DECISION MAKING

Did you go to JC/Poly? What subjects were you pursuing before university, and were they related to your university course? If you made a switch in your education path/choices along the way, share more about that!

I went to Nanyang Polytechnic, and I studied Business. In 2013, the cutoff for the accountancy course in NYP was about 13 and my L1B4 was 14. The next best course for me was Biz(Business) Management by process of elimination. At that time, I decided against animation/design, engineering & science courses so among biz courses, biz management was the best choice for me. The specialization option from year 2 onwards also helped sway me a bit as I can spend year 1 thinking and deciding on what I want but I was still mostly clueless.

I am now a fourth-year student in accountancy. In SMU, there is no fixed period duration to complete the course, and students may choose to ‘overload’ their semester with 5 modules. Students who take double degrees probably take 6 modules, but it’s on a case-by-case basis. Usually, 4 is the standard. They adopt a bidding system, and unlike NTU/NUS, we are given 100 credits for bidding every sem. (BOSS- Bidding Online System)

We get to choose the kind of classes or professors that are available to us. Even after the term has started, we can bid until the end of 1st/2nd week of class. Most people would graduate in 4 years, but some could do it in 3 years – depending on their major/exceptions from polytechnic/JC. I am graduating in 3.5 since I chose to overload for a few semesters.

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

My family is not that financially well-off, and I didn’t want to stay in hall. As SMU is also the closest to my home, SMU was the only choice.

In my opinion, the content between the universities are not too different, the main differentiating factor would be the way it is taught. In my third year of poly, I applied to SMU and SIT but got rejected from both. I got offers on my third try from SMU, SIT, SUSS and NUS (after NUS accepted my appeal), but I didn’t complete my application for NTU. As such, I applied for NUS in 2016, 2017 and finally 2018. (Applied for SMU and SIT from 2016-2018. Also tried for SUSS and NUS in 2018). I was offered a place in SIT but eventually transferred over to SMU as I felt it was more established and it was my end goal to study there then.

The requirement has lowered recently, but previously the GPA required for Accountancy was a little high. Thus, I applied to Information Systems with the intention of getting a placement. At that point in time, I had other offers as well, so I tried appealing over to accountancy as I preferred it over IS after much consideration.

When they contacted me for IS, it was a ‘welcome tea’ session. There are usually 2 kinds, a ‘welcome tea’ for students whom the school has offered a preliminary acceptance letter. But the school is undecided, they will bring you in for an interview.

The interview panel will consist of professors and graduating students. They will try their best to sell you the course, but you can still accept the offers if you have offers from other schools. (The selling part happens more during the welcome tea. It happens during the interview too but to a lesser extent)

TEACHING CURRICULUM

What’s your course structure like?

The seminars are divided into 3 hours per week or 1.5 hours for 2 days/week. Most of them are usually 3 hours seminars, and only some are split into 1.5 hours for 2 days per week. There was one semester where I packed 4 modules into 2 days. It was a back-to-back 3 hours session. There are no tutorials or lectures and seminar kind of replaces both.

For Accountancy, there are usually midterms and finals. Finals play a critical part in determining the grade for core modules and exams at the end have a weightage of 50%, and we probably have less opportunity to use our S/U. The weightage for participation varies between 10 to 20 percent. It depends on the professor, but class participation aggregation isn’t very high. For accountancy, each project is around 15 to 25 % of the total grade. I don’t think anyone has to worry too much about it. The finals are probably the one to worry about. We have the same summer breaks like the 2 other two universities.

There are more group projects but the ratio of group to individual project is 3:2. But it varies depending on the mods you take so take this with a grain of salt.

How is a day in the life of a student in your course & school like (describe the activities/people that you meet or have throughout a day, and how long a day you spend in school/studying/awake)?

I’m involved in the athletics club as an EXCO and also joined a few orientation camps as a facilitator during summer break.
I’m in school from the morning – on most days because I have a job that is close to SMU. I’m pretty much either working or studying in school. I have classes; then there will be CCA at night. However, it is not the same for everyone.

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

Sometimes the professor might not be as tech-savvy as others for online assessment since it was the first time that classes were held online permanently. They would just try to get students to participate in the zoom chat. Some other prof might want students to turn on the video, so the experience still varies between modules.

Last year, examinations were done online, and the only difference was that we had to turn on our webcam. Typing is easier for some modules but not all of them. For some modules, we had to write them out and scan the papers after we’re done.

Projects grouping back in my poly course is randomised and inevitable. In SMU, it’s similar, but you may get to choose your team members and decide among yourselves, but in some modules, the professor may arrange and allocate the teams. You can bid for the professor that allows you to work with the people you want.

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

You always hear about how accountancy is more challenging than other majors and it’s somewhat true. The papers for accounting finals are submitted and reviewed by the relevant professional bodies, which makes it harder. Because of this, the school has many accreditations, provided students score above the required mark.
The difference between the polytechnic and JC graduates is more significant in Year One, where most common core modules like Economics and Business Law have been introduced to us in poly. I was exempted from Economics but not for Business Law. It (Business Law) was basically easier since we knew half of the content taught. The curriculum is more in-depth, but we still understand them quite well.

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?

The school forces us to mix with more people. Every class is different, and we don’t see the same people in every class. Although you can meet your friends, you have to be exposed to many people to broaden your network. There are no recorded lectures and class part also forms a component of our grades so we have to attend classes and interact with our peers.

I would say that modules taught in accountancy are relevant for the internship. Some technical knowledge would be required, especially Financial Reporting and Analysis (FRA). When I went there was not much expectation for us.
The modules taught are enough for most students to prepare them for the internship, but I know some people who do chartered accountant papers during their summer holidays instead of an internship. Some people just chose to do one over the other so it’s just a personal choice. If you want to become a chartered accountant then you should consider doing the exams.

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

If you want to take a 2nd major, which is not uncommon, you have a set of additional modules that you have to clear. The most common 2nd major is Accounting Data and Analytics(ADA). You can take an extra 2/3 modules, and you can already fulfil that 2nd major requirement which is pretty worth it. But you have to map out the modules you need and choose those that can double count, meaning 1 module fulfils requirements for both accounting and ADA. (1st major by default is Accountancy, 2nd most common is ADA, Finance related ones or the upcoming new financial forensics major)

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

Before we start bidding, most of us would look at reviews and figure out and strategically allocate our e-credits. If the professor has terrible reviews, they will be cheaper (in terms of bidding). If you don’t mind having a worse professor, then you can bid for them.

The review website is just for SMU students, but I think it’s a student-run initiative. For accounting, both adjunct and full time professors teach pretty well. However, for larger faculty such as business, there might be more variations in the quality of professors.

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

For Accountancy as a single major, there is no final year project.
For Accounting with a Second Major in ADA there is a final year project to complete. For Information Systems, they have the same project as well.

The workload should be manageable for most people unless you have extra commitments. One semester, I did 5 modules and had CCA on 2 nights per week, and I still have to work.

There is no final year project for accountancy, but there is one killer mod that everyone complains about. Usually, there is a Financial Accounting(FA) module, then somewhere along the way you’ll take the Intermediate FA before proceeding to Advanced FA which is a killer because it’s very difficult/cumbersome.

 

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE / PREFERENCES

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

For me, I get to interact with different people from different faculties. For some of the core subjects (not the accounting ones), you could understand their thought process, which may differ from accountancy students. Typically, there are stereotypes that accountancy students are quieter than business students and getting to know people from other faculties can be refreshing.

The bidding system is a hit and miss for me. The first-come-first serve policy that NTU adopts also has its disadvantages. Every year the bidding system keeps getting inflated, and the price just keeps getting higher. I couldn’t secure a few modules that I wanted even though it was a core module. You can do surveys at the mid-semester or end-semester about school life and professor, which will reward you with some credits.

It allows you to allocate your ecredits more strategically, but essentially it just means that everyone has more money to spend, which makes little difference. Some students will bid for a cheaper professor if they know they can understand the concepts in the modules much better than others. For example, Statistics is something JC students would encounter. They are familiar with it, and they could afford to bid a lower amount for that introductory module.

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

Generally, I would say the course met my expectations. The professors are willing to help and answer any questions you have. There is the perception that SMU students are very outspoken, but that’s not always the case. Even if you do not wish to ask questions in class, you can just contribute through the online discussion forum.
For student life, if you’re willing to step up in making friends, there should be no issue. They have been a little strict on camps because of the recent scandals. I have met friends through school camps even though I’m not a “camp person”.

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

It’s a meme at this point when people talked about SMU students being ‘snakes’. Personally, I have not encountered anyone like this, but I do hear about it. It’s pretty rare, but it exists everywhere in other universities. I have only encountered one such instance in SMU, and it’s pretty okay.

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

Business-oriented is what I wanted, and I think SMU has differentiated itself from other schools as it trains its students to be ready for professional careers. I’ll say that I was attracted to NTU’s 3 year programme, and it’s true to this day. I’ve already studied for many years, and I really wanted some working experience. With NS, I feel like I’m a little behind. 4 years might be too long, and a shorter time frame makes NTU better. However, it’s very far, and the hostel stay isn’t cheap. I do envy my peers sometimes because I enjoy business management as well.
Some modules are compulsory to take, like leadership and team building, but they have removed some of them after my batch. Everyone has to complete like 36 modules , including internship and Community Service Project (CSP) which counts as one module each. But for my batch, they are an additional requirement on top of completing 36 modules, so future students only need to clear 34 academic modules minimally to graduate. However, CSP does take up quite a bit of our time, and sometimes it can be “quite sian” because we’re so time-strapped. These modules are suitable to have, but there are too many of them. Initially, I liked the idea of studying accountancy, but after year 2 I didn’t have the same drive as when I was in poly.

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

It’s possible to request for a transfer to a business course, since they’re 80% similar for the first year. I don’t think you will be disadvantaged if you transfer over to the business course. I haven’t come across someone who transferred over, but people might be tempted to transfer over because they might have an easier time as the average workload might be less. I thought about it, but it was too late.

For the first year, you could feel what the course is like, and I think it’s alright to change if you want to do something you like. For financial accounting, Business students will take a similar one but with a different module code. The accountancy student will take a slightly more challenging version of this.

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?

To do well, from what I observed from students with GPA 4.0 or close to 4.0, you have to like what you’re doing. You can survive by doing the bare minimum because it’s tough to fail, but it’s also tough to score well. A+ is tough to achieve, and I haven’t gotten any A+.

SMU is small, and I know this person who is doing undergraduate and masters at the same time. They have A+ for almost everything.

 

CAREER PROSPECTS

What are your plans after university?

I signed a 3-year bond with a company because my family is not so well-to-do. After University, I’ll be serving that position for 3 years. But for now, I’m not sure whether I want to take additional qualifications to be a certified accountant.

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

I found the internship through the school’s career portal, there were quite a few listings there. They would occasionally send emails during hiring seasons as well. It still requires effort on our end to source for these internships, but having these platforms definitely helps in a way.

Throughout my internship, independence is really important as our seniors/supervisors may not be around all the time to answer our queries. One needs to be able to adapt and learn on the spot!

STUDENT LIFE

What were your CCAs?

I was in the athletic club and got promoted to ex-co after the first year. I used to do a lot of running back in ns, but stopped in sem 1. Decided to make a change and improve my fitness again from sem 2 onwards. Athletic club seems like the natural choice when I think about it.

What other opportunities have you made use of in university, e.g. overseas exchange (can also include external commitments)? Which do you cherish most?

After my batch, global exposure became a compulsory requirement in SMU. It could be anything from CSP to the exchange programme. I was pretty lucky to have the opportunity to go for a study mission, which satisfies the global exposure requirement. We go there and do presentations and offer some solutions to their business problems. The courses we did there were generic business knowledge, and it was open to students from all faculties . There is funding for the trip through a bursary. I find it weird that they don’t tell you about it until you sign up. The exchange was too expensive, and I didn’t consider local exchanges since they don’t fulfil the global exposure requirement.

Any parting words or advice for juniors? :,)

Many people believe that accountancy is a stable job. Still, with automation, there might not be as many accountants needed unless you take the 2nd major (ADA) to differentiate yourself from the rest. It’s essential to take the initiative and learn more about what you enjoy and do not enjoy. Do some self-reading before class starts. You should consider the duration of the course, hall life, tuition fee and distance. You should also think about the instruction mode (teaching methods) for each school.