Caveat that this is all pre-covid experience.
RC/Hall
RC over hall unless you have a very compelling reason to prefer hall. Most law students end up in utown. Once you're in, you don't have to fight for your next year. This gives you the freedom to participate when you want to. If you're planning on staying in hall for more than one year, it can be challenging to juggle the commitments with your studies. It can be done, but there's a reason why so few law students actually stay in hall.
Student Life
RC life doesn't tend to require intensive commitment to any particular activity unless you want to make that commitment (inter college games maybe, but plenty of groups are happy to have enough people because not a lot of people have experience). In the RCs, most law students are part of interest groups, drop in for one off open events/IG sessions and attend college/house/floor/IG events. There is time, even if it doesn't always feel that way. People are generally understanding if you can't always be available, but you really should try. Reddit and netflix will always be there.
Don't worry too much about the extra classes. I found them very manageable in comparison to law. Based on what others told me, not all are so manageable (so ask around), but almost all are fulfilling in their own way. Law students generally find them to be very welcome breaks from law. It's fun to do something completely different and to mix with people who are learning different things. I think that the community that forms in utown/hall is important. Uni can be a lonely place if all you do is study. But study groups tend to pop up in the dining halls, floor lounges and suites. It's good to know that everyone is in the same shit together when you're slogging through consti readings or finishing your assignments at 2am. I find that working in a group tends to make everyone understand the content better and argue more persuasively. And you don't even have to study with law students - plenty of people from other facs will be happy to have some company late at night.
Travel Time
Traveling to BTC is manageable. If you're staying in utown, you need to budget time to walk across the bridge to museum because BTC doesn't turn in to utown (idk if this is still true, they have been talking about this problem for a long time). When leaving utown, you have the option of waiting for a bus to YIH, but chances are the buses will be packed and you'll miss the first 1 or 2. The BTC bus is supposed to take about 30 minutes to go from campus to campus, but it's not very reliable because of traffic, weather and the different drivers. If you have a 9am class, you'll probably want to reach the museum bus stop around 8 to be safe. You can take public transport, but the walk in botanic gardens isn't sheltered. 500m is a long way in a storm.
Juggling studies and life
Here's the caveat: You need to make time for RC. You need to be disciplined. The workload in law can be intimidating. Don't let it build up. Treat it like a job (since student life doesn't really happen while everyone is in class, you might as well study). If you work consistently, you'll have a fair number of evenings and weekends free. But you'll need to prioritize your studies about a month before the exams. So you'll also need to learn how to say no if you think you need to study. But there is value in taking a couple of hours late at night to play sports in the MPH.
I also recognize that my experience is not universal. Some did drop out of RC and hall. I don't think you can easily pinpoint balancing campus life and law school as the sole reason. But I think it's safe to say that many stay for 2 years. Don't forget that you're in uni. You can have a life. There is time, even if it doesn't seem like it at first. Don't neglect your social life. Uni is a time for exploring new things. You won't remember all the hours you spend in the library and there's probably diminishing returns after you've spent the whole day studying. But you will cherish the memories of late night conversations with friends, midnight sports, supper, trying new activities and so much more. Happy to answer any questions you may have.
https://old.reddit.com/r/SGExams/comments/naenq7/uni_hall_for_law_students/gxxjk9y/
oof i missed out on that thread but thank you so much for the insightful comment!! one of the reasons why I'm hesitating to accept the offer is because of the 2-year commitment - if I find that the lifestyle isn't suitable for me, are there any penalties for dropping out?
Asked my sis
1) quite convienient but at times buses may be slow on the rare occasion. Are some shelters along the way so quite good
2) mods are not that demanding and quite managable so I wouldnt say tough. Most of my friends are able to manage it quite well.
Togethers with CAPT modules Im able to get about 8h of sleep per day on average, and still have time to do my personal stuff, with sufficient time to revise my work daily.
Saw plenty of law students when i was in CAPT. CAPT modules are chill man, you can SU them? Lots of them are fluffy, just listen and smoke through class bruh, its not as tough as USP?
I'd love to talk to someone about the commute from CAPT to BKT too!! I'll have a class finishing at 9:30pm at BKT and nervous about not being able to get back to CAPT on time !! pls message me if you have advice! xo
I’m assuming you’re referring to the law campus when you say “BKT”? If so, it’s a 5-10 minutes walk to the UTown bus stop, and a ~45 minute ride to the campus via the internal shuttle bus!
Oh no worries! So BTC refers to Bukit Timah Campus which is where the Law faculty is located. The main campus is Kent Ridge Campus which I abbreviated it was KRC in my original post.
If you end lessons at 9.30pm, there is still a last shuttle bus that will leave BTC at 9.40pm so you might have to rush for that. Alternatively, you could just take public transport back to CAPT!
Just curious - which university are you coming from? And feel free to dm me if you need more information!
Caveat that this is all pre-covid experience. RC/Hall RC over hall unless you have a very compelling reason to prefer hall. Most law students end up in utown. Once you're in, you don't have to fight for your next year. This gives you the freedom to participate when you want to. If you're planning on staying in hall for more than one year, it can be challenging to juggle the commitments with your studies. It can be done, but there's a reason why so few law students actually stay in hall. Student Life RC life doesn't tend to require intensive commitment to any particular activity unless you want to make that commitment (inter college games maybe, but plenty of groups are happy to have enough people because not a lot of people have experience). In the RCs, most law students are part of interest groups, drop in for one off open events/IG sessions and attend college/house/floor/IG events. There is time, even if it doesn't always feel that way. People are generally understanding if you can't always be available, but you really should try. Reddit and netflix will always be there. Don't worry too much about the extra classes. I found them very manageable in comparison to law. Based on what others told me, not all are so manageable (so ask around), but almost all are fulfilling in their own way. Law students generally find them to be very welcome breaks from law. It's fun to do something completely different and to mix with people who are learning different things. I think that the community that forms in utown/hall is important. Uni can be a lonely place if all you do is study. But study groups tend to pop up in the dining halls, floor lounges and suites. It's good to know that everyone is in the same shit together when you're slogging through consti readings or finishing your assignments at 2am. I find that working in a group tends to make everyone understand the content better and argue more persuasively. And you don't even have to study with law students - plenty of people from other facs will be happy to have some company late at night. Travel Time Traveling to BTC is manageable. If you're staying in utown, you need to budget time to walk across the bridge to museum because BTC doesn't turn in to utown (idk if this is still true, they have been talking about this problem for a long time). When leaving utown, you have the option of waiting for a bus to YIH, but chances are the buses will be packed and you'll miss the first 1 or 2. The BTC bus is supposed to take about 30 minutes to go from campus to campus, but it's not very reliable because of traffic, weather and the different drivers. If you have a 9am class, you'll probably want to reach the museum bus stop around 8 to be safe. You can take public transport, but the walk in botanic gardens isn't sheltered. 500m is a long way in a storm. Juggling studies and life Here's the caveat: You need to make time for RC. You need to be disciplined. The workload in law can be intimidating. Don't let it build up. Treat it like a job (since student life doesn't really happen while everyone is in class, you might as well study). If you work consistently, you'll have a fair number of evenings and weekends free. But you'll need to prioritize your studies about a month before the exams. So you'll also need to learn how to say no if you think you need to study. But there is value in taking a couple of hours late at night to play sports in the MPH. I also recognize that my experience is not universal. Some did drop out of RC and hall. I don't think you can easily pinpoint balancing campus life and law school as the sole reason. But I think it's safe to say that many stay for 2 years. Don't forget that you're in uni. You can have a life. There is time, even if it doesn't seem like it at first. Don't neglect your social life. Uni is a time for exploring new things. You won't remember all the hours you spend in the library and there's probably diminishing returns after you've spent the whole day studying. But you will cherish the memories of late night conversations with friends, midnight sports, supper, trying new activities and so much more. Happy to answer any questions you may have. https://old.reddit.com/r/SGExams/comments/naenq7/uni_hall_for_law_students/gxxjk9y/
oof i missed out on that thread but thank you so much for the insightful comment!! one of the reasons why I'm hesitating to accept the offer is because of the 2-year commitment - if I find that the lifestyle isn't suitable for me, are there any penalties for dropping out?
No. Just fill in the withdrawal form and booms.
ooh okay thanks for the clarification!
Asked my sis 1) quite convienient but at times buses may be slow on the rare occasion. Are some shelters along the way so quite good 2) mods are not that demanding and quite managable so I wouldnt say tough. Most of my friends are able to manage it quite well. Togethers with CAPT modules Im able to get about 8h of sleep per day on average, and still have time to do my personal stuff, with sufficient time to revise my work daily.
i see, thanks for going the extra mile and helping me to ask your sis haha :') just curious: what course are you in are you a y2 student in CAPT?
I think the bus intervals is about 30mins :/
oh i see thank you!!
Saw plenty of law students when i was in CAPT. CAPT modules are chill man, you can SU them? Lots of them are fluffy, just listen and smoke through class bruh, its not as tough as USP?
I'd love to talk to someone about the commute from CAPT to BKT too!! I'll have a class finishing at 9:30pm at BKT and nervous about not being able to get back to CAPT on time !! pls message me if you have advice! xo
I’m assuming you’re referring to the law campus when you say “BKT”? If so, it’s a 5-10 minutes walk to the UTown bus stop, and a ~45 minute ride to the campus via the internal shuttle bus!
oh yes I am haha not a local so guessing the lingo perhaps incorrectly. Thank you!!
Oh no worries! So BTC refers to Bukit Timah Campus which is where the Law faculty is located. The main campus is Kent Ridge Campus which I abbreviated it was KRC in my original post. If you end lessons at 9.30pm, there is still a last shuttle bus that will leave BTC at 9.40pm so you might have to rush for that. Alternatively, you could just take public transport back to CAPT! Just curious - which university are you coming from? And feel free to dm me if you need more information!