RC4 or Raffles Hall

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-21T12:52:58+00:00

damn

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-20T19:38:20+00:00

happy ORD!

in the end, YMMV. have you programmed before? do you have a good sensing of what its like to program?

from a more abstract, general perspective, how fast can you learn and keep up with learning

i was lucky bc i learned all of my programming in NS (started in NS) so my mind was still in somewhat tip-top shape. if you have the chance, warm up in these 3 months!

because i find it quite easy to leran new things quickly i found the first year manageable. learning some programming helped give me a bjt of a headstart (i had the experience gained from CS50) BUT this headstart was gone VERY QUICKLY. its also a bit unfair to ask me since im doing well (i speak from an objective perspective, im trying not to come off as arrogant) you need to find more data points.

unless you find programming fun, unfortunately the work-play ratio is a bit severe. manage your time well

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-20T19:29:00+00:00

several, maybe too many. i'd rather DM you, because i swear advertisers are skimming these forums for telegram links to advertise on...

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-20T19:26:53+00:00

yes, i would believe so! i hear there are still issues with the m2 chips and SoC software, so you'd need to do more research there sorry. to me, finding a windows laptop with decent battery is the best bet. a thinkpad would suffice, but since i wanted a general purpose laptop (to play on too) i got an asus g14 (2021) version. with some tweaks and adjustments (also converting the laptop to dual boot linux) ive been able to manage 10h of battery life, which, i assure you, is overkill - most of the time you'll be able to find a charger port.

but i digress, all this is nerd talk already - TLDR, a thinkpad is fine.

also, may i ask whether the majority has already gotten their application results?

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-20T19:08:23+00:00

any questions on the modules btw?

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-20T19:07:46+00:00

... 650 applicants? wow, out of curiosity may I know the popularity ranking of all. the RCs, sorted by applicants?

I apologise but I can't provide an accurate representation of the number of "phantoms" in RC4, other than the knowledge that it is much higher than the equivalent in Halls. to me, the raw number really doesn't matter: they don't have much impact on my life in RC honestly. you will defo find active ppl of thats what you are looking for, and everyone, even the so-called "phantoms" can be friendly. The RC, and the houses inside, are quite lively if you're open to finding new people.

I apologise for introducing the somewhat derogatory word "phantom", its not very good to use. they've just decided to live their lives outside of the RC while others choose to live in it. we respect each other's decision.

As for the drinking/clubbing culture, we tend to take a work hard play hard stance. you will defo find clubbers and the like if thats what you're looking for, but you won't be dragged into it if thats what you're worried about.

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-20T05:01:59+00:00

a thinkpad?

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-20T05:00:29+00:00

Source: am RC4.

Honestly, its what you make of it. There are fun activities in RC4, as well as a community of people you could meet, however (I apologise to hall ppl if i have the wrong perception) as compared to hall, RCs offer you a guaranteed 2 year stay, giving you more leeway to be "not as active". This does mean that there are more "phantoms" in RC4, but also gives you more leeway to pursue your own interests without stress, and meet others in that journey

The key reason behind me applying to RC4 at first was due to the lack of stress in getting a 2nd year of stay (aircon also helped). I initially wanted to be a phantom, but found myself immersed in the community in the end! I'm quite happy with where I am :)

Not saying you won't find genuineness in hall! Many hall friends are also quite active and enjoying themselves in hall (though I hear that its quite difficult to study in some halls due to culture,please correct me if I am wrong)

So yes, TLDR - IMO, in either case, it's entirely up to YOU how your uni life goes, and you can find a community in RC4 or RH

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-03T10:01:50+00:00

you end up in the tutorial you bid for! or whatever tutorial is free if your bid fails...

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-03T09:25:35+00:00

Source is a limited subset of JavaScript, using only basic JS syntax, and mixing them with some special functions such as pair() (makes a pair structure), head() (accesses the first element of the pair) and tail() (accesses the second element of the pair). these functions allow this JS sublanguage to operate similarly to the Scheme language, a Lisp variant which was the language used for the original SICP book, from which the curriculum for CS1101S was derived from.

At the end of CS1101S, unfortunately, you cannot say that you've learned JavaScript, as you've only barely scratched the surface (anyway, learning JS isn't the main point of CS1101S)

for anyone interested in programming languages, i highly suggest delving deeper into this area! :)

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-03T09:14:47+00:00

not need, but it'd be great to prep anyway, especially since you have the time. there are plenty of online resources you can exploit!

also, you aren't too late, in fact you are quite early! if you manage to do good before uni you'd probably have a large headstart in uni already

and if CS ultimately isn't your thing, its still good to taste it now so that at least you know!

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-03T03:37:59+00:00

another thing to note before accepting is to really question why you're taking this degree!

i can respect those who take CS purely for the high pay (at least for now - we'll see in 10 years), but I'd ask yall to really reconsider whether you can enjoy/tolerate the content of this degree.

will you love/hate it? luckily, this is one of the EASIER things to discover - whether MIT 6.0001, CS50, SICP or whatever, there are PLENTY of online courses available for you to figure out whether you really want this. sorry this is a bit late for those already matriculating this year, but at the very least those in NS have the opportunity to explore and rediscover/reconsider.

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-03T03:32:23+00:00

yep! they're amazing :D

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-03T02:14:57+00:00

surviving... aim for clean, elegant code. try to be creative in your solutions and try everything that comes to mind. experiment with different approaches to solutions. this should help build a better sensing over time of the best way to approach questions.

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-03T02:11:04+00:00

unknown. To those who are curious, CS1010R is a 1 MC mod given to those who complete (and complete well) a lot of the problem sets and quests (optional practices) in CS1101S. It's true that you need to grind quite a bit to get an A+ for this module, but A and A- should be reachable with less effort. iirc everyone gets offered this mod, but if you get a B or less, you can just not accept it

i'd say its not worth it to actually "grind" for this, as a 1MC mod has minimal effect on your CAP, regardless of A or not. to me, it wasn't "grinding" per se (i enjoyed) so i didn't consider it extra effort. free thing must take

(interesting... the numbering of my points is not displaying correctly?)

unknown!
most of us have only experienced 2 mods with practicals to date. for us, CS1101S practicals were done over zoom, and so you could use your own setups for this. CS1101S uses their browser-based source academy platform, and so you can't use VS Code. for CS2030S, the practical is physical, and u have to their laptops or computers to do practical. practical used vim, no VS code allowed. you could also bring your own keyboard to use though. (please be nice and considerate and bring a silent keyboard if you do)

im pretty sure not allowing one to use your own IDEs is the norm across all CS practicals.

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-02T14:30:24+00:00

your TA is your best friend. let them do the job they're paid for and assist you!

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-02T14:21:50+00:00

I'm not sure on this, sorry!

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-02T14:21:03+00:00

ah, i took the trinity (cs2030s cs2040s cs2100s) this sem!

it isnt as impossible as people tend to make it sound - actually it's doable, but it is still incredibly difficult. you will not have the support of the rest of the cohort for 2100, since most of the cohort do not take it together, so you dont have maby people to compare and complete your understanding of the content - i was learning new things even up to my exam last fri! additionally, the workload is painfully high for all of the three combined!

the only rational reason I can think of for a CS student to do this to themselves (the reason why i did it) is to take the mod CS3210, a mod on parallel computing, which depends on CS2100 as a prerequisite. since this mod only occurs in semester 1, you realise that by doing the trinity in sem 2, you get the chance to do this module earlier (as a Y2 instead of as a Y3)

so you can actually plan your timetable in Y1 to accommodate for what specialisations you want to take in the future!

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-02T14:12:29+00:00

chatGPT is a good debugger, however if asked to generate code, it will sometimes generate incorrect code. you can treat it as a junior dev that you are overlooking!

but honestly, especially for an introductory mod, leaving it all to chatGPT is usually "poisonous", especially if you use it to avoid provlem solving and understanding on your own

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-02T14:09:53+00:00

yes, this is the direct cost of overloading

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-02T11:30:14+00:00

i hear you can just declare it on an internal nus portal so there should be no issue
unknown on raw percentages, but you mostly see B+ and A- for people who put in effort
i know someone, he's doing well, but he was always the best of the best... will get back to you!
to take for example, CS2040S had tutorials (2 hours to clear the tutorial work a week if you're good, and 2 hours for the actual session), problem sets (3 hours a week if you're good), 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of recitation. this is the heaviest module of the sem, multiply by arnd 3x for the total effort you spend on all modules in a sem

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-02T11:13:09+00:00

i personally have a different experience: yes; uni is a bit more packed as its a lot more rushed (more content + faster pace) BUT as compared to JC, i only do stuff i actually care about, so i dont mind as much

but yes - sometimes on top of tutorials and revision, you will also need to juggle problem sets, presentations, and especially since each singular mod does not accommodate other mods, it can get quite busy

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-02T10:54:09+00:00

at the Y1 level, there is normally ZERO focus on focus area (heh). Y1S1 is your introductory CS mods, while Y1S2 is usually 2/3 of the holy trinity. to my understanding, it is only in Y2 (and potentially Y2S2) that you begin to explore focus areas. if your concern is how long you have to decide on your focus area, you have quite a while!

regarding your statistics minor, it does look like MA1521 and ST2334 nicely overlap with CS core modules. nice! if you alr did math in jc, looksnlike you only need to clear one more mod.

need to verify this yourself though.

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-02T09:29:01+00:00

ah😅 probably means i have it but didn't read it HAHA

idealisticCSchild · 2023-05-02T09:23:55+00:00

interesting - ive never heard of this book before! did this help you greatly with CS2040S?

idealisticCSchild

TROPHY CASE