Year 1 Sem 1

Year one semester one was a heck of a ride.

I was completely clueless about the bidding system and choice of modules etcetera.

If you are a freshie, here’s a tl;dr: Just bid for the modules you potentially want to major in.

Okay let’s hop into what set the tone for my 3/4 years in NUS:

1. GER1000

Let’s just say that nobody in FASS actually likes this module. It’s a preallocated module, meaning that it is one of the many compulsory modules you have to take in NUS. Many will say that this is basically a statistics mod, which is… true. For the first few weeks at least. I mean, it is still helpful if you can remember hypothetical testing and probability from junior college if you attended. Coming from a person who takes a long time to understand mathematical concepts, this module hit me hard mid-way through.

If you get this module in sem 1, congratulations, you’ll have quite a slack first semester. This mod has only 1 tutorial every fortnightly, and no physical lectures. That said, there are still online lectures which nobody watches. I just attend tutorials to wing it. Tutorials are important as it really helped me in understanding the concepts discussed in the e-lectures (all of which I felt unmotivated to watch).

There are weekly e-quizzes which have unlimited tries so you can discuss with your other friends taking this module and get full marks for this quiz component.

The project will be your saving grace. I was so damn lost in this module, I swear, I was so ready to fail this mod. But apparently, the project boosted my results quite a bit. So, children, THE PROJECT IS WORTH THE EFFORT.

Mid-term and final papers were in MCQ, so I could at least tap onto that 20% chance of getting it right through probability. In all, this module turned out quite okay. Most FASS people give up on this mod but its just a matter of who gives up less, and you should be able to get a comfortable grade.

Summary

Workload: Light

Difficulty: Easy

Grade: Better than expected

2. SW1101E

Social work… I was in fact pretty set on going ahead with social work as my major entering NUS. Took this module and instantly regretted. My lecturer was Prof Esther. She is capable and passionate at what she is doing/teaching. But it just didn’t work for me. I found her lecture content repetitive and boring. She does try to switch things up by inviting lots of guests down to speak. Yes, it is sometimes less dry, but I also really want to know what were the main concepts she was putting across and that if I have to study for it.

Tutorials were okay, nothing more exciting than the tutorials you attend in JC. Class participation is valued, so talk more, especially when the teacher asks the class to share their experiences.

Assignments were a chore. We had to visit some social service agency and write a long ass reflection. And also another 20+ page newspaper reflection. Just, nope.

Little instructions were given for finals, so I didn’t put in much effort due to the ambiguity of scope. I didn’t do well for this mod, though the efforts I put in for finals kind of showed that I deserved it. Thank goodness for free S/Us.

Summary

Workload: Heavy

Difficulty: Easy

Grade: Lower than expected

3. SC1101E

Ahhhhh, soci.

Remembered I said that I intended to major in Social work? This was the course-changing module for me.

I predict 80% of SC1101E students giving me a dirty look for this, but I really enjoy this module. I was impressed at how much we didn’t know about the world, and how we take so many social structures/situations/meanings for granted. Some lectures threw me into a state of existential crisis, but once I got over it, I  felt that this module was brilliant. And thus my change to Sociology.

Our lecturers were Prof Saroja and Lou. They are impressive lecturers- I was entertained throughout, without missing important concepts. If anything, you can approach either of them and they will be more than happy to assist you with it.

Tutorials were engaging and something that I actually look forward to every fortnight. Nothing much to prepare, just essential readings and your personal opinions. My tutor was J- someone who encouraged us to think further and probe our own assumptions.

Mid-term and final papers were doable, nothing surprising if you pick up the hints in lecture and class. Overall, a module I personally enjoyed and would recommend, though I know my coursemates wouldn’t.

Summary

Workload: Light

Difficulty: Easy

Grade: As expected

4. GL1101E

Took this to clear my FASS basket.

Worst. Mod. Ever.

The lecturer was Prof Patrick. Okay, let’s set this straight. He is a knowledgeable fella. Yes, sure. But he is really lacking when it comes to lectures. No slides, no notes, no freaking microphone. Everything, you DIY. Do your own notes, and good luck trying to catch what he says.

The module was insanely tough for an intro mod, so I will not recommend freshies picking this if he is the lecturer of this module.

Because I didn’t understand the lectures, tutorials were a chore. Though it is a good time to clarify things you didn’t catch in lecture. And for me, it was practically everything.

Assignments were not rushed, given in a reasonable time frame. It took me pretty long to complete the assignments (essays), as I realised that it is actually HARD to smoke your way through an entire module I knew nuts about.

Finals were horrifying, was prepared to flunk and redo the module. I think many gave up too, so my results came back to be pretty good. Still, I remained scarred from this module. Goodbye for good. What a way to start my NUS life.

Summary

Workload: Manageable

Difficulty: Hard

Grade: Better than expected

5. I took a UTown module in place of my GEMs as I live in RC. If you want to know more feel free to comment below.

Yup, that’s it for my semester one. As torturous as I made it sound, it really wasn’t that bad. Sem one was quite a chill sem for me and I had a 3-day work week => 4-day weekend. Plan your timetable well and you will live a stereotypical art student’s life. Let me know if you need help with bidding. Even though I would say don’t worry, it’s really nothing much. The hype/panic around it among freshies are… disproportionate to the difficulty/brains behind it.

- J