D: Hi people...I’m Darby. Currently a third-year NTU Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering student. I enrolled back in the 19/20 academic year via normal entry.
H: Howdy! I’m Howard. Also a third-year NTU student, but majoring in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. I enrolled in 20/21 via direct entry to the second year.
D: Contrary to what the title of this article suggests, we’re not going to be disputing whether it is more advisable to take normal entry or some form of advanced standing in university after your NS. We’re in no way that combative - xnobis’s editor is just being dramatic🙄.
H: Yes, this discussion merely aims to help you make a more informed choice if you are considering slashing off a semester or more of your time in university through direct entry or by taking substantial exemptions and doing the maximum course load per semester.
D: Well, before we dive into the whole ‘should I or should I not’ dilemma, Howard please briefly clarify what exactly direct entry to Year 2 entails as compared to normal exemptions🧐.
H: Simply put, for direct entry, 1️⃣ you’re exempted from basic and unrestricted elective (UE) modules, 2️⃣ the core modules from Year 1 are squeezed into Year 2 (and perhaps slightly modified), which means 3️⃣ you’ll have to do the maximum course load each semester for your entire time in university. That’s how it works for my course, at least, but it shouldn’t differ much across the courses in the country that offer direct entry. As for normal exemptions, depending on how quickly you want to fast-track, you may not need to take the maximum course load each semester. And if you are giving yourself that bit of leeway, you may also have the time to take some of the basic and UE modules that you are exempted from if you are interested. With that out of the way, let’s discuss some of the critical deciding factors for whether or not you should be taking such advanced standing options. For me, it ultimately boils down to what you aim to get out of your university studies, which segues into what kind of university experience you want, and also, of course, your financial situation and career goals.
D: Right. I think that the difficulty of getting back to the academic grind after two years away from education (what more with basic modules being skipped) would be the foremost concern of those intending to take advanced standing after NS, so let’s tackle the first, or rather first two, of those factors.
H: Then perhaps it would be helpful to sort of quantify the difference in workload between the two options to give our readers a better idea of just how much harder it may actually be to go the advanced standing route. So maybe we should do a comparison of our own first-year-of-university experiences?
D: Yes. Well...I actually studied exactly the same subject as I am doing now back when I was in poly, so transitioning to uni after that 2 years gap from education was a little easier for me since the content covered in my first semester wasn’t completely alien. With that, I managed to get by with dedicating 6 of my waking hours per day to studying and attending lectures (of course this had to be increased during exam seasons), so I did have quite a bit of time to participate in CCAs.
H: Lucky you bro! I didn’t have time for CCAs (unless you count merely having my name on the list of members of some academic clubs as active participation) since I had 10-11h a day dedicated to schoolwork🥵. Reader, bear in mind that this wouldn’t be indicative of what your workload would be if you choose to take normal exemptions and not have the maximum course load per semester.
D: It surely seems intense😰! Diving right into the less basic modules, did you find all of it completely unfamiliar? And did you ever find yourself having to skip some of your module content just to stay afloat?
H: What I studied back in poly was only a specialisation of what I am doing now, but fortunately the first month’s worth of content was kind of familiar to me, so while it was quite a ride, it didn’t feel like I was being cruelly thrown into the deep end. And I have to admit, I have skipped chapters just to catch up with the study calendar - I have modules that expect me to cover 44 chapters in 13 weeks so...😅
D: I think at this point our dear readers might be wondering if you had a social life back in first year, and if you have one now🙊.
H: Uhhhhhhh I kind of mingled, and still am mingling, only with other direct entry students in my course since we share the same schedule...which clashes with pretty much everyone else’s. I do get some pockets of time to go to the bar near campus once in a while, though. It’s really not as bad as you might imagine especially if you aren’t that much of a social butterfly.
D: That’s good to hear. Alright...moving on to the financial and career-related side of things, Howard what benefits do you see in taking advanced standing?
H: Well...actually I think that there are more benefits to doing normal entry🤣, the obvious ones being that you get to study at a more moderate pace and that you will have an extra summer to find an internship that might land you a job that you like. My foremost reason for taking direct entry was that I felt old (and still do😔) and I wanted to get a stable graduate job ASAP. As much as I do regret my decision once in a while, ultimately, I find the challenging nature of the path I am taking very fulfilling. The intensity also makes me feel more prepared to deal with a busy working life after I graduate. But you know yourself best. If you aren’t into challenges or aren’t a quick learner, giving yourself that 1 year or semester could really save you a lot of stress and frustration (you really wouldn’t want to lose your passion for the discipline you are studying). You can still take a few exemptions here and there anyways - just exercise your discretion and think carefully about what you need a refresher on and what you can skip entirely. Also, unless you are in a tricky and dire financial situation, I don’t think that the tuition and opportunity cost should be prioritised over the kind of experience that you want to have in university. There are lots of funding opportunities to help local university students with the cost of their education. And given how unpredictable life is, as COVID has given us a glaring reminder of, it might not end up being worth it to rush through university in hopes of landing a job earlier since you might not end up being able to land a job early anyways, as pessimistic as that sounds.
D: So, I guess we can think of it this way 🤔 - fast-tracking is not guaranteed to be worth it, but if you aren’t a quick learner or someone who likes a good challenge, fast-tracking is almost guaranteed to make you miserable.
H: Nicely put👍🏻. And I can't emphasize enough that if you are deciding between normal entry and direct entry, you should think about it very carefully (go over what we have covered a few times if you must) because you won’t have the option to make a last-minute switch. You’ll have to go through the application process all over again if you want to take the other option‼️
D: As for normal exemptions, even if you are really hung up about saving on tuition and opportunity cost, you should still consider carefully whether or not you should slash off your UEs, because if you think about it, these modules - which could range from language to pottery classes - are basically allowing you to study what you would otherwise be paying much higher prices to learn through private lessons/masterclasses/short courses‼️
H: Yes, it would be quite a missed opportunity if you don’t take these. It all ties back to the kind of uni experience that you want. I do find it kind of sad that UEs are out of the picture for me because of direct entry since these modules can really add flavour to your uni life and allow you to meet people from other departments.
D: Well, that’s about it with regards to the decision-making matters, but Howard, do you have any advice for those who are leaning towards the advanced standing route?
H: One of the things which would probably be plaguing your mind is how much you should be revising while you are serving NS. But really, you can’t adequately prepare yourself content-wise unless you have access to the university course materials. If you are a poly grad (which those considering direct entry should all be), the content covered in your diploma may be too specific and not sufficiently focused on the theoretical aspects of the subject.
D: So perhaps if you have the time, then, you should borrow A-level notes from your JC friends and look through these to supplement your Poly notes, since these tend to be broader and more theoretical🧐?
H: Yup. But ultimately, where the difficulty of taking advanced standing after NS really lies is in returning to the academic grind🏋🏽♀️, not the content itself. It’s more about regaining that discipline and mentally preparing for lack of sleep. So, I’d say, unless you are willing to somehow train yourself for that before school starts, don’t worry about it, because you will get there in the end, even if it means agonising for the first few months of uni.
D: And if you’re still stubbornly worried about the content😑, rest assured that there should be non-compulsory live lectures or preparatory courses provided by your school to acquaint you with what exactly you should know before you start on the actual curriculum. These are available whether or not you are taking direct entry.
H: Mhmm. And whatever path you decide on in the end, just know that being stressed to the point that you want to cry is normal for uni studies, so just let the tears flow. And if you can help it, try not to panic when tackling assignments that count for huge portions of your final grade. Ultimately, your worrying won’t help you gain any marks. It will get done. And it will get done by you!
D: On that note, I think it’s safe to say that, unlike in primary and secondary school, no university staff is going to hound you to do well (since ranking tables give little to no weight to undergraduate performance), but you almost definitely feel pressure from the comparisons you draw between yourself and your peers (which, honestly, is kind of worse for your self-esteem than receiving a nagging from an educator😔). Of course, we can’t just tell you to avoid unhealthy competition - you will probably slip into that at some point anyway. But I’d urge you to constantly remind yourself that even the objects of your envy, those whom you see acing every assignment or test, don’t have it easy. Higher education isn’t meant to be a breeze, and when you recognise that everyone who wants to do well (or at least decently) is struggling to maintain or improve, you will feel much better and less prone to bashing yourself (or feeling like a worthless turd💩).
H: You should also have a randomly assigned professor-mentor whom you can turn to for support. Don’t rule them out just because of the age difference! Some of them are pretty cool and will understand your Gen Z or millennial problems🤣.
D: Before we sign off, just want to add that you should seriously choose to stay in a school dorm if you can afford it. Even if socialising or networking isn’t your thing, that extra sleeping time (especially on exam days) will really make your uni experience so so so much more enjoyable.
H: 100% agree. And with that, we say ciao👋🏻!
D: Bye y’all👋🏻!