1. DECISION MAKING

What was your Degree in Poly?

I came from Temasek Polytechnic where I took a diploma in Psychology Studies. 

Honestly, I used to fail everything in secondary school – like F9s kind of bad. Because of that, I kind of decided that I was done with studying but I ended up doing well enough for O Levels to go to polytechnic and I think that changed everything for me. I realised I’m more of a hands-on person and if I had gone to a JC, I probably wouldn’t have made it to university because of the mismatch in preference of learning styles. Although there were still exams, there were also projects which required us to apply what we learnt and that got me excited. I chose Psychology as my major since it was something I was always curious about.

I continued majoring in Psychology even in university since by then, I had explored several research opportunities and I was very fond of psychological research. To be a practicing Clinical Psychologist, you do need to at least have a Masters. From my own experience,  a bachelor’s degree can get you a job, but your job scope might not necessarily be related to psychology unless you have intentions to further your studies.

 

Are you planning to go into clinical psychology in future?

I was very invested in psychological research for the past 7 years of my life. I challenged myself to do a thesis in Computational Neuroscience (interaction between neural subspaces) since I was interested in pursuing that field and it led to the realization that I was clearly out of my depth. From MATLAB to dimensionality reduction techniques – I felt that it would require a lot more experience and time to understand what I was doing and that killed my enthusiasm a little. Of course, it’s very possible with commitment but I was doing other passion community projects as well and I couldn’t find a satisfactory balance between them. I would say research is a demanding but extremely fulfilling field to go into – given that you’re prepared to spend all your time on research.

Relating to the community projects I ‘sacrificed’ a career in research for – it actually led me to my current job in healthcare management since I strongly believe in contributing to society’s good and felt equally fulfilled managing projects.

 

In order to take a masters, must you focus a lot on research?

Not necessarily. In NUS Psychology, there are basic requirements such as taking a laboratory i.e. research module. Some of the modules may also require an extent of research but it is possible to get a Bach – requirement for Masters –  while doing minimal research. However, to my understanding, your Honour Thesis is quite important when it comes to getting a supervisor for your Masters and so if you avoid doing a thesis, it might harm your chances of getting into a masters programme. There are also different kinds of Masters programme; in NUS alone – If I’m not wrong, there’s a Masters in Applied Research and Masters in Clinical Psychology. 

 

When you first took up psychology in poly, did you ever think about becoming a psychologist in future?

I was open to the idea but after I went in, it became quite clear that clinical psychology wasn’t really the path for me since I don’t think I’m very empathetic. But this is where I emphasize that majoring in Psychology can be great because it doesn’t matter whether you are a people person or not. For someone like me, psychological research is amazing because I have to think about people objectively and can just immerse myself in research papers. 

 

Did your decision to take psychology in poly result in you taking it as an undergraduate degree in uni as well?

A limitation of coming from polytechnic is that your choices are generally confined to certain courses. For psychology in Poly, going into NUS, I could only choose FASS. If I wanted to do computing, I would need to take extra modules to compensate for my lack of A Levels, which means that I would have had to overload or spend more time on other modules.

 

Why NUS over NTU?

The main reason was the University Scholars Programme (USP). Beyond psychology, I like to explore other disciplines as well, especially science-based areas. The main selling point of NTU was the variety of psychology modules, but with NUS-USP, I could learn beyond just psychology. If you were to do a comparison, Yale-NUS is like 70% liberal arts, 30% major, NUS-USP is like the opposite: 70% major and 30% liberal arts. 

 

What’s one memorable experience with USP?

There was this MIT professor, Ken Kahn, who taught us computational modelling. We used software to do a computer simulation. I spent 2 weeks staring at grassy patches because I was trying to spot ant nests. We literally just followed the ants for hours then we went back to use the software to simulate ants nesting behaviors. 

When you first do USP, you need to take 2 core modules! One is Writing and Critical Thinking, the other is Quantitative Reasoning. For WCT, I did a module on Human Trafficking and QR modules also range from topics like Quantifying Nuclear Risk, and War and Democracy.

I think something to note about NUS USP is that the ‘scholarship’ in USP refers to academic scholarship, not a monetary-funded scholarship – meaning we still have to pay for our school fees and everything if we don’t have another scholarship. 

 

Would you say taking a uni degree is important for a poly student?

I would say that a degree doesn’t matter that much – what might matter is that the employers see having a degree as having the mental fortitude, and the willpower to complete uni. But on the other hand, one of my polytechnic friends studied Project & Facilities Management at diploma level before going out to work. She’s currently earning more than my starting pay. If you are smart about it and you really know what you want, I really don’t think you need a degree to be successful.

Mmm I think about 20-30% of polytechnic students go to university? Might be their choice, not a hard limitation – I’m not too sure.

For my polytechnic friends – this might be relevant to you. Out of local universities, NUS may not be the most polytechnic-friendly. For NUS, even if I enrol with a Psychology diploma and the intent to major in Psychology, I still need to meet requisite grades for core psychology modules in order to officially enrol in the psychology major. For NUS FASS, you have 1-2 years to try out core modules and declare your major, so there is a chance you might not get into your preferred major if you don’t do well for its prerequisite modules. If I understand correctly, other faculties/universities might allow you to enroll directly in your chosen major.

 

Would you say that you are disadvantaged in any way from your friends who came from JC?

It’s not that bad, but professors generally assume that you come from a JC as well. So they tend to expect you to know certain stuff like H2 physics or math formulas. Especially in USP where our faculty can be quite international and majority JC kids, some of them might not understand that there are different routes to university. I’ve had a few instances where I didn’t understand what was going on and they threw a “everyone knows it, why don’t you?” You might need to explain that you took a different route and hence you might need extra help in catching up to the same math/science foundation as those who came from JC.

 

2. ADMISSIONS

Any tips for poly juniors who want to apply for university

Apply for the scholarships! I didn’t think that I’ll be going to NUS, so I didn’t apply for any NUS scholarships. Also, go to the open houses earlier! From what I remember 4 years ago, the open house is after poly students apply but before JC students apply so it’s a bit unfair. 

 

3. TEACHING CURRICULUM

What is it like to study psychology?

I didn’t take another major, but I would think it’s like a cross between Arts and Science; some research experiments and statistics, but also learning theories and frameworks. It might feel frustrating sometimes when people don’t think psychology is science since it’s not always part of STEM. 

 

Are there any particular psychology modules that you enjoy and/or dislike?

Personally, I avoid essay-based exams since I have the memory capacity of a rabbit (anecdotal) so I look into the assessment criteria before I choose modules. 

Several statistics and cognitive psychology modules are popular because of the professors e.g. Nicholas Hon, Stephen Lim, but my personal favourite is Camilo Libedinsky – fair to say that his teaching style can be unconventional but that’s what makes it my favourite (I might be biased, he was also my thesis supervisor).

 

What kind of person would suit psychology?

Anyone who doesn’t expect fame or riches, perhaps? I don’t think psychology has high-paying job prospects in general, and there is also some general confusion on what psychology majors learn – so you might have to explain your capabilities in a work setting.

 

What’s your course structure like?

Year 1

In NUS FASS, there’s this system where we don’t declare our majors from the start. We can take 3-4 mods across different majors. From there we decided on what we like and there was a lot of room for experimentations. Even though I was quite sure I was going for psychology, I still had to take other mods and it was quite interesting. I would recommend philosophy to everyone!

For USP, that’s when you do your basic mods. USP mods are very interesting, but also rigorous and not that easy. I’ve heard people say taking USP is CAP suicide but imo it’s possible to do decently well – I maintained a B+ and I’m quite lazy.

Year 2

Some people drop out of USP. You have probably declared your major already. That’s also when lab sessions start for psychology.

Year 3

You have to start looking for a thesis supervisor early. If you want to do masters or post-grad studies, your thesis should  be good!

In semester 2, I went to Arizona State University for exchange… I spent more time travelling than actually studying although I did a really cool neuroanatomy course where we dissected cow eyes and goat brains. The thing about exchange is that your marks grades are just pass/fail on your NUS transcript so everyone is generally more chill. USP students have a wider range of universities to choose from from exchange since there are several exclusive USP partner universities. 

 

Year 4 

You  can choose to do either 3 5k modules or a thesis. In general, the last year is the best year for Psych majors (or at least for me) because I’ve completed most of my modules earlier on.

To qualify for first class honours, you need to do an honour thesis. That might be waived for this year though because of the covid situation. If you know you want to do masters, you should do a thesis as well since the criteria generally includes research of some kind. 

Format of Exams

It’s quite typical. It includes MCQs, short answer questions and essays.

Typical Breakdown:

Class participation: 20%

Group project: 20%

Finals: 30%

Mid terms: 30%

 

What is the teaching style like? How does it compare to that in Poly?

The teaching styles are the same. In Poly psychology, lectures are of course theoretical, but the projects were more hands-on. In uni, it’s more theoretical in terms of assessments but the teaching feels the same. It’s just that the content is crazy in terms of amount, feels like 2 times more than poly. So for me, that was the culture shock.

 

How heavy is your workload? How much leisure time do you have and what do you do during your leisure time?

This is where I might start to stray from the average. I don’t actually go for lectures… For psychology lectures, they don’t take attendance. As long as you do your assignments properly and study the textbook/slides, you don’t have to go for lectures at all. So that’s kind of what I did and I had a lot more free time. 

Because I don’t go to lectures, a typical week would be 2 hours of tutorials on Monday, 2 hours on Wednesday, 2-3 hours on Fridays and that’s all for psychology class time.

This is also why researching your modules and the prof that is teaching the course can be crucial. For some modules, the professors will only test on things that are taught in lectures, and their lecture slides do not include that content – so you will have to go for lectures if you want to score that extra 10-20% in exams.

For a typical USP timetable. It’s two hours a seminar,  2 days of the week. It’s seminar style and attendance is  compulsory. I generally try to arrange my schedule such that I don’t have to go to school everyday, but you just have to sacrifice on certain modules you want to take. 

 

What expectations did you have about your course?

I don’t think I had any expectations actually. I was hoping that there would be more chances to do research, but I was a little disappointed. But that’s for the official school curriculum. Outside of the official basic curriculum, uni is the best place to explore because you can ask the profs for opportunities and talk to people until you find what you’re looking for. I emailed professors to see how I could further my research and I generally got favourable responses.

 

4. CAREER PROSPECTS

How will the career prospects be like by the time you graduate?

It varies! If you want to continue doing psychology-related work, a few areas come to mind –  there’s educational psychology (MOE), clinical research, social sector (MSF) and HR (corporate side). 

 

Would you say that taking psychology is better than a general degree for example Business?

I would say no, take Business instead. Psychology is cool. But people are generally in it because they are interested in it. If you don’t want a psychology-specific career, then you will probably never use psych again, but for Business it’s more likely to be applicable to your job. 

 

5. STUDENT LIFE

Did you personally find a lot of friends from poly in NUS?

Between my faculty and RC, I’m closer to my RC (Cinnamon RC). My faculty is way too big, so I spend a lot more time with my RC friends. We have a small group of USP polytechnic students so we kind of know we’re not alone in this poly-uni journey. The yearly intake for USP might be around 200 students, but across 4 years at any one time there’s probably only like 20 to 30 from polytechnic, so we kind of all know each other. But I would say most of my friends are from JC and everyone is pretty welcoming! 

 

What extracurricular activities does the university offer, and which do you take part in?

I was in AIESE and we organise international volunteering and internships for uni students. I think it’s one of the more ‘productive’ CCAs where you really need to commit. Otherwise, a lot of the CCAs that I’m aware of, other than sports, are like a voluntary club setting. You want to go, you go, there aren’t any regular commitments. If you are just a member and don’t take up projects, there’s nothing expected of you. I don’t really like it personally, because of the inertia I just won’t go. 

 

What is your accommodation like? Do you live on-campus or off-campus, and what is the experience like?

I stay at Cinnamon College, as do all USP students. This accommodation is compulsory 2 years in RC for USP students. It was a lot of laundry… I’m not complaining because I live in Punggol! It gives you a lot of time to bond with your friends, when it’s like 3am and you can go get a drink or supper together. 

I personally found it quite stressful to stay in Cinnamon sometimes, because there’s almost always someone studying in the floor lounge but I guess we work hard and play hard? I guess it was good for me because if not for this constant reminder than I should be studying, I probably would have slacked off more.

 

Any advice for juniors who wish to study Psychology at NTU in the future?

Get ready to work your ass off if you’re a polytechnic student! I thought I studied hard for O Levels, but I was wrong. I’m a very bad example because I only studied when the exams were near, like 1-2 weeks of studying for 6-8 hours a day. This might be nothing if you’re from JC though. Also, this is definitely not a good approximation of how much you should study in uni! Officially, you should be spending 50 hours a week preparing for and on course work. It definitely depends on your working style – last minute studying works well for me but I also have friends who study consistently throughout the semester and that works better for them. 

Go for RAG! I missed out on making friends. RAG is where a lot of cliques form. 

Specifically for psychology friends – Don’t come into psychology just because it sounds cool. I’d advise you to look into textbooks and syllabus; think of which domains you’re interested in and whether it can be translated into a future career. Otherwise, the process would be quite painful and you might end up lost upon graduation.