I would say that the results were pretty much expected and I am overall very satisfied with the results. A for my FYP and my second A+ in my NUS life. I was a little disappointed with the B+, but since I'll be graduating with second upper honours, I've got nothing to complain.
Overall, it was a crazy ride in the 4 years of NUS.
Some things that I would like to note through this 4 years.
1) Not giving up
Clawing my CAP from Second Lower to Second Upper was a complete nightmare, but at least I managed to still get to second upper at the start of year 4.
I was extremely demoralising watching my CAP stagnate within the 3.9 region during year 2 and year 3. When its at the 3.8~3.9 range, it always seems as though getting it to 4 seems close, yet it is usually not as easy. This is especially so when one encounters modules which are extremely competitive or when one makes a poor module selection judgement.
Things got better for me in year 3 and year 4. Sometimes, I think that if the curriculum for year 1 and 2 is set the way it is for year 3 and 4, I would probably have scored better.
To do well, is not only to not give up. It is to commit more and more to become better and better. It the law of equivalent trade, one cannot gain better grades without first sacrificing more time to hone his skills.
In year 1 sem 1, I studied from Monday to Friday.
Year 1 sem 2, it became from Monday to Saturday.
Year 2 sem 1, it became from Monday to Sunday.
When there are not enough days to spend, you spend more time in a day.
When there is not enough time, you start thinking how to do it more efficiently.
No matter what it is, please understand that you can only get better.
Of course, please eat well and rest well.
"A sound soul resides in a sound mind and a sound body"
Soul eater
2) The ideal team
Everybody thinks if you assemble a group of the smartest people (based on CAP), you get the perfect team. If you agree, you are making a bloody mistake. Doing so many project modules, those that give me an A+, tend to be the group that is the most commited.
I had a groupmate whose most common grade is an A+, but when he is in the team he contributed nothing to the whole project except his part. When the going got tough, you cannot find him, you can't get him to help, he wouldn't help and he goes around playing the lame blame game.
Scoring in a project modules is not based on brain power because at the end of the day, even the dumbest person can figure it out. It is based on commitment, hardwork, willingness to contribute ideas and sacrifice time. Having said that, finding people who aren't the least bit motivated or aren't exactly bright is also a terrible option.
Try to find people of varying talents. People tend to take pride in their talents. Engineers tend view themselves as either hardware or software type engineers. While they can most likely do both, they tend to be more comfortable doing one over the other. Pick people who are of both categories and tap on their capabilites to maximise their potential.
3) Relying on yourself
If I get a penny for every leech I encounter in NUS, I'd be a millionaire. Just kidding.
But seriously, in my 4 years here, I've encountered a lot of people who will ask you for help and then ninja away. They can range from people who you just got to know to friends who you know for more than a decade. At the end of the day, its only when you do it yourself then you can really from the experience.
Of course, there is the issue of half-assed work. Sometimes, you would assume that people would put in the effort, even if it is the minimum of the required standards, but reality hits you hard. Really hard. Sometimes, people cannot even be bothered to copy and paste from Wikipedia or they might try to correct existing work, only to make it worst. Whatever it is, be mentally prepared.
4) Every encounter is a neutral issue, make it work
When you make it work, it becomes a positive experience.
Adopt a positive attitude towards your work, it will reward you with a positive experience.
Don't just take a module to get your degree requirements done or to just pull your CAP. Do it so that you can learn something new. If you have no idea why you are doing this module beside pulling CAP or because someone said it was slack, your reasons who doing it is wrong. In fact, I would encourage people to do project modules for the sake of being AWESOME and pushing the limits to what one is able to accomplish. At the end of the day, you are going to look back and know that you did something with no regrets.
In my NUS life, the easiest module I every took was EE3407 and I got an A for it. When I recommended it to my friends, most of the people I know did not get more than a A-. What works for me does not work for my peers.
5) Knowing what you are good at, and being good at it
For me, I found that I tend to score well in practical and project modules.
I think it is good to know what is one's strength and capitalise on it.
In my 4 years, I did 9 technical electives instead of the 7 required because:
a) I realise I am good at hardware/ project related modules
b) I realise that I am starting to score in engineering modules compared to non-engineering modules (which ironically was an opposite phenonmenon from year 1 and 2)
c) I see the potential in what I was learning in class
d) I realise that some topics are related and I could capitalise on my prior knowledge to give me some advantage in other modules (not much though, but it makes the learning curve more gentle).
I followed the specialisation track of ICD design and some modules were inter-related or continuation of other modules, giving me more motivation to further explore it.
6)Don't be an asshole
As simple as it may seem, people do it for short term gain. They do not realise that others do remember and there is karma. Okay, I'm kidding...there is no karma and good guys finish last. But rumours spread so don't expect to go away scott free. And do not offend people who bear grudges.
On the other hand, be mentally prepared to encounter such people. Learn to forgive and forget. Doing so is not a sign of weakness, it is not letting the guy go scott free. Rather, it is freeing yoursef the burden of hate and allowing yourself to focus on more important things. You do not need to feed the leeches but well...just be aware of some rumours going around because it cannot be groundless.
7) USE YOUR SUs FOR RISKY MODULES.
This is really a minor point, but i think people should be aware of this. Always be prepared in case you think you might make a poor module section choice. Cool and popular modules are always appealing but one needs to consider if it is really suitable for them.
Personally, I think taking language modules is can be a poor choice. It really depends on the student. Language modules, in general, are very interesting and full of activities (cooking lesson, outings and stuff). In addition, it is very enriching since learning a new language is a very good attribute to add to yourself. But it consumes a lot of time, demanding on the student's learning abilities and full of people who are already familiar with the language (unfortunately, they tend to act like fresh learners). So take it at your own risk.
I took level 1 Vietnamese which consumed 5 hours a week and thats just the lesson. If I am not wrong, Korean and Japanese is consumes even more time. After spending so many hours studying, doing the projects, I've only got a B-. So I SU it. It was really fun, probably not as interesting as hardware or project based ECE mods, but definitely better than calculation intensive modules in ECE. The activites were fun and you get to make many friends over lessons through interactions unlike engineering modules where everyone just indulge in their own stuff.
8) As much as FYP is a nightmare, its actually quite fun
Generations of seniors scare the living hell out of their juniors. Telling them stories of terror almost similar to the descend of Diablo or the arrival of armagedon. But seriously, it really not that bad. Do your best and make it work and you are more of less at least guarenteed an A-. Usually a working project can get an A-.
a) Be friendly to seniors (prof and postgrad students) and they will be kind to you.
b) Be proactive in suggesting ideas and executing them. Nobody like a student who cannot do anything without someone telling them what to do
c) One cannot lead his life in fear especially when it is FYP. In typical Singaporean lingo, we say don't Kan Chiong (nervous). Treat it like a normal job and be professional about it.
d) Understand your professor's working style. Some like to let you do what you like, others take it as their responsibility to ensure you learn since they are in charge of you. It is up to you to understand what is their preference to adapt to it. Either way, it still requires you to be proactive.
e) Understand that making a mistake is not something shameful. This is not National Service. People highlight your mistakes so as to make it a learning point. So please learn and become better from that experience.
f) There is no harm doing more as you might need it in the future.
In conclusion, I would acknowledge that this NUS experience, while being tiring and hectic, is a very enriching experience for myself. I would like to thank my family and friends who were beside me and my mentors and professors for guiding me. Without you guys, it would not have been possible.
