7 day work week, 9am to 2am, no work or health benefits

Haha, that very much describes my employment benefits on my current occupation. Life as a student do have their ups and downs and I bet no one can deny that exam time is one of the main nightmares one can face. Where it’s not the long late nights studying, surviving only on coffee or energy drinks.

The picture on the left is my college library at 2am today, something I myself will see more often in the coming days. There are usually many sides to this at this time of the year, most will start studying, some will just laugh at it in their face only for reality to set in later, some just don’t study at all. Ironically, for most overseas students including Singaporeans, it’s the “mugging season” (a term strangely only synonymous among Singaporeans).

Everyone here all have an ‘A’ level background and most Singaporean students here are either scholars and/or top students from their Junior colleges. With it comes their own set of expectations and habits which in my observation can be quite hard to break! Not to mention the perception of relativity as well. For instance saying “fail” does not physically mean failing, it means that they did not get their string of “As” which they are so accustomed to getting, go figure!

I still have lots to learn about them, just like an anthropologist curiously discovering a new sapient species- somehow what I’ve discovered so far are that they are able to withstand spending all their time studying locked up in their room without any social interaction & they most often do it in secrecy. It really interesting for a Polytechnic kid like me to see how they “tick”, considering I am the only of my kind here!

For my effective study methods, I tend to prefer group studies, as it allows interaction and able to “know and learn what you don’t know” but it seems that the culture here (or maybe in my immediate group of Singaporeans) things are rather different, everyone here is like all out for themselves. I did manage to form a study group with some locals and Malaysians but strangely it seems that most Singaporeans here prefer to study alone, well until I drag them out of their closets! Blunder!

Time ticks towards the exams I never thought would come so soon, time is as precious as something money can’t buy even there are opportunity costs for typing this blog post now even at 4am after my night revisions and lacking sleep the next day- a viscous cycle. I never saw myself studying so hard before, I have 4 papers to take in a little more than a week’s time and I am no where close to even finishing revision let be having enough time to do past year papers. Then there will always come the time where you just keep asking yourself why are you doing this to yourself, or how the heck did you get yourself into this shit, is really studying so hard all that matters? In the end, does it even matter?

All my seniors seeing our state will simply smile and shrug us off, telling us to relax, it’s only our first year! But mind you I am not looking for a reason to be complacent and the thought of the workload being harder next year is simply not reassuring as well.

It’s a fact that given more than enough time, anyone can get good grades in an exam. It’s the ability to do well with a given set of restrictions, in this case a breakneck lecture pace and lack of time which sets students apart, irregardless of their intelligence or abilities. Somehow it seems not about being the brightest of the lot but the most exam smart (which makes you wonder whether is it against exam objectives) and one of the reasons why I personally prefer coursework and projects (Seconded by my director of studies too). We do get projects on the third year, but there are still exams! After all, the exams here as exclaimed by lecturers are “designed to tax even the most capable students”. Bummer!

Anyway, the grades for the first and second years here in Cambridge don’t count to the final grade. So somehow the thought of just being able to get on the second year is a simple objective for many here, including my of the local British kids here (who are still partying and playing this time of the year). Few medics I know in other colleges are still playing computer games with exams just next week.

I hate studying!

“I tried so hard and got so far. But in the end, it doesn’t even matter” – Linkin Park

Today marks the date where I finally finished all my example papers (tutorial homework) for my freshman year. These little buggers always try to get the best of you as homework in it’s worst form, they just sap the life out of you when you try to tackle them all day long, to the extent of sometimes taking a week for the to be done. What’s more these homework just keep coming, with about 10 of them for this last term in Easter, with only 5 weeks of curriculum, I never thought I did get them all finished, with time to spare for exam revision. With that, I can formally start on revision for my exams which is due sadly in 2 weeks time.

I never saw myself working so hard before, well not that I can actually remember myself doing so neither did I ever saw myself doing in Polytechnic as well. Back then I was strictly an afternoon worker with my evenings for leisure, I was flexible with my time for my commitments such as working part-time or track & field training. Presently, I often seeing myself taking sacrifices from my personal time to get work done. Currently, my sleep pattern’s screwed and I always see myself working ploughing through school in the mornings and working on school work in my room or library till late. Even time on hour-long train journeys are good time for revisions!

I am not here to complain the obvious, these are of course, part and parcel of university studies. The pace of learning is very fast indeed. In comparison, something which takes 1 semester (6 months) in polytechnic (e.g the CAD course) are all taught within 1 month here. And it’s generally the same for all the other subjects as well. Go figure! And catch your breath while you are at it!

Coming from a polytechnic background did somewhat give me a headstart in some of the content taught here. As a matter of fact, I was actually familiar with about 60% of the content taught in school. With the exception of myself having forgotten most of what I’ve learnt (my bad, that’s why I have my poly notes here too!), most of the content are more theoretical as I come to realize- Much of the content learnt in Poly is down and dirty and straight to point application of methods or formulas to get things done. University engineering goes very much deeper on the surface of what I’ve learnt, such as in-depth derivations & theories, which often always seems to have to uncanny ability to derive powerful formulas from first principles (or literally nothing)- something which will make any poly student squirm if they encountered it in the poly curriculum. Well, at least that’s making sense into all the formulas which I used to take for granted.

On the other hand, much of my current studies focuses on theories and not much of practical applications and processes, something which I only have the advantage of being exposed to in the polytechnic. For instance, for engineering techniques, “injection molding”, “CNC milling techniques”, “radiography non-destructive testing”, “3D printing”, or “Investment casting” are just plain text on the notes without any substance to most students here, particularly those without a technical background.

With the exception of the availability of such facilities here only on special request or specialist university engineering clubs (such as my engineering eco-racing club), to most students here (particularly most Singaporean ‘A’ level students here) they are only focused on just exams, memorization and route learning, who can get really freaky if you see how they study (or “mug”) at times.

I can’t deny all study gives you the good grades, but that makes you a dull person nor a better engineer. Sometimes, I wonder am I putting myself at a disadvantage by being more of a practical person- preferring tackling real engineering projects, research than studying for exams (belch).

Well, I guess it’s back to study then, if that gives you the grades, then I guess I have to be in for it, after all there’s only less than 3 weeks before the exams, when I will be too finally done with my freshman year.

Before ending I would like to quote an anonymous but rather popular-wise college saying: “Getting into the university of your choice is one part of the story, surviving your freshman year is a whole different thing!”

How true, haha!

Good news come early this may. Apparently, my Polytechnic junior Kuriakin Zeng, who’s notoriously labeled now as the “Harvard, Poly reject” is the first Singapore polytechnic student who’ve been offered a place to study in Harvard university.

As I was told by him, he will be doing engineering science in place of liberal arts. Looking back, I remembered him as a humble junior who sought my advice for overseas university applications last autumn, presumably where I guess he was busy with all his university applications. He’s a guru in the electronics engineering lab and almost everyone I talked to in the polytechnic robotics laboratory knows of the legendary Kuriakin. Ironically, I have not met him in person!

He’s all over the Straits times too. Somehow, after reading the article and coffee shop talk among my peers, it gave many an impression of “first” as in the first polytechnic student. Though I think in the context of the article, it’s actually meant only Singapore polytechnic’s first student. So I am not particular sure of the accuracy of the report by Amelia Tan in the papers- I do know of polytechnic students who are studying undergrad in Harvard, so I am not particularly sure of the context of the “first” claim.

Nonetheless, we do have quite alot to learn from these stories. Particularly about rejects, personally I was rejected by NUS and NTU for 2 consecutive years. I never looked back nor accepted any of their offers when I was given the offer to study at my current university. It goes to show that sometimes, there will never be a roadblock on the road. Just keep trying and you will make it in life, and that’s how it should always be.

Well done for Kuriakin, I believe his achievement is not only a milestone for his family and himself, but for the polytechnic as well. My only small gripe is that he broke my polytechnic record for distinctions (which stood for only one short year!) obtained in the polytechnic by only subject (Grrrr) .

Strangely somehow I often get pats on back from students in my graduation year (jokingly) comforting me about the shattering of the distinction record, often citing along the lines of: “For your time, you were the best”, well not that it actually bothers me. Haha, guess the old will always have to make in for the new, which can only get better!

Anyway records are meant to be broken right? GO SP!

You can read more on the ST article here.

Cheers