YEAR 2 SEM 2 (AY15/16) MODULE REVIEW

Modules taken this semester:

1. DSC2006 Operations Management

Grade expected: B+
Actual grade: B- / S

I took this module when it was still super slack. Heard that now there's weekly assignments or idk what.

This module was really popular with engineering students hahah.

Definitely a easy relaxing module but the bellcurve was insane. I got a B- so I SU-ed it away.
Quite an interesting module as you get to learn about lean system and six sigma (which I think are pretty cool stuffs to know about).

But I'm more of a marketing person, ops really bores me.

The lecturer is fine :-)

2. GEM1536 Darwin and evolution B

Expected grade: B+
Actual grade: B

Super humorous prof, love how relaxing this module is.

If you used to be a bio student, then welcome back to this whole 'evolution' thing again, yeap..

Frankly speaking I really don't like bio and evolution, so I found this module boring.
I'm not interested in the life of Charles Darwin, neither am I interested in his letters, his friends, his enemies, his school, his family, his life...

But it's definitely a relaxing module for you to overload because there is only one finals MCQ paper + prof is funny and knowledgeable - so why not?

3. MKT2401A Asian Markets and Marketing Management 

Grade expected: A-
Actual grade: B+

I really enjoy marketing modules and this is definitely a great lvl 2k module to take, after MKT1003X. :-)

Case studies were all very interesting and I find the midterms/finals quite easy to score as they're all just logical questions + calculation questions. Felt like I've learnt a lot about marketing in asian markets through this mod. Awesome mod! Project might be a little time consuming but it's worth it.

4. ST3131 Regression Analysis 

Lecturer: Wang Jun Shan

Grade expected: B-
Actual grade: A-

It was the prof's first time lecturing in NUS.
She sighs into the mike and shakes her head all the time (yeah girl, I feel your pain too)
It was quite hard to understand because she mutters into the mike + there's an accent too. She don't explain theorems, she will only be writing down calculations for you.  Sorry, I didn't learn anything much from her, I self-learnt many of the things from PSU online/google, yeap.

Do well for the project and do all the tutorials and you'll be fine.

5. ST3247 Simulation 

Lecturer: Vik Gopal

Vik is awesome lah, really.

Grade expected : B+
Actual grade : B

Studied hard for this module as it was the only challenging mod for this sem but I think I still fell short. This module is all about simulating stuff in R.

Is it useful..?? Actually, I don't know man. O_O Is generating random numbers a useful skill?? I have no idea hahaha but it's vik, so I just took it. Plus, it sounded cool.

You might be happy to know that this compulsory module ST4231 is a continuation of ST3247 so I think it's better for you to take this module :-)

YEAR 2 SEM 1 (AY 15/16) MODULE REVIEW

Modules taken this semester:

1. ACC1002X Financial Accounting B

Lecturer: Ma Guang

Actually I really don't recommend taking under this prof, because it's quite tortuous to take it under him... accent might take some time to get used to but he's ok, really. His project is quite torturous to do and there's also lecture quizzes...eeeewwww

But I had a really A* tutor, so I'm really thankful for her (she's 10000x better than the lecturer).

Take this mod under aimee instead, I really think you'll enjoy it more.

This module teaches you how to read financial statements- quite cool!
And you finally realise what is this whole debit credit, assets liability equity thing is all about.
I'm so glad that I didn't do accounting as my major.

2. CFG1001 Headstart Module CS

Useless boring module, super huge waste of time. The school wants us to be more vocal but I really don't think this module works, sorry.
I used the time during this mod to create my linkedin profile, yeah, that's the biggest takeaway from this module.

3. MA2311 Techniques in Advanced Calculus

Lecturer: Leung Man Chun

Expected grade: B-
Actual grade: B+

The lecturer is really a very cute person.
He plays classical music before lecture and during lecture breaks. I only went for the first lecture and din't attend anymore.

His notes are very empty, so he fills them up by drawing ribbons and scissors (finding the limit of a sequence or idk what). The only thing I learnt from this module was how to draw a ribbon and a scissors (I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING OK)

You'll be laughing at how cute he is from week 1 till week 12, when you suddenly realise that you're screwed for finals because you've learnt absolutely nothing from this module, other than drawing ribbons and scissors (uh-oh). I started freaking out because I really couldn't understand the lagrange multiplier nonsense (yes I still don't know anything about it up till now). Google will be your best friend.

Here are some of my favourite quotes from him :

• *draw 2 perpendicular lines and a right angle* "You see... something so simple but so profound!!!* 
• "What is your intuition?"
• "You draw the scissors and the ribbon and you cut!"
• "I N T U I T I O N"
• "Don't keep korpi korpi, you won't understand if you jut korpi!" 
• *opens umbrella during tutorial and starts swaying it around* 

He is very generous with his marking, or is because I really, by some stroke of luck, know how to differentiate/integrate something??

For those questions that I didn't know how to do during his finals, I either drew a ribbon and a scissors, or I just wrote "By intuition... *draw something*"

Goodluck!

4. PC1322 Understanding the universe B+

Lecturer: Dr. Cindy

Expected grade: A
Actual grade: B+

This is definitely the BEST module I've take in NUS.
I probably cannot express enough my love for this module and for prof cindy, but I really feel that everyone needs to take this mod.

Took it to clear the science fac requirement/basket.

The prof is soooo funny.
I never skipped a single lecture!!! Many people love to use the lecture sms system to ask her weird funny questions haha.

Frankly speaking, I really score very well for both midterms and finals, but I'm quite shocked that it was a B+ instead of A-. Dayummmm the bell curve is steep for this mod!! But i know that my other friend who didn't score as well for both papers also got a B+, so yes it's a good mod to take lah really

I love astronomy & NASA.


5. ST2132 Mathematical Statistics B


6. ST2137 Computer Aided data analysis B

YEAR 1 SEM 2 (AY14/15) MODULE REVIEW

Modules taken this semester:

Semester in summary:
2nd semester and I finally decided to start some serious studying since there's no more free SUs.
I've also decided to pursue a minor in Business Management because I was really interested in marketing.

1. CS1010S Programming Methodology A-

Lecturer: Prof Leong Wai Kay

Grade expected: B- or C
Grade Obtained: A-
Module difficulty: 8.5/10

This is a compulsory module for all stats majors, the 'S' at the back is coded for science students. 'E' is for engineering students. Normal CS majors take CS1010 (yay!!).The programming language that was being taught in this module was Python, which is actually an essential language for stats students who are interested in analytics or data science in the future.

Lectures were conducted by Prof Leong who speaks really fast but he's also funny, most of the time in a sarcastic tone but he's still really quite funny and teaches well (as compared to most of the chinese stats lecturers who cannot teach at all.

Got to say that I was really quite excited initially to learn about coding and programming because it looks cool and whatever but... ugh seriously? This module was bloody difficult.The entire module was just so damn stressful considering that I have ZERO prior knowledge in coding. Furthermore, my brain doesn't seem to code very well...

The Coursemology quizzes and assignments made me so stress but at the same time I know that this whole game style quiz/assignment did help to spice things up and motivated me to be more eager in clearing my quizzes, tutorials and assignments. But I really died towards the end because it's just never ending. After a lecture, you get quiz/tutorial. Before you even finish the current assignment, the next assignment is already up on Coursemology and every time there's just those few chiong sua people who are competing to be at the top of the honour roll??? So it's really damn stressful to see those people submitting the next assignment when you've barely figured out how to do the current assignment.

The lab practical was a nightmare.
Debugging code is a pain in the ass.

I really put in a lot of time and effort for this module and felt very discouraged many times throughout the semester. And no, I did not reach the maximum level in Coursemology... I think the max was lvl 25 during my sem and I stopped at lvl 22 or 23. My midterms score was just mehhhh so I didn't really have high hopes for this module..

On a very fateful night, friends texted me to tell me that the final marks are out on IVLE. So I went to IVLE and I saw 86/100 (!!?!??!?!) Average was 68/100..?  I think I wasn't supposed to see it because it was removed the next day. Okay, now i finally know how I got that A-. My finals saved me.

How to get A- as a hopeless JC girl who have zero coding knowledge:
1. Be consistent - try to attend lectures as much as possible. Tutorials are extremely helpful (because I got a good tutor hehe).
2. Ask more questions, go for consultations!
3. Practice all the past year papers! This helped me the most
4. Do all your coursemology stuffs. No don't bother doing the extra practices if you don't have time for it. Do the minimum tutorials, quizzes and assignments will do :-)

Is it an easy module?? I have a friend scoring A but I've also got friend scoring C. So yeah.
Update: Ok I realise that many people scored C. But I do have a friend who scored A- :)

Definitely a very time consuming module so be prepared!!!!

2. ST2131 Probability 

Lecturer: Dr. Lim Ching Hway & 2 other profs

Grade expected: B
Grade Obtained: B-
Module difficulty: 8.5/10

I personally hated 2131 a lot.
I couldn't get the first part right - pdf, pdf, cdf... bloody confusing to me at that point of time.
I basically flunked this module and felt super disgusted with the content hahahahaha

Kept switching profs because there were 3 profs teaching this module at that time (what on earth) and ended up wasting a lot of time trying to digest all 3 different sets of notes hahaha

How to do well for 2131: Be consistent. If you don't get any balls about pdf, pmf, cdf, QUICKLY SEEK HELP. It's the freaking foundation for this module. I still couldn't understand this before finals, which explains why it's a B-.

You need to learn this module because it's going to set the foundation for another compulsory module ST2132 Mathematical Statistics (killer module).

3. BSP1004FC Legal Environment Of Business A-

Grade expected: B+
Grade Obtained: A-
Module difficulty: 4/10

Flipped Classroom module, which explains the code FC.
What is Flipped Classroom? It basically means that you watch the pre-recorded lectures webcast at home :-) I love FC because I'm not the kind of person who goes for webcasts unless the prof is especially nice/interesting.

For this module, we learn new content through the webcasts. The professor (a very nice gentle lady) then goes through case studies on how to apply the acts/laws that were taught through the webcast. Definitely found the lectures and in-depth case studies very helpful. Go for tutorials too, they're useful too.

I definitely recommend you to get the textbook for this module because everything is from there and it's cheap, probably $10-$15 on carousell? The textbook also has many useful examples + further elaboration of all the laws mentioned in class.

Finals was just 2 essays :-)

A pretty light and enjoyable module for me! Really enjoyed the module content too. A- was quite an unexpected pleasant surprise (thanks prof heh)

4. LSM1302 Genes and Society B

Lecturer:

Grade expected: A-
Grade Obtained: B?
Module difficulty: 4/10

5. MKT1003X Principles of Marketing B-

Lecturer:

Grade expected: B
Grade Obtained: B- /S
Module difficulty: 4.5/10

YEAR 1 SEM 1 (AY14/15) MODULE REVIEW

Semester in summary:
Freshie year, Freshie Sem...!! Exciting...! We were also the pioneer batch for the SU system (even more exciting). I pretty much wasn't in the mood to study for this entire semester which explains why I actually SU-ed 4 modules.

Modules taken this semester:

1. ES1541 Exploring Science Communication Through Popular Science 

Grade expected: B-/B
Grade Obtained: B+
Module difficulty: 3/10 (anything that is not stats or math, is easy to me)

Tutorial/seminar style module, no lectures at all.

This module was pure torture, from the start till the end. There were just many assignments every week and as a science student who doesn't have a flair in writing... Damn, ES1541 posed as a huge pain for me. The worst part of this module for me was the readings... To be exact, I'm totally not a science SCIENCE person. So the moment when they made me to read about chemistry, physics (Stephen Hawking was good though!), biology (Oh my god the whole GM corn/food thing again...).

I chose the Biology reading on GM food for my final presentation as I used to do H2 Bio in JC.

Overall, albeit a little torturous with the mundane readings and weekly assignments, this module was bearable because I made new friends through this module and also because the entire class hated the module together too (unity brings out positive strength).

Ironically, this was the only module that I kept/ didn't SU for the semester, even though I thought that I'd have to SU this. Definitely a easy module to score.

2. MA1101R Linear Algebra I

Lecturer: Prof Victor Tan

Grade expected: B+
Grade Obtained: B or B- (couldn't remember) /S
Module difficulty: 6/10 (actually I don't have much recollection of how difficult the mod was.. but it definitely wasn't easy because LA is just....... I really hate vectors fyi)

Prof Victor Tan is the best math prof that anyone can ever dream of having... He was so patient, so approachable, so humorous and so darn good at teaching and explaining theorems and concepts. His slides are fantastic! We mostly used the Linear Algebra textbook for lectures (it's a must to get the textbook, but it's worth it because the textbook is really useful and well-written). I had a friend who took the module under Prof Ma Siu Lun, and said that he wasn't as good..

Take this module under VT and you definitely wouldn't regret!

I thought that I could do math well because I did well for H2 math in JC, but nah.. Uni math is just a whole new different level *winks*

Sorry but I really cannot remember much from this module... You know, the brain tend to have zero retain rate when it comes to uni math *cough*.

3. MA1102R Calculus

Lecturer: Prof Goh Say Song

Grade expected: B
Grade Obtained: B or B- (couldn't remember)/S
Module difficulty: 6/10 (actually I don't have much recollection of how difficult the mod was.. but it definitely wasn't easy because Uni calculus is just disgusting..??)

Once again, I was super lucky to take this mod under Prof Goh. He's such a cute and jovial lecturer! Sooooo patient and just such a joy to hear him explain the theorems with that burning passion for math (which I still cannot comprehend after 3.5 years of being in stats) :')

There were assignments and I remembered that I really couldn't care less about them.. Furthermore, my calculus wasn't exactly very strong. Calculus in University is just very... hard to digest.

Too bad it's still a core module for you my beloved stats majors, so definitely do it during your first sem (SU it if you screw it up)!

4. ST1131 Introduction to Statistics

Lecturer: Prof Gan Fah Fatt (First half of the sem) / Wong Yean Ling (second half of the sem)

Grade expected: A-
Grade Obtained: B? Couldn't remember/S
Module difficulty: 3.5/10

Prof Gan is my first favourite stats prof in NUS. He's just so damn funny to the extent that I realise that I'm attending the lectures just to laugh at his jokes. However, he only taught for the first half of the semester. The remaining half of the semester was taught by Ms Wong, who is unfortunately, a drastic difference from Prof Gan. She definitely did try to be engaging however her voice spectrum range was just so insane to the extent that it made it really difficult for students to make out what she's saying... I tried attending 2 of her lectures and gave up after that because my ears hurt whenever I go for lectures, so self-studying seem like a better option.

The content is definitely extremely easy and manageable for this module. However I didn't do well in it because the 'difficult' part came in during the 2nd half of the semester (which I actively skipped all of the lectures and tutorials). But nonetheless, definitely a easy module lahhhhhhh. You definitely can do well if you study your notes, tutorials and go for lectures and tutorials consistently. Warning, bell curve might be steep, thanks to the fellow ISE peeps.

5. GEM2901 Reporting statistics in the media

(module not offered anymore)

Lecturer: Prof Chua Tin Chiu

Grade expected: A-
Grade Obtained: B (but I SU-ed it anyway)

This module is no longer offered and I believe that it's been replaced with the compulsory module - Quantitative Reasoning.

Took this module under Prof Chua. It's basically a fluffy GEM mod that talks about how statistics is being reported in media and how we should be critical of them, et cetera.

There were 2 assignments and my group actually scored A- and A for both so I really thought that I'd score really well for this module. I think I probably screwed my finals then hahaha. Don't even know how I died for this module - it'll always remain as a mystery.

The Rationale

Bello,

I've thought of creating a blog like this since... Year 2?? But I've always never had enough strength to overcome the inertia...Now that I've got some pockets of time, so.. why not?? :-)

I'm really just your average scoring student who's always rolling my eyes/laughing at module review blogs who are written by people who are scoring A/A+ for all their modules (ha ha ha)

I will *try* to reply to comments.
No guarantees for notes because I tend to delete them =)))))))

K bye hope you find this blog useful.