1. COURSE

How would you describe your course to someone who doesn’t know about it?

This course is definitely challenging. I take a double major so I can’t take easier electives to pull my GPA up. I do more year 2, 3 and 4 mods than other students taking a single major but career-wise, taking a double major will be more beneficial for me. As I was job-hunting, I realised a degree in Statistics gives you an edge over other jobseekers and having Economics as a second major helped to boost my resume. Stats definitely involves some coding, so if you are very uncomfortable with it, I will not recommend this course. The bell curve is steeper than normal because everyone here is really quite talented. This is something that you should be mentally prepared for. Some people choose to major in Stats just because they think they are good at Math, but everyone here is good at Math.

 

2. DECISION MAKING

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

JC. My subject combination is Biology, Chemistry, Math and H1 Economics.

 

What courses were you considering, and what were the factors that personally shaped your decision (from more important to not as important)?

I was considering other very unrelated courses like SIT Physiology because I like to play sports and stay outdoors. So, this was an alternative option. However, I didn’t do very well for A levels so I did not have many options. Furthermore, my only A was for Math so I definitely should do something else. I also applied to NTU Mathematical Sciences.

 

How did you decide on your course over other courses, especially those that were similar? If you’re doing a double major/degree, what made you decide on that?

I decided by using my Math grade, interest and A level score. I went for a Math and Stats camp and one of my OGLs recommended taking Stats and a second major in Economics. I also had a lot of electives (about 10) so I did not want to waste my electives on those that are too general. Plus, having a second major will look better on my resume. Economics is something related to Stats and this will provide me with more options to choose from when job hunting in the future. Also, I only got Economics as a second major in NUS when I was studying during Year 1.

 

How did you decide on your school (over other schools that offered your course) eventually?

SMU did not have a science course so I did not apply there. I felt that the NUS Faculty of Science was better than NTU Mathematical Sciences. This made me choose NUS over NTU.

 

3. TEACHING CURRICULUM

What’s your course structure like?

How many modules/seminars/tutorials/lectures per week? By semester/term/month?

Stats usually has classes for 4-5 hours per week. Lessons are mainly lectures and tutorials. However, for Economics, classes take up 3 hours per week and it is usually in the form of one lecture and one tutorial.

Is it based on mostly individual exams or group assignments?

For Stats, it is highly dependent on the modules that you take. Some modules only have midterms and finals while some modules give 20% weightage for individual homework that can be discussed with friends. There are usually very few group projects and there are no class participation points given.

For Econs, it depends on the modules you take as well. There are two types of assessments in general. One is the essay-writing kind and you will not have finals (essays all the way), while there is the other kind with midterms and finals. There is also 15-20% weightage given to class participation.

Are there reading weeks/sabbatical terms?

There is a recess week before midterms and a reading week before finals. There are no classes for NUS and most universities in general during these weeks. If you don’t have midterms, the recess week is a break but most of the time, it is used to prepare for midterms.

 

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

I usually have breakfast and then go to class from 10-1130am, followed by lunch. Then, I have class at 2-4pm before a 2h break where I go to the library to do my work. I also have night class for upper level stats from 6-9pm and finally, I will return to my hall for CCA.

 

What is the format of your assessments/exams like (practical/MCQ/essay; online/offline; mostly individual or group assignments)?

I have quite a lot of essay assignments for Economics. However, assessments for Stats are mostly pen and paper. This applies even during Covid-19 and the format is similar to O-Level and A-Level Math papers. For Economics, 50% of modules have MCQ midterms and finals are in a Question and Answer format like Stats. Economics exams are closed-book but 50% of Stats exams are open-booked where you can bring in your notes into the exam hall. There are also some that are closed-book with an A4-sized cheatsheet.

 

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

I personally think if you conscientiously follow lectures and tutorials, the workload will not be super overwhelming. Econs and Stats are exam-heavy subjects, so you should expect to be super busy during reading weeks. Most of my FASS friends either have 1-2 finals or none at all but I have 4-5 finals. However, during the term, workload is still manageable because there are not that many assignments. We do not have lab sessions like Engineering or Chemistry students so we don’t have lab reports to do. If you plan your timetable well, you can get a 4 day work week for most semesters. There was even a period of time when I managed to cram everything into 3 days a week!

 

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?

Definitely. The things we learn in university are very theoretical. For Economics, I feel that 50% can be learnt online while 50% are very theoretical so it’s better to learn these concepts in university. For Stats, 20% can be learned online but a good 70-80% that may not be applicable to the workforce can only be learned from university and you need this 70-80% to get your degree. As compared to other courses, you will learn coding and data analysis which are very highly-demanded by the working industry. For those who are interested in more complex statistical theories and knowledge, you can learn it here too. For Economics, it is an upgraded version as compared to the micro and macro Econs that you learn in JC. We also get to learn deeper stuff like Game Theory. For me, I did a lot of finance modules so I have learnt a fair share of financial knowledge and how to use mathematical formulas to calculate financial equations.

 

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

Yes. For Economics, there are many specialisations but I cannot specialise because I only have a second major in it. As for Stats, there are 2 options: Data Science and Business and Financial Stats. For me, I chose to specialise in Business and Financial Stats. I felt that this is more related to my second major as compared to Data Science.

 

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

It depends on your luck. Most professors are really quite nice for both faculties. However, if you don’t ask them for help, they will just leave you alone to do your own thing. All professors offer consultations so if you have any questions, you can just email them. Some even have fixed consultation hours per week! Economics wise, most lecturers will try to make their content a bit more interesting. However, one difference is that Stats has very dry concepts as compared to Arts modules. It is similar to Math lectures in JCs. The tutors for your tutorials are mostly undergraduates (year 3 or year 4 if you are in year 1) or students doing their masters. Since all of them were undergraduates before, they will be more able to relate to you better. This is also why some of my friends prefer to approach their tutors instead of the professors for help.

In terms of the faculty, the Faculty of Science and FASS have their own clubs and we give every student welfare packs before finals. Before Covid-19, there were often free snacks and ice-cream for students. Generally, the faculty has quite a nice and cohesive environment. For the Faculty of Science, we had some science sports games. There are also inter-faculty games where you can represent your faculty in sports before school starts. It is also a good platform for freshies to make friends before school starts.

 

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

For Stats, yes, there is an option. You either do a Final Year Project (FYP) which involves coming up with a thesis or a Final Year Internship (FYI). During year 4, you choose either one of the two. Both options are equivalent to the weightage of three modules. Regardless of which one you choose, you are expected to do a presentation on your project at the end of the semester.

 

4. PERSONAL EXPERIENCES/PREFERENCES

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

My most favourite part of my course was the module the Theatre experience (GEH1058) , our tutor was actually Tay Ping Hui’s wife and classes were of course, really interesting. Adrian Pang was also invited as a guest lecturer! At the end of the module, we had to watch a theatre performance together and write a review about it.

As for the least favourite part of my course, it was the coding module in year 1 semester 1 (CS1010S). This was a core module and it was pure coding where we learnt the programming language called Python. The programming language was easy but the professor made the module very tedious by giving us assignments every week. I really struggled and I spent most of my time and effort on it.

 

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

To be honest, just like a lot of people, I thought I should do Math or Stats in university because I liked these subjects in JC. We all thought that doing Math and Stats for the entire 4 years would not be as tedious and will still be something we enjoy because after all, we like Math. However, in university, I realised that even though I like Math, there were some Stats modules that I really disliked. Additionally, a lot of my friends chose to do Economics in university because they like JC Economics. However, Economics in university is very quantitative and involves a lot of Math. Some Economics modules are more like Math modules than Econs modules. In my course, it was very hard to get an A but I managed to get one. That surpassed my expectations because it was very rare.

 

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

I don’t think there are many misconceptions. To quote an example, everyone thinks that I am crazy because Stats is something they think they cannot do but here am I doing an entire major in Stats. I don’t really consider this as a stereotype but there are definitely challenges one can expect when doing a major in Stats. For someone without a Math and Stats background, it is definitely going to be hard. Also, some people may think that if one does Stats, it will be very easy to get a job. It is quite true but a major in Stats doesn’t fully guarantee you a job since job hunting in general is difficult. That being said, doing a major in Stats really helps to open a lot of doors.

 

Were there times when you regretted your decision? Is there anything that you didn’t particularly enjoy about your course?

There were times when I wanted to do a major in Economics with a second major in Stats (the other way round) instead. However, when I applied for jobs, I realised that a major in Economics instead of Stats might pose more difficulties when looking for a job.

 

Are there many people who switch out of your course? Is the student retention rate for your course high?

Not really. I have friends who wanted to do Math initially and eventually converted to Stats but I don’t recall anyone switching out of Stats. All my friends who did Stats stayed all the way to the end till graduation.

 

What sort of student do you think would excel in/be suited for your course? Or what should one like (e.g. working with numbers, presentations) in order to enjoy your course?

The student must be hardworking and conscientious in your work because it is very difficult to do well in Stats. If you want to graduate with average grades, it is still manageable but if you want to do well, you must be extra hardworking. You must really like Math, otherwise doing a major in Stats or even Mathematics will be very miserable for you.

 

5. CAREER PROSPECTS

What are the career prospects like for your course?

I can only think of a few options right now. Firstly, you can do research since a lot of labs in NUS need a Stats major to help in quantitative analysis. Another will be becoming a data analyst. The wonderful thing is that every industry needs a data analyst. For the interviews that I went for, the companies are completely different in terms of the things they do but all of them need a data analyst. The skills needed are the same. I applied to work in a construction company, banks and financial institutes. I even have a friend who got a job at Singtel. You can also be a data engineer, or do tech consulting! There are really a lot of options to choose from if you choose this field.

 

What are your plans after university?

I was very open and I applied to 160 jobs but I only got one offer which is working as a research assistant in NUS. The faculty that accepted me was the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health so I’ll probably be dealing with healthcare-related data.

 

Would you say you went into your course already making the decision to pursue a career related to your course?

Yes.

 

Did you have any internships/work experience related to your career and did your school give you sufficient training & resources? Otherwise, where else did you find them?

Yes. Resources-wise, yes and no. For one of my internships, I picked up a programming language (SQL) from scratch. School gives you the foundation so you can roughly know what Stats is and you can learn a bit of data analytics so you won’t be completely lost during internships. The data given from school is a bit more scaled-down but there is really a lot of data to analyse when you are interning.

 

6. STUDENT LIFE

Did you stay in campus accommodation? Do many of your friends stay on campus?

I stayed in Raffles Hall for one year. There are only 10-20% of people in my course that stayed in hall.

 

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

As compared to other schools, we have a more mugger culture but it also depends on the course. For my course, I am quite fortunate. All of my friends are quite nice and helpful so I was quite blessed to have friends who will help me with my homework. There are very few snakes and I haven’t personally seen any. There may be one or two freeloaders who don’t want to put in effort and will ask others for answers but in general, the people there are very nice and friendly.

For year 1, because of the S/U system, it is more chill as compared to the other years. However, students definitely still need to study and not play for 4 years thinking that they will be fine. After all, NUS is quite academically heavy so just be prepared to study.

 

What were your CCAs?

I was in the Catholic society and I only joined 2 CCAs in my hall which are frisbee and squash.

 

What other opportunities have you made use of in university? Which do you cherish most?

I didn’t make use of any of such opportunities because I spent most of my time in CCAs instead of external commitments.

 

Any parting words or advice for juniors?

This is a course I will recommend because it will definitely be beneficial career-wise, but be prepared that it is not for anyone. Please only pick this course if you really like Math and Stats. I will recommend you to try staying in hall for at least one year as there are a lot of things that you will learn. I stayed in Raffles and I met a really nice group of hall friends. (Also, don’t call me out but KEVII is quite boring and I have a lot of friends who didn’t want to stay there after the first sem).