1. DECISION MAKING

Did you go to JC/Poly? What subjects were you pursuing before university, and were they related to your university course?

JC. Math, Physics, Econs and Further Math. I think there are definitely some overlaps between Math and Further Math and what’s taught in Computer Science.

 

What courses were you considering, and what were the factors that personally shaped your decision?

I’ve always known that I wanted Comp Science. I think it’s because my parents are both in the industry, so I was exposed to it since I was quite young.

 

Is the gap very big for people who have had Computer Science background and for those without?

The gap is bigger for the introductory programming module CS1101s or its equivalents because those with no experience are still trying to make sense of the basics. But once you get past the first semester or so, when those who came in with no experience start practising and gaining experience, the playing field is pretty much leveled.

 

If you’re doing a double major/degree, what made you decide on that?

Actually, I am taking a double degree. I am doing Business administration too. I think I wanted a backup option. I can have more possibilities and I was also interested in a startup, so I thought that doing Comp Science with Business would be a good combination for that.

 

How did you decide on your school eventually?

I decided mostly by university branding and ranking. Also, people say NUS school of computing is better online.

 

As a whole, how do you think we can advise our juniors to make the decision that feels the most right to them?

Just go try out new things after As. If you can narrow down a few things you’re interested in, go try them out through online courses. For CS, you can try a free online course called CS50 by Harvard. It’s a good introductory course to coding.

 

2. TEACHING CURRICULUM

What’s your course structure like?

We get to choose how many modules we want to read, so it depends on how many modules you have. Usually, 1 module would require you to commit 10 hours per week. Of that 10 hours, 2 hours is usually for lecture and 1 hour for tutorial and lab each.

We go by semesters. In each semester, after the first 6 weeks, we’ll have a recess week. That’s for you to study for midterms which happens mainly the week right after recess week but some are 1 week before or 2 weeks after recess week. After that, it’s another 6 weeks of instruction. Then, there will be reading week which is another week for you to study for finals.

 

How is a day in the life of a student in your course & school like?

I think it’s every uni student’s goal to avoid the 8 am classes because nobody wants to wake up early. It’s up to you to bid for your modules. It depends on your luck and bidding strategy. For me, I get to wake up at around 9 if I’m lucky enough and my first class is at 10. Actually, I usually overload quite a bit because I am taking the double degree. Normally, my school day will be around 6 hours. I try to pack all my stuff in 4 days, so I get 1 day off.

 

What is the format of your assessments/exams like (eg. mostly individual or group assignments)?

For computing modules, there would be around 20-40% of coursework. Throughout the whole semester, you have labs and tutorials. They grade you based on your lab submissions and assignments. And around 20% would go to midterm. The rest is finals, so it’s about 30-40%. I think for computer science, it’s individual for most modules. But they have specific modules to train you to work in teams. They are more project-based modules and are mainly team-graded.

 

How heavy would you say the workload for your course is compared to an average student in your university?

I don’t think I have a very good gauge because I’m not friends with a lot of people outside computing. People usually say that computing modules are more difficult, but they are not necessarily heavier in workload.

 

There are often certain skills or content knowledge that you learn in university that can be learnt outside of school independently. Would you say there’s a difference between learning this knowledge/skills independently versus in university? What knowledge/skills would you say can only be learnt from your course?

I think when you do it with the help of professors and tutors, there’s always someone there to help you clarify your doubts and to confirm what you’re doing is actually correct. You know you’re learning the right thing because of all the assessments and exams which test your understanding. I think you can definitely learn a lot of stuff outside also but I think it would take more time and effort to finally get on the right track.

 

Are there specialisations within your degree? If yes, when do you have to choose your specialisation, and what specialisation have you chosen?

Yeah, there are. For as far as I know, there isn’t a specific deadline to choose it. But ultimately, you have to complete a certain set of modules if you want that specialisation to be reflected in your certificate. So, the later you decide, the less time you have to take those modules. I’m doing software engineering. I want to be a software engineer.

 

How are the faculty/professors of your course like? Any favourite professors!

Honestly, there are a lot of professors because each of them have their own focus area. So, you’d encounter different profs if you choose different specialisations. I think they are actually fun people and not just the typical nerdy, old guy. There’s this prof known as Uncle Soo. His full name is Soo Yuen Jien. I think he’s very engaging, so you don’t really get bored even if it’s a 2h lecture. I think he really puts his students’ interests first. You know, usually in lectures, you’d tell your students to not talk to people beside you. But during the online semester where we were all doing Zoom lectures, he actually told us to feel free to text your friend during lecture if you have any questions as he definitely cannot tend to every single one of us. I think it’s actually quite useful instead of the usual teachers having a blanket rule to ask people to shut up or be quiet during lectures.

 

Are there any final year projects/capstones/thesis to do?

There are different degree classifications. It depends on what you’re aiming for. You definitely have to do a dissertation which is like a thesis if you’re going for the highest distinction. Your GPA has to be above 4 in order to even take the module. Then, you would get first-class honors for your degree if you take that and your GPA is above 4.5. You just have to do an internship if you’re not aiming for first-class honors. You either opt for a 6-month internship which is 1 semester-long or 2 three-month internship during your summer vacation. Most people opt for these 2 options but there are many other possibilities as well. The important thing is to keep a lookout for opportunities.

 

3. PERSONAL PREFERENCES / EXPERENCES

What were your most and least favourite/interesting classes/part of your course?

I think my favourite is the hands-on programming itself because you get to put what you learn into action. The satisfaction is the rewarding part when you see that your code works. I think my least favorite part would be learning things that you know you don’t need. To provide a holistic education, NUS requires us to take some things that are not even related to Computer Science. NUS students have to do about 5 general education modules. They’re quite fluffy sometimes, and you just write nonsense or bullshit all the stuff. I think it’s a bit of a waste of time. And because they are general education (GE) modules open to everybody from different courses, they need to cater to everyone’s background knowledge, so these GE modules often end up covering only very shallow things!

 

What are some thing(s) you didn’t know/expect about the course before starting, and what are some things that surpassed your expectations?

People are more friendly and helpful than I thought they would be. I heard some stories about how modules are graded on a bell curve, so I thought everyone would be very competitive and unwilling to share or help but all I had to do was ask and my OGL literally sent me his entire semester’s notes.

 

Is it competitive between people of the same batch?

Most modules are bell-curved, so I would say there is some sort of competition between people taking the same module. But it’s definitely not a toxic environment where people try to bring others down for their own benefit.

 

Are there any common misconceptions/stereotypes about your course that you would like to debunk?

Coding is not that nerdy of a thing. It’s quite fun. I think it’s something that everybody can learn. Actually, another misconception I would like to debunk is that coding is not about numbers. You don’t need to be good at math to be good at programming.

 

Are there many people who switch out of your course? 

I think they do. Under the school of computing, there are 4 majors:

• Computer Science
• Information Systems
• Information Security
• Business Analytics

The core modules you take are quite similar no matter which major you’re doing. After the first year of taking some core modules, some people may find another major more interesting and just switch majors. I haven’t heard of anyone changing faculty.

 

What sort of student do you think would excel in/be suited for your course? Or what should one like in order to enjoy your course?

I think you have to be very patient with yourself because there’ll be a lot of times when your code will just get stuck and you’ll get a lot of errors. And there’s no one to help you, so you have to patiently look through everything you’ve written and debug it yourself.

 

4. CAREER PROSPECTS

What are the career prospects like for your course?

I think in general, there’s a lot of stuff you can do because there are many specialisations. Actually, I am not sure because I’m quite set on software engineering, so I didn’t really explore other career prospects that much.

 

What are your plans after university?

I may do a masters but I didn’t do any research on it, so I can’t give you actual information on this. But I did go into my course already having decided to pursue a career related to my course?

 

Did you have any internships/work experience related to your career and did your school give you sufficient training & resources?

Not yet. Yeah, I’m looking but it’s hard. Usually, people would start during the Y2 summer vacation. We have career advisors, so we can just approach them. There’s also a module that helps you get your resume ready and teach you how to tackle interviews.

 

5. STUDENT LIFE

How is the school culture like and how would you describe the people? What should students entering your school take note of?

Honestly, compared to JC, I don’t see much of a culture because everyone is just doing their own thing in uni. You have your own modules and you choose your own, so it’s hard to stay with a group of people. Everyone’s just doing their own thing to me. It’s quite hard to make friends in university for me.

I guess just don’t be afraid to reach out to people in uni. Universities don’t really adopt a top-down approach, unlike JC, so the staff don’t really approach you first because there are too many students and you are expected to take charge of your own learning at this age.

 

What are your CCAs?

I’m in Funkstyles. It’s a dance club that does popping and locking. They are street dance genres. It’s a new activity for me because it’s the last chance I will have a dance club that is so accessible to me. I’m not all good at dancing. I just want to try something new. I always liked dance and it’s the last time to try, so I just went for it. There are really a lot of CCAs in uni. You just have to choose one that matches how much time you’re willing to commit. I would say It’s more of a recreational club for me. I just pay $90 per semester to go for around 10 lessons that are 3h per week. It’s just one day, so I think it’s quite okay for me. They have extra sessions you can go for if you’re more enthusiastic about the club or honing your dance skills but it’s without an external instructor, so it’s just you and the other people going down to just have fun and dance. That’s 3 hours a week on another day but I don’t really go for it. I would say if you’re a sports team that represents NUS, then you won’t have to pay for your CCA. But mine is just for my interest. I think it’s fair.

 

For Funkstyles, since it’s more recreational, is there an audition to get in? And is it a per semester per year CCA?

Funkstyles is actually under this big umbrella club called the Cultural Activities Club (CAC). CAC houses 12 sub clubs delving into music, social dance and street dance. Most of these clubs are beginner friendly and don’t require you to have any experience, and have no auditions to get in. For Funkstyles specifically, they usually only take new members in semester 1 and the commitment is by semester, meaning you pay for one semester’s worth of classes at a time.

 

What other opportunities have you made use of in university e.g. overseas exchange? Which do you cherish most?

Specific to the school of computing, there’s this programme called Orbital which you can do independent learning during your Y1 summer vacation. It’s a module. It counts to your degree but it’s graded on a pass or fail basis. You do it with a partner and you can create anything you want, and you can get credits for it. There’s also this thing called NUS Overseas College (NOC). It’s quite a popular thing but it’s also very competitive. You get to go overseas to startups and work with them. To me, it’s more for computing kids because a lot of startups like technical people in uni. It’s usually for 6 months or a year but I think a year is more common. You get to go to SIlicon Valley. It’s quite cool. But a lot of things are on hold now.

 

What are some computer science related platforms (eg. programming language, data analytics, etc.) for pre-uni students to start on before starting university? Do you think it’s necessary to start preparing during the holidays?

https://www.edx.org/course/cs50s-introduction-to-computer-science is a good place to start. It teaches the fundamentals of programming. I wouldn’t say it’s necessary but you’ll definitely make your learning curve gentler if you already know the basics.

 

Any parting words or advice for juniors?

Just google for stuff. There’s a lot of stuff out there. There are a lot of seniors who write blog posts on module reviews. They can just google it if they want to know what modules to take. And there’s really a lot of information out there. You just have to go and read it. And just email whoever you need to email to ask for stuff. Also, make good use of your time. Just don’t be afraid and go for something if you know you’re interested in it because it’s really the last chance you have. There’s no one to tell you what to do in uni, so you really have to take charge of your own learning.

I think I’m going to scare people off if I say this. NUS scholarships mainly look at your grades. It’s most likely that you’re going to be offered a scholarship without an interview if you get 90 RP, at least for the School of Computing. I think you’d get an interview if your RP is slightly lower at 85+. Don’t be afraid to show your passion and interest in what you’re gonna study in the interview. The application for the scholarship is with your application into NUS and your course itself. Just fill in the normal grades and all that. For scholarships, they will have a few questions and an essay for you to answer.