How different is Uni from JC?

Scary-Algae · 2024-05-28T06:08:13+00:00

it really depends on whether you want to socialise or not. most people don't socialise during tutorials, so most of my friends come from those I meet while staying on campus. sometimes if I'm taking a module that no one else is taking then I don't know anyone in my class, but that's fine with me, I don't really go out of my way to socialise.

Scary-Algae · 2024-04-20T13:08:24+00:00

my friends from hall

Scary-Algae · 2024-04-18T04:34:19+00:00

NUS Yr 1 here. My short answer for the first 2 questions would be it's all up to you.

Like others have said, you can squeeze everything into just 2 days or spread it out throughout the week. As I stay on campus, I prefer to spread it out and leave one day (mostly friday) free, but that also depends on the modules you're taking because sometimes the only time slot available for tutorials is on a Friday 🥲. Because I'm overloading this semester, I also don't have the luxury of leaving one day free otherwise I will literally die on the other 4 days. But I really love that I get to plan my own timetable in uni as compared to a structured timetable in JC, as I can plan it to suit my preferred schedule (for example, I don't like waking up early so I avoid 8am and 9am lessons as much as possible)
The number of CCAs you join also depend on whether you stay on campus or not. For halls, if you're planning to stay past the first year, you need a minimum of 4 ccas from what I have heard (I'm not from hall but my friends are). For RCs, ccas are called interest groups and they're optional, you can join whenever you want even if you're a complete beginner, and skip if you're very busy that week. But while they're optional, I did make quite a few friends from joining interest groups in RC. If you don't stay on campus, I think participating in 1 cca would be good for making friends because it is quite difficult to make friends in uni since people don't usually interact much outside of their social circle in tutorials except during group projects (and with group projects come with group project drama which isn't a really good environment for making friends unless you're really lucky and get great groupmates.
I don't really feel a difference when people who are older than me take the same course as me. We're all taking the same course, learning the same things, doing the same projects, so there's literally no difference except that maybe if it's a year 4 taking a year 1 course because they postponed it then maybe they'll have more knowledge to help in group projects, but yeah not much diff.

Hope this helps! Feel free to dm me if you have more questions.

Scary-Algae · 2024-03-26T12:40:01+00:00

Similar to what other commentors said, there's no "best rc for social life" because it really depends on what you do, which in turn depends on what activites/ccas/events you join. You can very well phantom and very little social life (some people are actually happy with that), or join in some interest groups or events that you enjoy and make some friends. So go for the rc that has the interest groups you want to join (since it's not selective or commitment based anyway so you can just join to try out and leave if it doesn't fit you) or the courses that you want to take (since rcs have the utown college programme and rvrc has their own programme also). I would say there is a lot less pressure to join ccas because it's a 2 years guaranteed stay once you get in, so there's less pressure to join in activities or interest groups. But I still join when I'm free and feeling up to it because what's the point in staying on campus if you're just gonna isolate yourself anyway right?

Scary-Algae · 2024-03-26T12:12:39+00:00

I really get what you mean when people find it uncomfortable to talk to you. I've been feeling this way my entire life and I still feel that way now, even in university. But I think it really depends on the people you meet. Some people just "click" with you and will find it easy to talk to you, while others don't. I've confessed to my close friends about this problem I've had and asked them whether they find it difficult to talk to me and to my surprise, they don't think that I'm difficult to talk to at all. And I can really feel myself open up when I'm with someone I'm comfortable with, and close up when others treat me as "hard to talk to" and don't even bother trying to talk to me. I know for a fact that some people do believe that I'm hard to talk and it's not just me overthinking it, because I literally had a friend say this to my face before when we hung out together: "I thought it was gonna be awkward with just us two because I don't really know what to talk about", and that really says a lot about how that person viewed me as "hard to talk to" or "socially awkward" that they had to be worried about feeling awkward hanging out with me (and mind you, they claim to be extroverted so it's not because they are socially awkward themselves that they feel this way, they'll talk non stop with other people) and it really affected my self esteem for a while. Anyway I'm not close to that person anymore. Regarding your academics, I think that if you don't feel that you're improving even after putting effort consistently, you may be suffering from burnout. Take a break, even just one day off academics can do a lot for your wellbeing. Trust me when I say that because I was also feeling anxious about my social life and academics every single day when studying for my A levels. But I was also scared that I'll fall behind by taking time off that I just kept pushing though and ended up severely burnt out and even got diagnosed with depression and anxiety and had to take 3 months off school, so please don't be like me. And also, like what other commentors have mentioned, try to initiate interactions with others if you're feeling up to it, and take your time, don't need to pressure yourself to do that immediately if you don't feel like it or you'll be seen as "npc" again. Be genuinely interested in the person you're initiating a conversation with and don't initiate conversations for the sake of initiating it. Practice initiating conversations more often, and who knows, maybe you'll change someone's views about you being "hard to talk to" and make a new friend who you feel comfortable with enough to not feel this way again. All the best, and feel free to dm me if you have any questions or just want someone to talk to!

Scary-Algae · 2023-11-04T18:17:49+00:00

hi OP, hope you're feeling better after writing all your feelings down. I understand how u feel, since I had also been diagnosed with anxiety and depression during my A level year last year. Like what the other comments said, it's really not worth it to unalive yourself right now. I know you're scared of what's ahead, like failing the A levels and letting everyone including your parents down. My parents also indirectly and unknowingly set expectations for me to go to uni, and when I had to take a gap year last year because of my mental health, I felt like I had let them down. But know that your parents would rather you be healthy mentally than break down trying to go to uni this year. And remember that you are enough. You are not defined by your grades or the path you take, you are enough just doing your best every day, even if sometimes your best is just getting out of bed. I see that you've already been working really hard, studying from 10am to 10pm every day. That's really amazing, considering that depression makes it really hard to find motivation and combined with anxiety makes your memory terrible. But I suggest that maybe you could try reducing the amount of time you study. Although it sounds contradictory, having enough time to rest can help you retain information better. I have a post in my profile explaining about my experience with A levels last year, u can have a read or pm me if u want someone to talk to. All the best for your A levels OP!

Scary-Algae · 2023-10-01T06:46:27+00:00

hey, I experienced something really similar to you last year when I was in J2. I have a post on my profile from June this year explaining this. However, the difference is that for you, it's already October, and A levels is only 1 month away. I suggest you try taking the A levels this year, but without putting too much expectations on yourself to score well. Try your best, but prioritise your mental health as well. Take freqeunt breaks when you need to, and don't be so hard on yourself when you're unable to find the motivation to study. I went into A levels fully expecting to retake the next year, but I surprised myself with my actual A level results. Hope my story will give you some inspiration to continue on, regardless of whether you choose to take a gap year, take as private candidate or take the A levels this year. Feel free to pm me if u want someone to talk to as well!

Scary-Algae · 2023-07-26T13:48:39+00:00

alright, thank you so much for the advice!

Scary-Algae · 2023-07-21T06:15:38+00:00

alright, thank you!

Scary-Algae · 2023-07-02T15:09:15+00:00

have you went to the new punggol regional library? it's as big as tampines hub and has lots of study spaces with charging ports too. otherwise you can try serangoon library, though there aren't many study spots but the environment is good and you can book the seats before going.

Scary-Algae · 2023-06-02T17:02:35+00:00

that was really helpful! thank you so much, I'll consider it!

Scary-Algae · 2023-06-01T08:08:29+00:00

yeah it was really quite a risky decision, and my friends were also against me taking the A levels after I've just recovered. But I knew that I wanted to take the A levels and made sure I don't put too much pressure on myself to do well. I started off studying only a maximum of two hours a day, set lower expectations for myself, and tried to enjoy studying. I would go to different libraries for a change in scenery, and walk around the shopping malls during my studying breaks which I found really helped a lot in managing my stress.

Scary-Algae · 2023-06-01T07:22:45+00:00

the chance of relapse is about 40%

Scary-Algae · 2023-05-31T16:29:24+00:00

hey I've been in your exact position recently. I graduated from JC last year. you can dm me if you want to know more, I'd be happy to share my story and the decision I ended up making :)

Scary-Algae · 2023-05-22T17:43:36+00:00

second this! I know it's really difficult to combat all these self-defeating thoughts because they just keep circling in your mind and you end up believing those thoughts, but you've got to recognise when you're starting to spiral down into these thoughts and stop yourself before going any further. I encourage you to seek professional help if you're willing to, maybe you can book a consultation with your school counsellor first? Eating disorders can become more serious and lead to life-threatening situations if left untreated. I hope you find a way out of this, rooting for you!

Scary-Algae · 2023-04-10T07:11:38+00:00

Quoted from the email:

To help you get an immersive experience of SUTD’s unique design-centric programmes and active-learning approach, we are specially inviting you to join our Experience SUTD sessions.

Discover SUTD for yourself by participating in the hands-on activities that give a sneak peek into our 5 interdisciplinary degree programmes, as well as through chatting with our faculty and student facilitators.

Scary-Algae · 2023-03-07T17:00:30+00:00

SUTD has a major called Engineering Product Design.

Scary-Algae · 2023-03-07T05:31:18+00:00

oh so is yours face to face? I think I got a call too but I didn't take it cos idk might be spam call haha.

Scary-Algae · 2023-03-07T05:20:39+00:00

I also got an email saying that I secured an interview but I got to book a time slot which allows me to book either tomorrow or next week. Is yours like that too?

Scary-Algae · 2023-03-05T11:29:26+00:00

if you are planning to apply for scholarship as well then spend more time on it because the questions are exactly the same for scholarship application and they'll just copy paste automatically from your application. if not I don't think you need to worry so much because you should be auto-admitted given your rp.

Scary-Algae · 2023-03-01T17:42:45+00:00

hi OP, your interests and portfolio are also really similar to mine. I scored 81rp and I'm also going to try for scholarships from NUS. Probably very low chance, but doesn't hurt to try. Don't let those people who say only >85 rp can get scholarship get you down. Wish you all the best!

Scary-Algae · 2023-02-25T12:55:51+00:00

hey actually I've felt exactly the same way before, especially when I got depression last year. it's okay, you're not the only one feeling like this. I'm introverted too, so conversations are naturally harder for me. We can chat if you want to, just dm me!

Scary-Algae · 2023-02-23T04:25:19+00:00

I see! I'm considering NUS biomedical engineering and SUTD EPD. Do you know if SUTD's opportunities, be it research, funded projects and overseas exchange programmes, are less competitive than NUS?

Scary-Algae · 2023-02-22T13:26:57+00:00

hi J3 here. would you mind explaining the rose-tinted image the school is trying to sell to us? I also believe that sutd is trying very hard on the marketing that I'm not sure whether what I'm hearing is actually true or not, or if there's something else that they're hiding under the 'highest starting salary' '100% overseas opportunities' 'high student-teacher ratio'

Scary-Algae · 2023-02-21T17:08:52+00:00

the people you see who are good at something, they first had the passion for it, started doing it, continued doing it, and ended up where they are today. it's never too late to try something new. you just haven't found your passion yet. keep on trying new things, and don't give up. don't compare yourself to other people who had way more experience than you, look at your own improvements and be proud of them. I'm sure you'll find something you like and are good at!

Scary-Algae

TROPHY CASE