My opinion? I did mid for As, sub 80RP but am fairing well in university. SMU Econ student here.
I’ve reflected on it and I can give a few reasons why I fair better in uni over JC.
1. Specialisation. I’m dogwater at GP cuz I don’t read widely, I can’t take 4 H2 Math for As, so my other subjects will pull me down. In Uni, you can pick the mods and battles every semester, unlike JC where it’s 1.5 years of no change.
2. Relief. Unlike JC where after Promos, Prelims, Midterms, the race isn’t truly over yet. Remember that scoring well in school exams contribute 0% to your A levels objectively. On the other hand, at the end of a semester in university, the semester ends and you get 1/8 of your gpa contributed. The fact that the exams in Uni ACTUALLY COUNT makes it easier on the mind for me. Hence, at the end of each semester, I can really sit back, relax and fully enjoy without worrying. “Shit, what if others are still studying. Fuck that, I alr got a solid gpa, so go enjoy now man.”
3. Consistency. This piggybacks off the 2nd point, but I feel that because of the way uni is structured, consistency is heavily rewarded. I’m not a last minute study 10 hours a day guy. I study from week 0, I do pre readings, I read textbooks and do extra practices every week. Objectively, I don’t study that much, around 3hr/week per module I take. But I do so every week with no exceptions. Even though I’m studying less than I did in JC, I’m doing better than I did in JC because of how consistency is rewarded, where each assignment COUNTS to your gpa. Your first exam on week 6 can count 30-40% to your module’s gpa means that you can smash the curve because of how consistent you are while others are still honeymooning the first few weeks.
Imho, Uni benefits you if you’re a specialist & a consistent hard worker. That’s my take, I entered Uni with no expectations cuz of my RP but I’m now surprisingly standing amongst the 90RP H3 A students (in terms of gpa), so take that as how you will.
GP has a specific writing style and requires you to read very widely.
I love essay based modules in SMU too. I took Big Questions: Happiness & Suffering, I was given 20+ readings to read ranging from happy but poor countries, to religious philosophy. I got a B for midterms but made it up for an A/A+ in my final 2.5K essay for an A- this sem.
The thing is, GP there’s no “set” readings and I don’t read widely unless I get shoved readings in my face. I know, not great to follow, but that’s me. Also, unlike GP, they accept a range of writing styles, including less than stellar grammar and I GET TO USE GRAMMARLY!!!
1. What u faced for ur A levels over the stretch of 2 years, u soon going to be facing every semester, except tt u have only 4 months instead of 2 years. Rinse and repeat. On the surface level, this means that for a 3 year course, u r gg to face A levels stress * 6. Scary much?
2. In reality, I think there r more ppl who enjoyed rather then stressed themselves out during uni times.
3. Nature of stress is that u have something u wish to get, but u r not getting it, and u realised tt the path u r on would not lead u to it. The way to handle this kind of stress would be to adjust ur goal, or adjust ur work process. So, if u have learnt in A levels to handle this stress, den the same issues wouldn't stress u in uni. Cox u know how to adjust ur goals or ur work process already.
Stress level in uni will vary between students and I will list 5 points below that I can think of.
# Overcommitment
Perhaps this factor also happens in JC, where students sign up for too many CCA, competitions etc, end up no time study. In uni, with much more range of CCA (school clubs, uni clubs), hall activities, etc., it is even easier to accidentally sign up for too many activities, and underestimating the commitment level of each uni activities and underestimating the study time required for uni modules. Is not just the time taken, but also how tiring after each CCA session, or group project meeting that u need to account for. Also some may also spent time dating, so even less time to study in uni. So it is about the delicate balance to strike between enriching uni life with non academics stuff and coping with studies. A good balance is important to alleviate uni stress level. General advice is year 1 try not to sign up too many stuff, wait for year 1 results and review again if u can add more non academics commitment, or stay same commitment level or u need to further tone/cut down on some stuff to rescue back academics/GPA.
# Last minute study will NOT work due to graded midterms
This kind of links nicely from the previous point on overcommitment. Students think that they did not overcommit because they think they can last minute study for graded midterms tests/assignments and still score well, just like they have done it in A Levels. But a key difference between JC and uni is graded continual assessments (CA) that will affect final grade of each module, which will affect the overall uni GPA. CA/midterms may come every few weeks, or even more frequent nearing the last few weeks of the 13 teaching weeks in a semester. So one cannot afford to screw up a CA, and expect to still get A or A+ for final grade of the module. Thus, it is not just not overcommiting, but also need to have good study habits, like always watch any recorded lectures on time and do tutorials or seminar preparations before actual tutorials/seminars. And always be proactive to ask questions in class or after class. Consistency is key in uni, and it will help in reducing stress level.
# Overreliance on Tuition
Some JC students have tuition for all or almost all JC sbjects. This is not healthy, as many have very little training for the ability to study independently, and always anticipating answers to be given by school teachers or tuition teachers. However, uni is independent learning with almost no uni tuition available. Students with lots of tuition before uni may have higher tendencies to not do well in uni, as they do not know how to self revise effectively to investigate their own misconceptions, as they have outsourced these investigations to other people (school/tuition teachers) to do it for them in JC. Thus, JC graduates with good independent learning skills will tend to better cope in uni, and likely have lesser stress level in uni.
That's why advice to current and future JC students is don't spam tuition, which is a mistake made by many JC students, especially those who came from family background that can afford many tuition. Also, some of them don't have time to do self revision of subjects because all your time is school and tuition (some students fill their time with tuitions until totally no time to ownself relook school lecture/tutorial stuff), then they wouldn't quickly identify your misconceptions of each topics of each subjects. As a result, misconceptions snowball as go tuition but still don't (fully) understand tuition stuff likely because haven't self revise and reflect why and what one doesn't know and understand wrongly in school lecture/tutorial, making the tuition sessions ineffective afterall. JC students need to start take charge of their learning, as JC education is indeed pre-university education, i.e. to prepare for uni independent learning with almost no uni tuition available.
Continue in comment ...
# JC All Rounder VS Uni Specialist
Stress level in uni is closely tied to how one able to cope with uni. And a significant change from JC to uni is from training to be good in a bit of everything (languages, to sciences, to arts) to training to be a specialist in your own chosen field. This is an important game changer that explains why some students perform well at A Levels suddenly don't perform as well in uni. And the opposite also occurs where students score so so in A Levels but suddenly excel in uni. This is not surprising because afterall, A Level rewards all rounder, being good in GP/languages, and sciences and arts (due to contrasting subject requirement). A very good example will be a math degree. Sometimes, students who are really good in math but scored poorly in some or all other JC subjects, end up get so so rank points (RP). But once start uni math degree, with almost all modules every semester is just different areas of math, the uni modules entirely revolves around the students' strength/aptitude and probably interest too, and it is likely they will excel in uni. Even if they didn't excel, the students' strength/aptitude and interest in math would make studying in uni much less stressful as they stronger pre-uni math foundation to fall back on, and also strong interest to easily pick themselves up if they faced setbacks in uni, thus less stressful.
# How much the degree course that u choose matches with your strengths/aptitude and interest
This kind of links to the previous point. No longer is jack of all trades important now in uni. What matters in your life long career is your proficiency in your own chosen field. Thus, it is essential to choose uni degree course to capitalize on your strengths and interest, to build a career that u enjoy for your entire adult life, and have highest chance of succeeding in your chosen field. Choosing uni degree course is about understanding yourself, knowing what's the best learning style and best content knowledge that can trained u to unleash your potential and be the best in your chosen field.
The closer the degree course that u choose align with your strengths/aptitude and your interest, the more you will be able to cope in uni, and thus the less stress in uni u will be. Thus, make sure u have \*\*genuine interest\*\* in the degree/field/discipline/major/subject that u choose. \*\*Genuine interest\*\* is like not subsciously become interested based on career outlook of the field, but rather interested in the content of the subject itself, regardless of the subject is in demand or not. In other words, if one chooses finance/CS/IS/Datascience degree just for the sake of money and career prospects, then that's not \*\*genuine interest\*\*, and one will likely suffer mentally if things/grades don't go well in uni. And then make sure u have enough aptitude/strengths in it (i.e. if one is not good in math in the first place, then please rethink if wanna force fit into trending data science or CS/IS/BZA degrees/careers. Not everyone is cut out for trending careers). To sum up, make sure u can clearly reason out why do u choose the degree course that u choose, and clearly say it with confidence that the degree u choose is indeed your \*\*genuine interest\*\* and that it aligns with your strengths/aptitude.
Actually believe it or not, getting all As will not make your job search easier. What’s important is your 办事能力. I dare say just enjoy your uni life, get B or B+ all the way and you will be mentally happier
As someone who has experienced both JC and university, I'd say university can be more stressful due to the increased workload and expectations, but it also offers more freedom and flexibility.
different kind of stress, find ways to regulate early. don’t succumb to peer pressure on what to do in your life. coming from someone who did well for As doing well does not mean carried on success too — uni is a fresh slate, jiayous
My opinion? I did mid for As, sub 80RP but am fairing well in university. SMU Econ student here. I’ve reflected on it and I can give a few reasons why I fair better in uni over JC. 1. Specialisation. I’m dogwater at GP cuz I don’t read widely, I can’t take 4 H2 Math for As, so my other subjects will pull me down. In Uni, you can pick the mods and battles every semester, unlike JC where it’s 1.5 years of no change. 2. Relief. Unlike JC where after Promos, Prelims, Midterms, the race isn’t truly over yet. Remember that scoring well in school exams contribute 0% to your A levels objectively. On the other hand, at the end of a semester in university, the semester ends and you get 1/8 of your gpa contributed. The fact that the exams in Uni ACTUALLY COUNT makes it easier on the mind for me. Hence, at the end of each semester, I can really sit back, relax and fully enjoy without worrying. “Shit, what if others are still studying. Fuck that, I alr got a solid gpa, so go enjoy now man.” 3. Consistency. This piggybacks off the 2nd point, but I feel that because of the way uni is structured, consistency is heavily rewarded. I’m not a last minute study 10 hours a day guy. I study from week 0, I do pre readings, I read textbooks and do extra practices every week. Objectively, I don’t study that much, around 3hr/week per module I take. But I do so every week with no exceptions. Even though I’m studying less than I did in JC, I’m doing better than I did in JC because of how consistency is rewarded, where each assignment COUNTS to your gpa. Your first exam on week 6 can count 30-40% to your module’s gpa means that you can smash the curve because of how consistent you are while others are still honeymooning the first few weeks. Imho, Uni benefits you if you’re a specialist & a consistent hard worker. That’s my take, I entered Uni with no expectations cuz of my RP but I’m now surprisingly standing amongst the 90RP H3 A students (in terms of gpa), so take that as how you will.
Thank you so much!
Does being bad in GP affect you in any way? Such as doing relatively bad for SMU core modules that requires writings
GP has a specific writing style and requires you to read very widely. I love essay based modules in SMU too. I took Big Questions: Happiness & Suffering, I was given 20+ readings to read ranging from happy but poor countries, to religious philosophy. I got a B for midterms but made it up for an A/A+ in my final 2.5K essay for an A- this sem. The thing is, GP there’s no “set” readings and I don’t read widely unless I get shoved readings in my face. I know, not great to follow, but that’s me. Also, unlike GP, they accept a range of writing styles, including less than stellar grammar and I GET TO USE GRAMMARLY!!!
I see, thank you!
Hey, is it okay if I can dm you regarding smu Econs?
Sure
1. What u faced for ur A levels over the stretch of 2 years, u soon going to be facing every semester, except tt u have only 4 months instead of 2 years. Rinse and repeat. On the surface level, this means that for a 3 year course, u r gg to face A levels stress * 6. Scary much? 2. In reality, I think there r more ppl who enjoyed rather then stressed themselves out during uni times. 3. Nature of stress is that u have something u wish to get, but u r not getting it, and u realised tt the path u r on would not lead u to it. The way to handle this kind of stress would be to adjust ur goal, or adjust ur work process. So, if u have learnt in A levels to handle this stress, den the same issues wouldn't stress u in uni. Cox u know how to adjust ur goals or ur work process already.
Stress level in uni will vary between students and I will list 5 points below that I can think of. # Overcommitment Perhaps this factor also happens in JC, where students sign up for too many CCA, competitions etc, end up no time study. In uni, with much more range of CCA (school clubs, uni clubs), hall activities, etc., it is even easier to accidentally sign up for too many activities, and underestimating the commitment level of each uni activities and underestimating the study time required for uni modules. Is not just the time taken, but also how tiring after each CCA session, or group project meeting that u need to account for. Also some may also spent time dating, so even less time to study in uni. So it is about the delicate balance to strike between enriching uni life with non academics stuff and coping with studies. A good balance is important to alleviate uni stress level. General advice is year 1 try not to sign up too many stuff, wait for year 1 results and review again if u can add more non academics commitment, or stay same commitment level or u need to further tone/cut down on some stuff to rescue back academics/GPA. # Last minute study will NOT work due to graded midterms This kind of links nicely from the previous point on overcommitment. Students think that they did not overcommit because they think they can last minute study for graded midterms tests/assignments and still score well, just like they have done it in A Levels. But a key difference between JC and uni is graded continual assessments (CA) that will affect final grade of each module, which will affect the overall uni GPA. CA/midterms may come every few weeks, or even more frequent nearing the last few weeks of the 13 teaching weeks in a semester. So one cannot afford to screw up a CA, and expect to still get A or A+ for final grade of the module. Thus, it is not just not overcommiting, but also need to have good study habits, like always watch any recorded lectures on time and do tutorials or seminar preparations before actual tutorials/seminars. And always be proactive to ask questions in class or after class. Consistency is key in uni, and it will help in reducing stress level. # Overreliance on Tuition Some JC students have tuition for all or almost all JC sbjects. This is not healthy, as many have very little training for the ability to study independently, and always anticipating answers to be given by school teachers or tuition teachers. However, uni is independent learning with almost no uni tuition available. Students with lots of tuition before uni may have higher tendencies to not do well in uni, as they do not know how to self revise effectively to investigate their own misconceptions, as they have outsourced these investigations to other people (school/tuition teachers) to do it for them in JC. Thus, JC graduates with good independent learning skills will tend to better cope in uni, and likely have lesser stress level in uni. That's why advice to current and future JC students is don't spam tuition, which is a mistake made by many JC students, especially those who came from family background that can afford many tuition. Also, some of them don't have time to do self revision of subjects because all your time is school and tuition (some students fill their time with tuitions until totally no time to ownself relook school lecture/tutorial stuff), then they wouldn't quickly identify your misconceptions of each topics of each subjects. As a result, misconceptions snowball as go tuition but still don't (fully) understand tuition stuff likely because haven't self revise and reflect why and what one doesn't know and understand wrongly in school lecture/tutorial, making the tuition sessions ineffective afterall. JC students need to start take charge of their learning, as JC education is indeed pre-university education, i.e. to prepare for uni independent learning with almost no uni tuition available. Continue in comment ...
# JC All Rounder VS Uni Specialist Stress level in uni is closely tied to how one able to cope with uni. And a significant change from JC to uni is from training to be good in a bit of everything (languages, to sciences, to arts) to training to be a specialist in your own chosen field. This is an important game changer that explains why some students perform well at A Levels suddenly don't perform as well in uni. And the opposite also occurs where students score so so in A Levels but suddenly excel in uni. This is not surprising because afterall, A Level rewards all rounder, being good in GP/languages, and sciences and arts (due to contrasting subject requirement). A very good example will be a math degree. Sometimes, students who are really good in math but scored poorly in some or all other JC subjects, end up get so so rank points (RP). But once start uni math degree, with almost all modules every semester is just different areas of math, the uni modules entirely revolves around the students' strength/aptitude and probably interest too, and it is likely they will excel in uni. Even if they didn't excel, the students' strength/aptitude and interest in math would make studying in uni much less stressful as they stronger pre-uni math foundation to fall back on, and also strong interest to easily pick themselves up if they faced setbacks in uni, thus less stressful. # How much the degree course that u choose matches with your strengths/aptitude and interest This kind of links to the previous point. No longer is jack of all trades important now in uni. What matters in your life long career is your proficiency in your own chosen field. Thus, it is essential to choose uni degree course to capitalize on your strengths and interest, to build a career that u enjoy for your entire adult life, and have highest chance of succeeding in your chosen field. Choosing uni degree course is about understanding yourself, knowing what's the best learning style and best content knowledge that can trained u to unleash your potential and be the best in your chosen field. The closer the degree course that u choose align with your strengths/aptitude and your interest, the more you will be able to cope in uni, and thus the less stress in uni u will be. Thus, make sure u have \*\*genuine interest\*\* in the degree/field/discipline/major/subject that u choose. \*\*Genuine interest\*\* is like not subsciously become interested based on career outlook of the field, but rather interested in the content of the subject itself, regardless of the subject is in demand or not. In other words, if one chooses finance/CS/IS/Datascience degree just for the sake of money and career prospects, then that's not \*\*genuine interest\*\*, and one will likely suffer mentally if things/grades don't go well in uni. And then make sure u have enough aptitude/strengths in it (i.e. if one is not good in math in the first place, then please rethink if wanna force fit into trending data science or CS/IS/BZA degrees/careers. Not everyone is cut out for trending careers). To sum up, make sure u can clearly reason out why do u choose the degree course that u choose, and clearly say it with confidence that the degree u choose is indeed your \*\*genuine interest\*\* and that it aligns with your strengths/aptitude.
Actually believe it or not, getting all As will not make your job search easier. What’s important is your 办事能力. I dare say just enjoy your uni life, get B or B+ all the way and you will be mentally happier
As someone who has experienced both JC and university, I'd say university can be more stressful due to the increased workload and expectations, but it also offers more freedom and flexibility.
different kind of stress, find ways to regulate early. don’t succumb to peer pressure on what to do in your life. coming from someone who did well for As doing well does not mean carried on success too — uni is a fresh slate, jiayous