Shyh Jie's Big Plan
I was reading yesterday's Straits Times and came across an article which featured my sec school classmate Iskandar again. That was about how he was admitted to NUS Mechanical Engineering despite not having the prerequisite academic results. Although the scheme doesn't affect me, I thought it is a good idea as people with different talents other than academic excellence can get to attend local universities. He was accepted for his other achievements, namely being the best overseas cadet at Sandhurst.
So we know Iskandar is destined for big things. With that award he will probably have a rank of LTC and draw a pay close to 10k monthly by 30. The last Singaporean to get the same award was my ex-CO and he was only 33 or 34 when he left my unit. If Iskandar performs well, there's a chance we will have another general as old boy. When he retires from SAF, he can switch over to public sector easily. Most probably the PAP team will shortlist him for interview as possible candidate. I don't think it will be hard for us to visualise him decked out in the all white uniforms; we used to wear that back in school too.
Seeing a classmate having such a good career now, I can't help but wonder what lies ahead for me. My first choice of study was NTU's School of Infomation and Communication. I wanted to study there as I'm interested in media stuff and hope to do things that are related to it next time. However with my less-than-stellar academic results and mediocre-at-best CCA grades, I found myself rejected twice.
The first time was back in 2004. NTU sent me a letter congratulating me that I was accepted in Accountancy. In other words I wasn't even shortlisted for the SCI interview. I wasn't perturbed though. I tried again in 2005, knowing that it would be my best chance. The cohort taking 'A' levels was much smaller compared to my year's and hence there would be less competition for places. My assumption was proven correct and I was granted my interview. I thought I did fairly well and enquired with the interviewer about my chances of making the grade. He told me it was not too bad but also must depend on how others fared. I would say that I was quite dejected when I got the letter from NTU. The Chinese saying of xi wang yue gao shi wang yue da would be a really apt description of how I felt then.
So I decided that I wouldn't want to try for the third time. To get rejected the third time would be quite a blow I guess. It would be like Ken Ang taking 'O' levels Chinese three times and still get B3. (He took only twice.) Accountancy was my original second choice despite having not much of an idea what it entails. I had told myself during the preparation of 'A' levels that I was through with the sciences and will definitely have nothing to do with it in university. Science and engineering courses are out; so I'm left with either business-related courses or arts ones. Accountancy seems like a safe bet for a pragmatic person like me. It's a professional degree and accountant most probably will never be out of work.
As my ORD loomed, I began to think about which school I want to go to. I got this dreary feeling whenever I passed by the road to NTU on my way to camp. It was at least half an hour drive from my house; using public transport will take more than an hour. Jurong Point was one of two places we went to during our nights off. The thought of hanging around there for another 3 years wasn't something I looked forward to. Meanwhile the city campus of SMU was waving its hand to me. Only half hour journey from home, it's new and modern when compared to the functional but dull campus of NTU. If based on the campus alone, SMU will win hands down.
It wasn't the only factor that pulled me from NTU to SMU. I would say the marketing effort of SMU worked very well. So well that the percentage of male students rose from 35% a few years back to 55% in the next intake. There is this 'hip' quotient which NTU will never have. Credit to NTU though it was a tough choice for me to make the switch. The lower school fees, its reputation over the years, the course being 3 yrs compared to SMU's 4 and the chance to stay in hostel all didn't make my decision any easier. In the end after considering various issues, I decided that SMU will be my school, be it for better or for worse.
When I made my decision, people such as Ken Ang, Hanquan or Zhiwei who are going to SMU are naturally happy that I will be joining them. However Sheng Chao had been giving me a lot of stick for choosing to go SMU Biz as the holy trinity comprising of me, Sheng Chao and Swee is supposed to go to Nanyang Business School together. I tried to persuade them to 'defect' with me but it was an utter failure. Swee is never in doubt that NTU is for him and Sheng Chao loves NTU so much that he will not give a second glance to SMU. Among the sec school friends I thought that I can convince Wai San but in the end it seems that his priorities are probably different from mine.
So without many of the good friends from army or secondary school, I guess it will be a good chance for me to move out of my comfort zone and at the same time challenge myself to excel in the new environment. That will be my big plan for the year.
So we know Iskandar is destined for big things. With that award he will probably have a rank of LTC and draw a pay close to 10k monthly by 30. The last Singaporean to get the same award was my ex-CO and he was only 33 or 34 when he left my unit. If Iskandar performs well, there's a chance we will have another general as old boy. When he retires from SAF, he can switch over to public sector easily. Most probably the PAP team will shortlist him for interview as possible candidate. I don't think it will be hard for us to visualise him decked out in the all white uniforms; we used to wear that back in school too.
Seeing a classmate having such a good career now, I can't help but wonder what lies ahead for me. My first choice of study was NTU's School of Infomation and Communication. I wanted to study there as I'm interested in media stuff and hope to do things that are related to it next time. However with my less-than-stellar academic results and mediocre-at-best CCA grades, I found myself rejected twice.
The first time was back in 2004. NTU sent me a letter congratulating me that I was accepted in Accountancy. In other words I wasn't even shortlisted for the SCI interview. I wasn't perturbed though. I tried again in 2005, knowing that it would be my best chance. The cohort taking 'A' levels was much smaller compared to my year's and hence there would be less competition for places. My assumption was proven correct and I was granted my interview. I thought I did fairly well and enquired with the interviewer about my chances of making the grade. He told me it was not too bad but also must depend on how others fared. I would say that I was quite dejected when I got the letter from NTU. The Chinese saying of xi wang yue gao shi wang yue da would be a really apt description of how I felt then.
So I decided that I wouldn't want to try for the third time. To get rejected the third time would be quite a blow I guess. It would be like Ken Ang taking 'O' levels Chinese three times and still get B3. (He took only twice.) Accountancy was my original second choice despite having not much of an idea what it entails. I had told myself during the preparation of 'A' levels that I was through with the sciences and will definitely have nothing to do with it in university. Science and engineering courses are out; so I'm left with either business-related courses or arts ones. Accountancy seems like a safe bet for a pragmatic person like me. It's a professional degree and accountant most probably will never be out of work.
As my ORD loomed, I began to think about which school I want to go to. I got this dreary feeling whenever I passed by the road to NTU on my way to camp. It was at least half an hour drive from my house; using public transport will take more than an hour. Jurong Point was one of two places we went to during our nights off. The thought of hanging around there for another 3 years wasn't something I looked forward to. Meanwhile the city campus of SMU was waving its hand to me. Only half hour journey from home, it's new and modern when compared to the functional but dull campus of NTU. If based on the campus alone, SMU will win hands down.
It wasn't the only factor that pulled me from NTU to SMU. I would say the marketing effort of SMU worked very well. So well that the percentage of male students rose from 35% a few years back to 55% in the next intake. There is this 'hip' quotient which NTU will never have. Credit to NTU though it was a tough choice for me to make the switch. The lower school fees, its reputation over the years, the course being 3 yrs compared to SMU's 4 and the chance to stay in hostel all didn't make my decision any easier. In the end after considering various issues, I decided that SMU will be my school, be it for better or for worse.
When I made my decision, people such as Ken Ang, Hanquan or Zhiwei who are going to SMU are naturally happy that I will be joining them. However Sheng Chao had been giving me a lot of stick for choosing to go SMU Biz as the holy trinity comprising of me, Sheng Chao and Swee is supposed to go to Nanyang Business School together. I tried to persuade them to 'defect' with me but it was an utter failure. Swee is never in doubt that NTU is for him and Sheng Chao loves NTU so much that he will not give a second glance to SMU. Among the sec school friends I thought that I can convince Wai San but in the end it seems that his priorities are probably different from mine.
So without many of the good friends from army or secondary school, I guess it will be a good chance for me to move out of my comfort zone and at the same time challenge myself to excel in the new environment. That will be my big plan for the year.
posted by shyh jie at 8:23 PM
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