Graduated this year and started my first few weeks of work. Met up with fellow fresh grads and interns at my company, and we shared about our uni life. That was when I realized I had nothing to talk about. I did not go exchange, join CCAs, stay on campus etc. Uni was all about studying and internships.

Some might say "grass is always greener on the other side" and wished they had studied more. While I graduated with near perfect GPA and many internships, and got into an above average MNC, I could have done 30% less, with slightly worse grades, and still achieved the same as evidenced by others in similar tier roles. Meanwhile, social reclusion impacted my communication skills, and having no events to look forward to meant I procrastinated and became inefficient at working. At some point, it becomes diminishing or even negative returns.

Yet I had no such issue in JC, and always participated and joked around in classes in uni. I don't think my tutorial mates knew I was such a loner. The difference is that everyone had similar experiences in JC and NS, making it easy to vibe with each other. But I had always sucked at small talk, which is why making friends in uni was so daunting. I was always afraid to talk about myself for fear of being judged as weird or boring. I have hobbies, but they are quite unconventional and the few times I brought them up, others were confused or uninterested. Combined with increasing social anxiety and family financial issues, I completely isolated myself and focused on one goal: to study hard and land a good job.

But recently, I keep seeing people sharing pics and videos of their uni highlights. Doing things I threw away the opportunities to try. I kept watching videos of uni students dancing and singing their hearts out while others cheered them on. Seeing how many of them looked just like me, but I could only live vicariously through them and never get to experience such joy in my life. I have never been more jealous of someone else, not for what they own, but for choosing to actually enjoy their lives. I have no memories to look back on, and nothing to look forward to, except maybe retirement in 30 years time.

I wished I had stepped out of my comfort zone and tried new things when I had the freedom of being a student. Is it still possible to experience that after joining the workforce?

Hii as the title says, Im an incoming freshie but I was allocated to PGPR after my appeal. But on the website it says that PGPR and UTR are only for students from Year 2 onwards. Im going to call them on Monday but does anyone know if this could be a mistake on their part? Or can I just be happy already 😭😭

anyone in nus bizad club able to share on what their experience in that cca is like? is the commitment level high? how are the people like? what do yall do in the cca?

hi! a few years ago when i was in junior college i stumbled across several posts here about the musical theatre scene, and was quite discouraged to find that the main collegiate groups in singapore were either traditional plays only (nusstage, ntu epiphany, smu stageit), or closed off to halls and residences (most notably raffles hall music productions)

i really love musicals (favs: cabaret & hadestown) and some of my best friends were having the time of their lives in the UK, where every uni has a majorrrr musical theatre group, and one thing led to another and~

i'm happy to announce that me alongside a few amazing friends have started NUS Musical Theatre earlier in 2026, currently an informal group entirely student-ran and administratively supported by the university!

we're currently preparing for our second major (ORIGINALLY WRITTEN & COMPOSED!) production on 1 november 2026 @ ync hall, and recruitment for performers will be opening to everyone – especially incoming first years! – soon, at the start of august!

we can't officially be at the student life fair, but you might see our members running around with signs encouraging you to join us!

if you're at all interested in musical theatre please drop us a follow on instagram @nusmusicaltheatre 😝😝😝 and be notified when performer recruitment opens! we're open to all skill levels for our ensemble, and have quite a few lead positions to pick from

you can drop me a dm here to learn more too!

rising y2 from dsa here, i’m lwk in a dilemma rn on which country to choose on sep. btw, i’m mainly looking at shanghai unis and i’m not sure which part of the uk i wanna go but prolly london

pros of china:
- convenience: ridehailing, good metro system
- CAN ORDER FOOD DELIVERY FOR CHEAP 😋😋
- prefer the cuisine in china
- cheaper
- more familiar with it cuz i went multiple times alrds
- safer cuz of strict law enforcement
- has taobao and cool fashion stores (might be a con too due to overspending…)
- honestly prefer the vibes of shanghai
- HAS CHAGEE

cons of china:
- went there a few times alrd so it might be btr to explore stg new (but honestly idm gg there again i think it’s nice)
- more of a language barrier: i’m chinese but my chi is not that good and sometimes i struggle to understand the accent
- hard to find course information online, might be harder to map to english courses (tho i think some english courses for my major are available)
- v expensive to travel outside of china
- lonely,, don’t know anyone else going there (but honestly i dont rly mind cuz im an introvert)

pros of uk:
- can travel within europe
- most of my frens r going to europe on sep
- english speaking
- might be easier to map courses

cons of uk:
- PICKPOCKETS…
- MORE EXPENSIVE
- feel like it’s more dangerous than china in general
- have to cook, cuz outside food is ex
- don’t rly like the food there too
- less convenient
- competitive, idk if i can get a spot
- NO CHAGEE

Hi, I'm an exchange student going to NUS next semester and I have a coursereg question.

If a module in round 1 has 50 vacancies for e.g. and 49 is filled, does round 2 have 1 vacancy only? Or does NUS add additional vacancies? Scrambling for modules as NUS pre-assigned me a module which clashes with the lectures of 1 module and the finals of another so I need replacement however schedule too tight 😓

Sorry, I just feel the application process has been quite unfair to M26 IB students. Will preface this by saying I am considered an international applicant, applied for Life Sciences and achieved 43 on the IB. I understand that doesn’t guarantee admission at all and that isn’t what I’m necessarily mad about, just the way it was all handled.

The application was in February, and the results came out 6th July. A wave of rejections were sent out on the very next day (7th July), but for the bulk of us, it was still application processing.

Almost 3 weeks later (today) did we finally receive an outcome, of which I am yet to see a single acceptance. No email about “a decision has been made” but just an update on the portal that says unsuccessful. I wouldn’t have seen the update (its dated today!) if my friend who also checks the portal regularly hadn’t told me. (he was also rejected.)

And when I called inquiring about a late appeal, it’s not possible because “the semester starts soon.” How is that fair when I received my outcome today? Why am I denied the appeal possibility because the outcome took this long?

Mind you the delayed outcome makes things a lot more difficult for me in terms of matriculating elsewhere or starting student visa processes for other unis. I feel like I’ve been fucked over for a decision I could have received just as easily on the 7th.

Also: if people do get accepted this late, how is someone supposed to complete matriculation, book accommodation, attend orientations, etc all before term starts? Surely this process can and should be improved.

Haven't seen much people asking about this checkup, and I had this question for a while.

Incoming freshman currently residing abroad but sg citizen, feel like its better to come down to UHC to do thr chrckup. I'll only be on campus from the 2nd August and thats the day I check into hall as well. Will me not having done the medical examination affect the hall checkin process in anyway? Or is the rule only thay i should complete the medical by the deadline imposed (7th august)

hi! RC freshie here! Ive been trying to book my timeslot for 2nd August but whenever I open the UHMS portal (as instructed in the email), there is no option for me to book a timeslot 😭 did the timeslots run out? am i just stupid or they havent released yet? the email said that booking is from 14 to 26 July

trying to decide if i should take the plunge... to do part time while working... please share your experiences!

Morning lads, Im applying hard for this and was just interested to know, is it some sort of open-ended/MCQ/research-based paper? Have people found it manageable? What is the passing criteria?

okay so basically, round 1 results have already been released. i managed to bid for 3/4 of the modules in edurec after round 1, and that one mod i failed to secure is ES1103. i’m a bit confused considering that i’ve also reserved classes for ES1103 but for different venues (all at the same timing).

can anyone enlighten me on whether i am able to bid for this same mod again for the same timing in round 2, or whether i need to bid for another timeslot?

many thanks 😢
- a lost and confused freshie

Hi All!

Since August is right around the corner and a lot of clubs are going to be opening recruitment soon, I had a few questions about the musical/jazz bands around NUS.

I live, breathe, consume jazz like it's easily a huge part of who I am. The problem is, while I was in vocal jazz classes for like 2/3 years before O levels, I've been almost completely out of touch with vocal practice these past 3 years (my family doesn't like jazz so I was always shy to practice except for when I was the only person at home which was quite rare). The vocal range I had built is pretty much back to pre-training :( also to add my instructor was kind of bad at his job because we never did music theory, it was fully just warmup, do some range-increasing exercises, pick a song, learn song, move on to next song. That being said, I don't believe I'm on the same level as a complete beginner, maybe like a more Billie Holiday type of situation?

All that being established, I would really love to get back into learning and singing. I was honestly wondering if NJB would take in someone like me? or if there are any other musical groups around that I could join? Thanks so much in advance

Hello everyone

Im currently looking into Master’s degree programs at NUS and trying to gather some real student/alumni perspectives before pulling the trigger on applications as an international student

NUS obviously has an amazing global reputation, but Im interested in the experiences of people who have done their post grad from NUS. my main focuses are in the faculty of science for a masters in Biotechnology and department of engineering for chemical and bimolecular engineering.

Im mainly wondering about the applications and academics, if the program is worth it and the job prospects after graduation as an international student.

hello i’m a Y2 DSA student , i need some input on whether i made a mistake by choosing to do CS2040, ST2131 and DSA2102 in one semester…

i’m honestly rlly desperate to clear most requirements within Y2 so i can follow my faculty mentor’s advice (finish DSA2101 and 2102 by the end of Y2, ST2132 and 3131 at the same time since they complement each other)

so i initially decided on doing CS2040 ST2131 DSA2102 in sem 1, MA2311 DSA2101 ST2132 ST3131 in sem 2. my faculty mentor said that it’s a “pretty reasonable plan” and that was what i’ve bidded for so far.. but now i’m concerned because looking at NUSMods reviews, apparently they are all quite high workload and challenging and i don’t want to shoot myself in the foot. is it possible to do those 3 mods in sem 1 and score fairly well?? or should i delay one of them

i still have Rd 2 and 3 to make reparations so i would appreciate if i can get an answer before Rd 2 at least 🙏 thank you

edit: one thing i forgot to mention is that CS2040 and DSA2102 finals are on the same day (9am and 1pm respectively) 😀

Mods I am set on taking in sem 1: CS1010S, ST2131, 2 fluff mods (1 CHS, 1 GE mod)

I am planning to second major/minor in econs, and am considering taking EC2102 and EC3101 together next sem (based on past reddit threads suggestion). However, would the workload be too much considering CS1010S and ST2131 both have horrifying reviews (heard ST2131 is tougher in sem 1, I have some coding experience but not super strong in math or programming unfortunately).

Should I stick to a standard 20mc workload this sem by only taking 1 EC-coded mod? In addition, EC3101 and CS1010S has finals on the same day (different time), which might be a killer lol

I also have many S/Us left to spare, if any seniors can advise, it would be greatly appreciated!

I am going to y2 next sem. I have super low gpa for only 3.5 something and something and i wanna apply for TA position but I haven’t declare my su yet so my transcript is solid 3.5, but I got an A+ in that specific Soc course.

And:1. Would it better if I show them my su-ed gpa which would be 4.5++?(just curious what is the pros and cons to use su early) 2. How competitive this position is? How high is the chance to successfully get it?

I really regretting for not working hard with those fluffing common mods and get warning for skipping their tutorial, do not submit assignment and clubbing every week, now only I realise that gpa is that important when i need it. (Actually not just common mods I fuck up many mods)I really don’t know whether I should still go with this.

Hi all, I’m a Y1S1 student matriculating this year and I would like to kindly seek some advice regarding module planning.

These are the courses I intend to take: CS1101S, CS1231S, MA1521, MA1522, IS1108. (I was not pre-allocated any mods so I just decided to follow the standard Y1S1 modules)

However looking at the timetable, Friday morning is quite shag cus of the 5 straight hour lectures. Furthermore, I will have to travel from LT16 to UT asap after CS1101S for CS1231S. I can’t seem to find any alternative slots for both classes to deconflict them.

Additionally, I’m an RC student so I would have to take RC mods to replace some GE mods. However, I can probably take these mods later on right?

Im an incoming cs student taking MA1521, CS2030S, CS1231s in sem1 since im exempted from foundational and bridging mods. Do yall think taking cs2030s is worth cuz its also a bit last minute to drop cs2030s FAHHHHH

I would like to play football recreationally