NOTE TO ALL BEFORE READING: uninterested readers not interested about uni stuff may want to skip my entry below.
i think i could easily count finish my fingers for the number of people who asked me why i didnt want to choose smu for business.
truth is, i did consider.
it markets itself as a vibrant school which produces a well-rounded individual.
sounds pretty good ?
i put smu aside right from the start due to mediocre reasons like distance and fees.
they are a bit far and a bit more expensive respectively.
but i came to realise that was not all.
throughout forums, i have been seeing many people stating controversial issues about the 3 unis.
like ntu's also good, 3 years, direct honours.
truth be told, i dont aim to get honours cos i know i have difficulty doing it,
mainly cos i come from IT background and do not have any knowledge inclining to business.
so, 3 years, i could complete in 3 years in NUS with a normal degree in business ad.
it's ok without honours, cos i have a Diploma in IT with Merit.
well-rounded?
coupled with cca records, industry work experience, entrepreneurship and a come-to-be degree,
I am already.
it really depends how employers look at me.
secondly the life in SMU scares me off.
it shocks me to know that students go back to school on sundays and stay till midnight.
goodness. i do still want to spend time with my family, my cat and have sneaky daily night calls from my NS boyfriend.
competition is so stiff and speaking up is a norm.
which doesnt apply for me cos i do look at my mood before speaking up.
and fighting to speak up means risking to talk rubbish.
cos words dont go through the brain before it comes out of the mouth.
thirdly.
all top students go to SMU and NTU.
SMU cos of reputation and NTU cos of a shorter time path to direct honours.
VERY GOOD! so i can just relax abit and chill.
not that i despise NUS bizad, for NEVER will i do that.
i just feel that it's somewhere in the middle, not too fast like NTU
which cramps all modules in 3 years,
nor is it too competitive like in SMU.
NUS gives me a very nice feeling ever since i entered its grounds,
and i want to call that my second home after august :)
i also have a strong feeling that i will at least still make some more true friends in there :)
examples of top students studying in smu, ntu.
my cousin, denise, from a good jc (cant rem) is there studying economics, renowned to produce the highest paid graduates.
ivan (triple sci in sec sch) --> SMU.
kezia's (top few in double sci in sec sch) --> SMU biz.
karin and jasmine, (dear's 2 sisters, from top jcs too, --> NTU biz)
me (almost lousiest in double sci in sec sch)
even my lecturers asked me why i dont want to choose SMU.
it's on everyone's lips!
and guess what, i just saw one Raffles jc guy reading an ultra thick Economics book on the train today.
it makes me want to shun away and slipped my 8days back into my bag.
i secretly hope that he is going to SMU.
arghhh. these kind of people are going to rip me off before i reach year 1 sem 2.
but nonetheless, i heard only 10% of places are allocated to students who passed the Discretionary Admissions interview.
which is about only 50 places out of intake of 500.
it makes me happy to have found a place in NUS.
SMU Interviewi promised to talk about it after confirming not accepting SMU.
firstly, i wasnt in a total right state of mind when i was going for their interview.
it was a long day at work and i had to travel down for the interview, and only to know that it will take 2 hours.
About 24 of us were splitted into 3 groups. All of them were from polys for those i spoke with. A fashionable guy with his shirt tucked in came into the pin-drop silence room and spoke about how hard it is to get to SMU.
that is, among discussion, only around 2-3 per group. only 1/3 of the entire classroom.
and there are many more groups of classrooms after us.
i cringed upon hearing that.
am i going to be eliminated after going through these tedious essays?
done with the shock, here comes the pain.
1 comprehension, 1 essay and 1 debate (read an article first, then in groups of 8 )
Comprehension : about racists.
Essay : write about something that is unjust in the world, and what could be done to prevent (i chose this, but there was another choice which i forgot)
Debate: this solid question pisses me off till date.
Part A: Comprehension.The context was similar of those words that came speaking out of a documentary.
can you imagine my sleepiness when reading the para.
i swear i went into a daze upon reaching para 2.
which then i force myself to re-read.
when i finally finished the essay, i gave a sigh, shook my head, and re-read.
i understood only 40% of it.
Part B: EssayWrite about something that you feel that is unjust in the world, and what can be done to prevent it.
i wrote about child slavery. credits to unity sec for forcing us to buy national geography. the article and those pics remain vivid in my mind.
Part C: THE DOOM.This was the death sentence: Think of someone who is not smart, but is the best.
i was stunned. totally stunned.
out came pouring out of the other mouths were Bill gates (because he's a drop out), Einstein...
i was thinking, so hard, who can i say?
should i say my mother? should i say my friend?
or should i say myslf?
best as in what context?
sports? academics? showbiz? technology?
i already disagreed upon hearing all those names, for if they werent smart, would they be able to make a name for themselves ?
i remained shocked.
luckily he stopped asking everyone. for everyone was fighting to answer.
some even began marketing themselves and their schools.
6 of them answered this. i was one of the 2 who kept totally quiet.
i was totally flabbergasted.
then came another question after disagreeing openly with their answers:
if i were to choose between you and those people who fare extremely well in other genres, would you take back your words?
everyone was shocked. then i was proud that i didnt speak.
but within few seconds, all came again, essays that pour out of the lips. this time, disagreeing with what they said for the first question.
i was flabbergasted once again.
are these people real or fake?!
this time, it became rebuttal, confusion, and the "forcing" to choose them instead of eg. sportsmen.
another rebutted, saying that's not true and stated his stand
i spoke up this time, just to agree and redefine his stand, and that learning from a sportmen can be different,
their never-giving-up attitude and teamwork are something that ought to be learnt vastly from the beginning.
then came the torture. someone spoke up about some sensitive issues.
hence the dean couldnt stop explaining. the interview ended abruptly.
yeap that's about that. no chance to speak.
but, i was accepted.
i do not really know what is the criteria to pass.
nor do i really care already.
nevertheless,
i believe no matter where one goes, most importantly is how you carry yourself when you go out to work.
that's where the real world begins.
differentiation & integration is not going to appear on your workdesk after you graduate.
i can't believe i wrote this post for more than 1 hour.
no offense to anyone if this post hurts someone unintentionally.
i apologise first. don't spam my tagboard please.
man, i'm dead tired.
lol.
i miss my boy!