after she finished year 1. Honestly, I would recommend to take it before entering NUS because if you get a Band 1 or 2, you would have to take English modules offered by CELC. Specifically, Band 1 to take 2 English modules and Band 2 to take 1 English module. There are only 3 bands, so if you get a Band 3, then HUAT AH, you would not have to take any English modules. For engineering students, you need to clear these English modules before you're able to take the module GET1021 (a faculty requirement).
The sample of a QET paper is uploaded on the CELC website, just google for it. I felt as if I was doing an Alevel essay writing paper. Standard exam procedures apply. Just register for the paper on the website, take note of the exam venue, remember to bring your IC and stationery. My friend who got Band 3 told me he studied for the paper so QET is a paper you can study for (read some articles, memorise some examples, polish the rusty english, etc.)
When I matriculated in AY15/16, I got a Band 2, so I had to take a module called ES1102 that has 0 Modular Credits (MCs). However, recently CELC implemented a new module ES1103 that has 4 MCs so if you do well for the paper then it can be counted into your CAP. I remembered getting B+ for ES1102 but unfortunately it has 0 MCs, so it cannot be counted :-(
Anyway, if you get a Band 3 then congrats it's a good start!!! BUT if you get a Band 1 or 2, don't be discouraged because you get to take more modules by paying the same amount of tuition fees as those who did not! Additionally, you may make some friends/acquaintance from your English class.
2. Camps/Orientation/Friends
For those who don't know, the orientation week on our academic calendar stands for O-week, which is optional (like every other camp). But I feel that it is important to know a few people before entering. The saying goes 在家靠父母 出外靠朋友 (Direct translation: At home lean on your parents, go out lean on your friends). Honestly, I would not have make it this far without my friends/acquaintances/OG mates. If you are not intending to stay in Halls/RC/PGP, then I feel that the place where you can make friends (not just acquaintances) is through camps.
Of course we have heard rumors about NUS camps, but this should not deter you from attending such camps because the organizing committee are more careful in their plans. I remember last semester, NUS sent us an email regarding this issue with all the punishments such as detention for the organizers. Anyway, I strongly encourage you to join at least a camp, be it faculty camp/course camp/O-week. You can meet new people, play some games and enjoy the start of uni life.
As for me, I do not stay in school or go to school that often (but I do not condone truancy), so I'm glad that I attended a camp to make friends (bonus: making some friends to dota with me!!). I feel that time spent in lectures and tutorials are insufficient to make friends, furthermore, many people are already sitting in their cliques when I entered the lecture hall.
However, that being said, it doesn't mean that you cannot make friends if you don't attend any camps. My current closest friend is one that I made from a tutorial class and that was the first time we saw each other (turns out that both of us skip lectures a lot). Although we both attended Oweek, we did not know the existence of each other until that tutorial session. Up till now, we are still close friends who eat lunch, attend classes and do group projects together. Another point to bring up is that group projects and CCAs are also platforms to make friends.
All in all, my point is that camp is just another good platform for making acquaintances. It will take some effort to "convert" them to friends. Hence, it is totally okay to not go any camps although I encourage most of my friends to attend.
3. CORS Bidding
Edit (1/6/2019): Congrats!! NUS has abolished CORS!!
Most of the information given on CORS website and some blogposts written by other seniors are very comprehensive so I'll just give some tips on bidding. These tips are either from my friends/seniors or my own personal experience.
Tip 1:
For extremely popular modules where number of bidders is much more than number of vacancies and you die die want to take this module: you can wait till it is closed bidding and then choose to ALL IN (meaning bid all your points). Unlike SMU, when the points you bid is greater than the lowest successful bid point, NUS will return you the remaining. For example, the lowest successful bid point is 20, and you bid 26, CORS will return you 6 points.
Tip 2:
Modules (usually those sectional teaching with more than 1 slots) where there is only 1 vacancy and more than 1 bidder: read tip 1 OR just bid for another slot where there are more vacancies OR take the module another sem
Tip 3:
Some popular modules have extremely high bid points such that freshies probably do not have enough points. Hence, start saving your bid points and bid for the module when you are year 2/3/4.
Tip 4:
Heard from an acquaintance that there are more vacancies given to year 1 and year 2 for the GEMs, so you should take more GEMs during Y1/Y2 since you can get them at low bid points or even 1 bid point.
Tip 5:
Gauge when you should bid using the past semester successful bid points, although the lowest successful bid changes might change each semester and each round. Ultimately it is all about supply and demand. For example, for the current GEM that I am taking, the lowest successful bid point in round 2A was 1, but in round 3A it became 200+.
Bidding might seem to be confusing/stressful at first, but after 2 semesters, you should get an idea of how it works. Just remember to take note of which modules are you are supposed to bid for at which round and the time period for closed bidding.
4. Webcasted Lectures
For some modules, the lectures are recorded and then posted onto IVLE (a platform where we download our lecture notes/tutorials/assignments/view announcements/watch webcast) through a video platform called Panopto. Usually the lecturer will make it clear if there is webcast or not, so if there is then you can skip lecture and watch it at home at x1.25 or x1.5 or x2 speed (once again, i do not condone truancy). So good news for people who do not stay on campus, webcast will be your best friend! However, the downside is that the webcast is usually uploaded 1 or 2 days after the lecture, so you will have to wait. In the event where the webcast is not uploaded after 3 days, one thing you can do is to email the lecturer and ask him to chase the IT guy who is supposed to upload the webcast.
Now for some bad news, most if not all of the tutorials are not recorded. However, many tutorials do not have class participation so you can still choose to skip them and self study (again, I do not condone truancy). Those that have class participation (sometimes 5% or 10% depends), please just attend. Usually, the tutorial solutions will be uploaded either after the tutor or TA (Teaching Assistant, they are mostly PhD students) finish going through the questions for that particular tutorial OR just before reading week starts. (reading week is 1 week before exams start where there is no lessons, usually for you to consolidate and try out past year papers).
But ultimately, it is still your decision to attend or pon. If you feel that travelling 3.5 hours for 1 hour of lecture/tutorial is not worth it (yeah that's me), then just watch webcast or self study. Sometimes, if you find that certain tutorials are not that useful because the TA do not explain concepts well, you can book consultation with the lecturer (email them) or attempt the question on your own before checking the solutions (okay, if you are my friend then you would know this part is a lie because I usually copy the solutions with understanding instead). One important point to note is that it is the lecturers who set the paper for finals, not the TA.
5. Planning your own timetable
This is something where we did not have the freedom to do in secondary school/JC/poly. For some classes such as lectures, there is only 1 slot so you don't get to choose. However, many tutorials and sectional teaching classes have multiple slots so choose and ballot wisely (read 6. for tips on tutorial balloting).
Some students prefer to see their timetable on CORS, however when it is not bidding/balloting period, you cannot login to CORS to view your timetable. Hence, another place to arrange your timetable is through NUSMods. NUSMods is a very powerful tool , just google "NUSMods" and you can start planning your timetable by typing in the module code and adding it to the sem 1/2 timetable. Then some boxes would appear and you can drag the boxes to arrange your timetable. For rectangular boxes with sharp edges, these are slots you cannot shift/choose because it is a fixed session, but for boxes with curved edges, you can shift them around to see all the available sessions.
Planning smart is very important for people who like to skip lectures, yet attend tutorials (that's me!). So one thing you can do is to shift all your tutorials to one day and just go to school for that one day; if it is not possible, then try to shift tutorial slots where you have/want to attend school (eg. the lecture is not recorded/ you have CCA on that day in school). However, if you feel that you do not have the stamina to last for an entire day in school, then spread out your classes instead.
6. Balloting for Tutorial slots
Edit (1/6/2019): Congrats!! NUS has abolished CORS!!
When tutorial slots are open for balloting, you will see the options of all the tutorial slots for all the modules that require you to ballot. Some key points to note are that tutorials that are too early (8am/9am slots) or too late into the afternoon (5pm/6pm slots) are less popular. Popular slots for tutorials are those that are right before or after the lecture of the same module and also late morning/early afternoon slots (11am/1pm/2pm slots).
Here is the thing when balloting for tutorials, you are to select the slots you would like to ballot for before ranking them from 1,2,3,4 etc. No number should repeat despite different modules. If you were to choose the popular slots, make sure you rank them higher (1 or 2).
Here is an example if I were to ballot for module A and B, where module A has 2 tutorial slots namely C1 and C2, and module B has 4 tutorial slots namely D1, D2, D3 and D4. Let's say if I can only attend C1 for mod A and D1, D2 and D3 for mod B, so I would choose these 4 options and then proceed to rank them
For example C1 and D1 falls under the super popular tutorial slot category, but there is only 1 option which I can attend for module A. This means C1 has higher priority over D1. Hence, I would choose to rank the options this way:
Rank 1: C1
Rank 2: D1
Rank 3: D2
Rank 4: D3
Remember no rank should repeat itself despite being different module, which is to say we cannot put C1 rank 1 and D1 rank 1 at the same time.
7. Printing Services
There are many places were you can print your notes, they include Central Library, Co-Op, E3, PC Clusters and Yusof Ishak House. BUT the cheapest place to print (Black and white pages) is at Com Centre Thinklab (level 3), which each page cost 0.03 cents. The rest of the place cost 0.04 cents per page. 0.01 cents might not be a lot, but if you were to print textbooks that have considerable number of pages, do consider printing at com centre; you can save up to $10.Edit (1/6/2019): Thinklab has permanently ceased its operations! :-(
Additionally, if you ever need to bind your notes/textbook, Co-Op and Central Library offers services like that!
8. Being independent
University is indeed a place to learn how to be independent, from attending classes alone to eating lunch alone. It is totally normal and alright. In some semesters where you and your friends might be taking different modules, it is difficult to match timetables to eat lunch together. In some other cases, your friends might be in another course from another school/faculty, thus, having different timetable, it is also difficult to meet for lunch. I feel that it is quite common to see people eating lunch alone so do not be afraid to be seen alone eating, if you are hungry, just go and eat la! :-)
Alright, this sums up my tips and tricks for freshies. Take the advice with a pinch of salt and don't be overwhelmed! As this is more of an "admin" guide, I would be writing a "study and survival" guide soon.
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