NUS courses!
NUS offers a remarkably wide range of
courses, and as an exchange student, you are pretty much free to choose
any courses, subject to the approval of your home university and the
fulfillment of prerequisites. I strongly recommend NUS exchanger-to-be to check
the course offerings for exchange students available for the selected
semester on their website. Read carefully the REGISTRATION GUIDE, all information is basically there (just
type it in Google, you'll get the link, there's no point in trying to
find through their sophisticated webpage=.=). Here's the page for you to
start http://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/edu/ng.html#l5
As
an undergraduate level exchanger from Aalto, you'll need to take 5
courses at NUS to fulfill the 30 ECTS requirement for the
exchange studies. You can choose 10 courses from their offered courses
when you apply online, out of which maximum 5 courses will be granted to
you. BEFORE you submit your list of favorable courses, the next VITAL
step, check out their Timetable building https://webrb.nus.edu.sg/ctt/builder.aspx
, plug in the codes of your selected courses, your faculty and semester
and check whether there are any clashes in terms of timetable and exam
dates. NUS is particularly strict with this, should there be any clashes
in the lecture/tutorial/exam date, you will NOT be allowed to take
those courses together by any means. Thus, to avoid the unfortunate
situation that you might not get any courses, check in advance, choose
the suitable courses and choose 10 courses, not 5 or 6 or 7 or 8, to
maximize your chance of having enough courses before your semester
starts!
TIP! If you wanna travel during the
semester and end your semester early for more traveling, this is the
time for you to check all the exam dates and lecture&tutorial times
of these courses:) I have many friends who managed to have courses only
from Monday to Wednesday, and they are all off for traveling almost
every weekend without any problems=))
One thing for
sure, you do NOT want to participate in their so-called Add Drop period
at the beginning of the semester- a REAL HEADACHE! If you have all 5 of
your favorite courses accepted and enjoy them after trying them out in
the first week, you can forget about this. BUT if you don't, as in my
case and many others who chose mainly Business modules, you are gonna
have very interesting times going to different other classes to try out,
wait for add drop period, add, wait for approval, blah blah blah
>_< Anyway, it's not fun at all, since you won't have access to
the course materials of your intended course on IVLE system ( a system
similar to Noppa & Optima at Aalto), and you can't simply switch the
courses that you don't like with your intended ones, and you'll need to
get permission from Aalto International Office again about your new
course choice.
Anyway, after the first 2-week hassle
with the course selection, I manage to secure my 5 courses from
Economics and Political Science as below.
EC3377 Global Economic History
EC3394 Economics and Psychology
EC3312 Game Theory and Applications in Economics
PS2234 Introduction to Comparative Politics
PS2203 Ancient Western Political Thoughts
TIP: Ask from the International Office at Aalto an approval paper for all the 10 chosen courses that you will apply in the NUS system, you'll stand better chance of securing the courses from NUS. If you can't get enough 5 courses in the notification from your NUS application for some weird reasons, immediately contact Aalto International Office and ask them to help you out with it. In my case, NUS offered me only 4 courses by mistake, and they never really answered my e-mail requests to the point, but when I asked Minna from the International Office to help me, I got my 5th course in no time:)
I
major in Economics at Aalto, but I don't necessarily think that I've
had enough training in Economics as I've wanted, so I take more "exotic"
courses here. I want to enhance my
critical thinking skills and brush up my writing skills, which, is
unfortunately seriously deficient in studies at Aalto so far. Besides,
as I want to further my academic career in research, these courses suit
my purpose better than any of the Business courses offered at the School
of Business. So unlike many other students, I have all my
courses exclusively at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS),
not at the Business School:P
That's all for now, next
blog to go, I'll give you guys some insights about the courses that I
have chosen and the academic environment in NUS.
Friday 31 January 2014
Wednesday 22 January 2014
Singapore/ NUS 101- the pre-departure crucials
Well ahoy ahoy everyone from the ever-bustling Singapore!
Yes, you are reading the first virgin-guaranteed blog post of a never-have-I-ever-done-blogging-before exchanger from Finland to Singapore this Spring 2014! Welcome to my ramblings about the ups and downs in the land of Merlion:)
In this first post, I'll just cover some official registration stuffs and housing choices. In the following posts, you'll gradually see my exposure of Singaporean quirkiness in terms of food, mentality and all my eye-opening experiences with other exchangers from all over the world^^
First, let's go through some of the "red tapes" paperwork that you need to deal with:) Guess what, it is incredibly smooth with Singapore, even for a third-world Vietnamese citizen like myself, whose passport usually causes a suspicious look on border control guys:P
Practically speaking, Student's Pass, after the University has accepted your exchange application and has arranged everything for your In-Principal Approval (IPA) Letter, you will just follow their instructions, apply and pay everything online (freaking cheap, we are talking about 90 SGD for BOTH Visa & Student's Pass- soooo in love with Singapore about this matter!) to the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA) website. And hell yeah, 3 days only, you'll get your In-Principal Approval Letter.
Afterwards, if you need a visa to enter Singapore, the University will send a PDF version of this Letter to your e-mail, and you'll use it to enter Singapore. In my case ( n in the cases of all Finns), this is not necessary, so all you've gotta do is to fill the Immigration Card on the plane to Singapore, give it to the checkpoint person, and then give the Departure Card to the ICA people arranged by the University on campus to convert it to the Student's Pass later. Just remember to print ALL necessary documents, online payment receipts, etc indicated in the Registration Guide and the university e-mails, and take photos BEFOREHAND, just to save yourself some troubles with finding the printing and photo places in the huge campus of NUS in the first few days:)Anyway, you don't have to even freak out if you happen to forget any documents or your photos, on the registration date, NUS & the Immigration Authority will have everything there for you: forms, photo-taking corner (cost something like 5 SGD I think), printout machine, etc.
Second, yes, the housing, the ONE crucial matter of your next four-and-a-half-month, and you don't wanna screw it:) In NUS, exchange students are more guaranteed to get on-campus housing, as compared to NTU or SMU (yeah, this guy doesn't even have a housing campus concept>_<). After you have received the PDF acceptance letter from NUS confirming that you have been allocated an on-campus housing, you'll need to apply to their stipulated system within certain time frame with three preferences.
TIP: Check out the campus map to locate the available housing options, so that you can make a prudent choice about your desired locations (near classes,good facilities,etc). Also, check out the NUS Housing page http://nus.edu.sg/ohs/future-residents/graduates/utown/rooms.php (for instance, this is exactly how my room looks like in UTown Residence, in a 4-room apartment!) and look at all the accommodation condition, prices, etc. Generally, the Halls of Residence (like Sheares, Raffles, King Edward, etc) mainly has local/degree students with lots of their own activities & a COMPULSORY meal plan; PGPR (Prince George Park's Residence) has a lot of Chinese/Vietnamese students and in fact is in a pretty run-down condition with hot & no-wind-at-all rooms, whereas UTown is the newest with the most exchangers on campus. So yeah, depending on whatever suits you,just apply for it^^
And here's the vital part: ALWAYS choose UTown Residence/Tembusu College/RC4 or any complex that is IN UTOWN (aircon or non-aircon, it doesn't matter really that much, you'll get used to the weather in no time) if you are to enjoy the en suite lifestyle and mingle with other exchangers! Rumor has it that as NUS wants to impress the world about how cool a university it is, it will put as many exchangers as possible into the most fabulous on-campus student's residence - the UTown Residence:) Mostly in these two buildings, there are either exchangers or graduate students, so you basically live in a super duper international neighborhood with people from all corners of the world! and there are so-called Resident Assistants (RAs) in these two buildings who organize very interesting activities FOR FREE or at a very negligible price for exclusively UTown residents. Some highlights include the Tea Art Appreciation session at the famous tea house in Singapore (visited by Queen Elizabeth II!), museum exhibition, Dining in the Dark, Professional Camera Workshop, Fruite tasting sessions, etc. Just make sure you check the bulletin board and your NUS e-mail regularly, you'll seriously be bombed with many invitations from time to time!
My room in UTown Residence costs something like 350 euros/month, much much more expensive than what I paid for in Helsinki, bur considering that I could live on campus in a furnished apartment, with weekly cleaning& toiletry service (living room, kitchen & bathroom), water/electricity/fast Internet included, within walking distance to food courts, gym, swimming pool, classes and with this is very very affordable!
Here are some photographic proofs for you!
I've heard from the International Office Representative that from next year onwards (2014/2015), the housing-on-campus situation is unfortunately more constrained for most students and particularly for exchange students. The reason is that NUS will close down some of their dilapidated housing residences for renovation, and thus the housing supply will plummet:( Therefore, anyone who is going to NUS for exchange next year, be prepared for off-campus housing and get to know as many NUS exchangers from Aalto as possible to arrange the Plan B housing option soon enough!
After a 10-day pampering myself with my family treats in Vietnam, I officially set off to little Singapore on 07.01. Three weeks have passed since I officially set foot on this little yet remarkable island to start my fabulous journey with National University of Singapore.The weather has been exceptionally nice, ranging from 21-30 degrees Celcius only! Yeah, but this is only a weird exception to the weather here, all the locals are like"WTF" when we ask them about the weather here! I'm still waiting for the moment when this UTown Green turns Yellow, as many people have talked about:))
That's all for now, in the upcoming blogs, I'll have some comprehensive discussions about Singaporean culture, food, NUS courses and on-campus lifestyle, as well as some remarkable traveling experience!
See you soon^^
Yes, you are reading the first virgin-guaranteed blog post of a never-have-I-ever-done-blogging-before exchanger from Finland to Singapore this Spring 2014! Welcome to my ramblings about the ups and downs in the land of Merlion:)
In this first post, I'll just cover some official registration stuffs and housing choices. In the following posts, you'll gradually see my exposure of Singaporean quirkiness in terms of food, mentality and all my eye-opening experiences with other exchangers from all over the world^^
First, let's go through some of the "red tapes" paperwork that you need to deal with:) Guess what, it is incredibly smooth with Singapore, even for a third-world Vietnamese citizen like myself, whose passport usually causes a suspicious look on border control guys:P
Practically speaking, Student's Pass, after the University has accepted your exchange application and has arranged everything for your In-Principal Approval (IPA) Letter, you will just follow their instructions, apply and pay everything online (freaking cheap, we are talking about 90 SGD for BOTH Visa & Student's Pass- soooo in love with Singapore about this matter!) to the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA) website. And hell yeah, 3 days only, you'll get your In-Principal Approval Letter.
Afterwards, if you need a visa to enter Singapore, the University will send a PDF version of this Letter to your e-mail, and you'll use it to enter Singapore. In my case ( n in the cases of all Finns), this is not necessary, so all you've gotta do is to fill the Immigration Card on the plane to Singapore, give it to the checkpoint person, and then give the Departure Card to the ICA people arranged by the University on campus to convert it to the Student's Pass later. Just remember to print ALL necessary documents, online payment receipts, etc indicated in the Registration Guide and the university e-mails, and take photos BEFOREHAND, just to save yourself some troubles with finding the printing and photo places in the huge campus of NUS in the first few days:)Anyway, you don't have to even freak out if you happen to forget any documents or your photos, on the registration date, NUS & the Immigration Authority will have everything there for you: forms, photo-taking corner (cost something like 5 SGD I think), printout machine, etc.
Second, yes, the housing, the ONE crucial matter of your next four-and-a-half-month, and you don't wanna screw it:) In NUS, exchange students are more guaranteed to get on-campus housing, as compared to NTU or SMU (yeah, this guy doesn't even have a housing campus concept>_<). After you have received the PDF acceptance letter from NUS confirming that you have been allocated an on-campus housing, you'll need to apply to their stipulated system within certain time frame with three preferences.
TIP: Check out the campus map to locate the available housing options, so that you can make a prudent choice about your desired locations (near classes,good facilities,etc). Also, check out the NUS Housing page http://nus.edu.sg/ohs/future-residents/graduates/utown/rooms.php (for instance, this is exactly how my room looks like in UTown Residence, in a 4-room apartment!) and look at all the accommodation condition, prices, etc. Generally, the Halls of Residence (like Sheares, Raffles, King Edward, etc) mainly has local/degree students with lots of their own activities & a COMPULSORY meal plan; PGPR (Prince George Park's Residence) has a lot of Chinese/Vietnamese students and in fact is in a pretty run-down condition with hot & no-wind-at-all rooms, whereas UTown is the newest with the most exchangers on campus. So yeah, depending on whatever suits you,just apply for it^^
And here's the vital part: ALWAYS choose UTown Residence/Tembusu College/RC4 or any complex that is IN UTOWN (aircon or non-aircon, it doesn't matter really that much, you'll get used to the weather in no time) if you are to enjoy the en suite lifestyle and mingle with other exchangers! Rumor has it that as NUS wants to impress the world about how cool a university it is, it will put as many exchangers as possible into the most fabulous on-campus student's residence - the UTown Residence:) Mostly in these two buildings, there are either exchangers or graduate students, so you basically live in a super duper international neighborhood with people from all corners of the world! and there are so-called Resident Assistants (RAs) in these two buildings who organize very interesting activities FOR FREE or at a very negligible price for exclusively UTown residents. Some highlights include the Tea Art Appreciation session at the famous tea house in Singapore (visited by Queen Elizabeth II!), museum exhibition, Dining in the Dark, Professional Camera Workshop, Fruite tasting sessions, etc. Just make sure you check the bulletin board and your NUS e-mail regularly, you'll seriously be bombed with many invitations from time to time!
My room in UTown Residence costs something like 350 euros/month, much much more expensive than what I paid for in Helsinki, bur considering that I could live on campus in a furnished apartment, with weekly cleaning& toiletry service (living room, kitchen & bathroom), water/electricity/fast Internet included, within walking distance to food courts, gym, swimming pool, classes and with this is very very affordable!
Here are some photographic proofs for you!
 |
| Utown Residence building view from the NUS Infinity Pool |
 |
| My lovely bedroom! I shared the apartment with 3 other wonderful roommates from Sweden, India and Tunisia! |
 |
| NUS Utown Green and panoramic view |
I've heard from the International Office Representative that from next year onwards (2014/2015), the housing-on-campus situation is unfortunately more constrained for most students and particularly for exchange students. The reason is that NUS will close down some of their dilapidated housing residences for renovation, and thus the housing supply will plummet:( Therefore, anyone who is going to NUS for exchange next year, be prepared for off-campus housing and get to know as many NUS exchangers from Aalto as possible to arrange the Plan B housing option soon enough!
After a 10-day pampering myself with my family treats in Vietnam, I officially set off to little Singapore on 07.01. Three weeks have passed since I officially set foot on this little yet remarkable island to start my fabulous journey with National University of Singapore.The weather has been exceptionally nice, ranging from 21-30 degrees Celcius only! Yeah, but this is only a weird exception to the weather here, all the locals are like"WTF" when we ask them about the weather here! I'm still waiting for the moment when this UTown Green turns Yellow, as many people have talked about:))
That's all for now, in the upcoming blogs, I'll have some comprehensive discussions about Singaporean culture, food, NUS courses and on-campus lifestyle, as well as some remarkable traveling experience!
See you soon^^
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