This semester is the first semester that I tried overloading. It was okay at first, but it got chaotic towards the end 😦 Read on to find out more.
- EC210 <Microeconomic analysis I>
Lecturer: Dr Zhang Yang
Unrestricted elective/ 2nd Major requirement
Workload: Attendance-5%, Tutorial Participation-5%, 2 Homework Assignments- 15%, Midterms- 25%, Pre-lecture quiz- 4%, Finals-46%
What I like about this module: Clear explanation from the prof.
What I dislike about this module: Too many things to memorise, tough questions during midterms and finals.
Advice/ Recommendation: Be prepared to put in hard work and face the steep bell curve. This module is no easy feat. As a math student, I am so used to cheat sheets, that facing this exam that require an extensive amount of “memorizing” really tortures me. Maybe I got the crux of studying wrong. But, overall, this is still a good module to take if you wish to take econs module of higher levels.
Grade: B (Sian 😦 )
2. EC2102 <Macroeconomic Analysis I>
Lecturer: Assoc. Prof Serene Tan
Unrestricted elective/ 2nd Major requirement
Workload: Attendance and tutorial participation-20%, Midterm-30%, Finals-50%
What I like about this module: The concepts are pretty standard, no tricks needed to answer the prof’s tutorials and midterms. Higher level questions require more analysis, which meant that you need a very deep understanding of the concepts taught during the lecture. Contrary to what other economics students would say, I think that this module is much simpler that EC2101.
What I dislike about this module: Very steep bell curve, very difficult finals and very long questions (i.e multi-part questions). The prof’s lecture notes are highly haphazard and require reshuffling the content of the lecture notes and rewrite them such that I can understand it.
Advice/ Recommendation: I would advise that you take EC2101 together with EC2102. Especially under prof Serene Tan, macroeconomics is not polar opposites with microeconomics. Instead, I felt that they are complimentary to each other. For the first half of the semester, the context of the module is very much similar to the one of EC2101. Due to the haphazard nature of the lecture notes, I actually based my understanding on what I have learnt in EC2101.
Grade: B+ (Cause I screwed up my finals)
3. EC3303 <Econometrics I>
Lecturer: Dr Kelvin Seah
Unrestricted elective/ 2nd Major requirement
Workload: Tutorial Participation-10%, 2 homework assignments-20%, Midterm-30%, Finals-40%
What I like about this module: Well-written lecture notes, simple tutorial questions, clear instructions on use of STATA, very encouraging prof.
What I dislike about this module: Steep bell curve (especially for midterms)
Advice/ Recommendation: This is the type of module that one will either love or hate. For those who are very comfortable with statistics or mathematics, this module is really made for you. But for those who hate math or the like, this module is hell. What I would recommend (applicable for math majors only), is that you take this as a major requirement if you can’t do math modules well.
Another word of warning is also that the bell curve is very steep, if the paper is super duper easy. THIS IS SO TRUE FOR THE MIDTERMS. The prof is so lenient to the point that as long as you read his lecture notes carefully, you are able to answer his questions easily.
The downside is that the finals will be very long and tedious to do. Believe or not, multi-part questions can go up to part (f)/(g)/(h). Especially when you only have 2 hours for the paper, it is essential for you to answer straight to the point and be fast (and most importantly, accurate).
As for the prof, he is very encouraging and often attempt to make this module less dry by playing games and watching videos in the lecture. It was really commendable that he is putting in so much effort into teaching us!!
Last thing I wish to add on is that each assignment are to be done in groups of 3-6.
Grade: B+ (Screwed up midterms 😦 )
4. LSM1301 <General Biology>
Lecturer: Dr Wu Jin Lu, Dr Loh Chiang Shiong
Faculty requirement
Workload: 4 Assignments-40%, Finals-60%
What I like about this module: Interesting analogies and stories told by Dr Loh. In particular, I liked the story about how he always ponder why guys always give out roses for valentines’ day.
I also like how he teach us on the taxonomy! I will forever remember the scientific name of chicken- gallus gallus and rice- oryza sativa!! Hahaha, so next time when we want to order chicken rice in the science canteen, we will have to say gallus gallus oryza sativa!! LOL
And most importantly, there are no midterms and finals!!
What I dislike about this module: Dr Wu’s explanation. His accent is very strong and I ended up not understanding his lectures. I only understood his content through youtube videos and other resources from the internet.
Advice/ Recommendation: If you work very hard, this module is an easy A. However, since I was overloading, I did not spend a lot of time on this module. I would also advise people with zero biology background to abstain from this module (especially when you are tight on the number of S/Us you have) due to the high level of technicalities involved during Dr Wu’s lectures.
Grade: B (S/U-ed)
5. MA2213 <Numerical Analysis I>
Lecturer: Assoc. Prof Tan Hwee Huat
Major requirement
Workload: 4 homework assignments-20%, Midterm: 18%, Tutorial attendance/participation: 2%, Finals-60%
What I like about this module: Making the content of the level 1000 modules become more applicable in real life. Learning of computer arithmetic, interpolating polynomials, etc.
What I dislike about this module: 8 am lectures accompanied by Prof Tan’s constant digression from the main topic of the lecture notes. I would have to admit that I was sleeping in lectures.
Advice/ Recommendation: I would advice pure math majors to try this module out. To me, I would deem this module as one of the more useful ones as you will get to learn basic application of mathematics in real life. This is one of the modules you can consider if you wish to learn more about MATLAB.
However, as a word of warning, this module is not easy to score. Partly due to the steep bell curve (due to midterms) and challenging questions set for the assignments and finals. Do take extra effort to understand what you are learning instead of noticing the trend. Don’t get me wrong by the previous comment, Prof Tan is extremely approachable but he has a tendency of digressing. It’s okay if you are still blur after his explanation, you can ask him again.
And also, please take this module with your friends. The assignment can be very tedious and thus extremely easy to fall prey to careless mistakes.
Grade: B (*cries*)
6. MA3201 <Algebra II>
Lecturer: Dr Zhang Lei
Major Requirement
Workload: 5 homework assignments-10%, Midterms-30%, Finals-60%
What I like about this module: Resources are also readily available online. Prof Zhang is approachable.
What I dislike about this module: Almost everything.
Advice/Recommendation: A continuation and combination of MA2202 (Algebra 2) and MA2101 (Linear Algebra 2). We learnt mostly about ring theory, fields, ideals, Euclidean domain, etc in the first half of the semester. Then we moved on to study about module theory, irreducible factors, etc. in the second half of the semester.
WARNING: THIS IS A EXTREMELY TOUGH MODULE. I do not recommend it AT ALL. I think I have totally wasted my modular credits and time by bidding for this module!! Thank goodness Prof Zhang was very lenient. I could have failed with my terrible midterms and finals!!
This is only for students who took “S” modules for MA2202 and MA2101. I really did not understand anything from the lectures and I did not have a particularly good foundation in linear algebra. The content was very dry and I can’t focus after 45mins into the lesson.
The average for the midterms was a staggering 82/100!! I mean… for a class with 70% of the students previously “S” modules… it’s kind of normal. Not when you are in the class though… you will feel extremely terrible. I scored only 60/100 and I was pretty sure I was the last few in class.
To make things worse, the content for the second half of the semester was way way way way way harder to comprehend and I could understand nearly nothing. I am sure I screwed up the finals big time but the prof was extremely generous with the grading.
Oh what a module! Please don’t even try taking this module in AY16/17, no matter who the prof is. The content is just too hard to comprehend especially if you haven’t been doing well for your math modules.
Grade: B (extremely (& pleasantly) happy and satisfied.
To end of, the semester was not as hectic as I have expected but there obviously is a HUGE room for improvement. I will be better prepared since I will be overloading for the whole of AY16/17.
A random thank you note:
I have received some private messages that this blog has been providing readers with a lot of useful information for helping them to make informed decisions before their bidding period. Thank you for taking your time off reading this blog.
19tots 