nus vs ntu ?

[fotografia]

hey guys! kinda facing a mini crisis here.. would really like to hear your opinions because so far no one's been breathing a word of advice to me ... i got accepted by nus (fass) & ntu (literature) and i can't make up my mind! i was actually contemplating mass comm @ ntu since journalism's the line i wanna enter but i wasn't confident (so i skipped the whole mass comm interview/test thing and now it's too late). so now i'm choosing between 1. majoring in lit (and info comm as minor) in nus or 2. majoring in lit (and mass comm as second major or as elective) in ntu. i'm clear of the pros and cons of each but i think if i get your opinions it'll enlighten me more so ...

the pros of nus:
1. reliable (100years of hist!)
2. certs from nus highly regarded

the pros of ntu:
1. direct honours course in lit
2. i can take mass comm as a minor/elective! (nus no mass comm)
3. they're offering double major ***
4. small lit cohort, heard they accepted 50 out of 650, meaning a closer prof-student relationship! not sure if stat is correct tho ...

the cons of nus:
1. large lit cohort, therefore profs not as close to students (heard it's about a thousand? :dunno
2. no direct honours ... there're selection rounds!
3.

the cons of ntu:
1. pioneer arts batch ...
2. abit ulu pandan ... (no offence to any ntu grads here!)

*** does anyone know if double majoring means graduating w/ a shared degree in, say, lit & mass comm?

 

[novello76]

I will just speak from a practical point of view..
my experience of nus social science is this (3 years ago)..basically its paying money to sit for the exams..the lectures and the things I learn there are really negligible..just attending tutorials and studying myself would have sufficed..i hope the arts side of nus is better and it does seem that theres much more intellectual interaction between lecturers and students...
Having being an NUS honours student myself..i just feel that direct honours (NTU) is much better because it saves time..from a practical point of view...you dont gain much with an extra year..unless you are the academic type who likes to pursue deeper into the subject..and if you were..you will not lose out if you took direct honors..because after direct honors you can always pursue further studies (masters for eg) if you were keen to..

 

[fotografia]

hmmm ok thanks! can i ask if it's tough to take honours at nus? and also ... do people actually care where your degree comes from?

 

[novello76]

if you are talking abt TLC (temasek linked companies), GLCs, govt agencies, govt sector..it does not matter if nus or ntu..and honors mean honors regardless direct or extra year..thats why i said direct honors is better from a practical point of view..i dont think it matters for other SIN based companies as well..

Abt honors being difficult (speaking for my nus experience only)..i personally did not think it was difficult..no doubt the materials covered will be more in depth..but you technically have more time as well..because you are more focused without the need for electives..but must warn that in nus arts..first class honours is almost next to impossible..social science is much easier to get first class because your results are much more quantifiable..and its possible that 10 people get the same good results and are awarded first class..not sure how it will work for ntu..

I'm not sure how nus arts honours work now...in the past..all you need to do for first 3 years is to make sure you get into honours..it does not matter if you were the last to make it ..because you start off with a clean slate in honours year..thats the risk as well because you could have been no 1 for your first 3 years..but you could end up not with a good honours degree because you somehow failed to perform as well in your 4th year..

with direct honours..its more abt consistency throughout..

 

[mervlam]

NTU ulu? i agree! but i stayed in hostel and had one of the 4 years of my life!

abt the majors thingy, i'm not sure. i'm just an engineering student (impossible to take second major, barely possible with a minor for my batch)

 

[kenshinz]

For honours U need to get a min of 3.5 for your CAP in the 1st year to qualify, after which you need to maintain at 3.2 every semester. Personally for me (computing) I find no point taking honours, private sector generally judge them on the same basis as a normal degree.

The thing with direct honours...if you do not manage to get at least a 2nd class lower (3.5 - 3.99), you're basically wasting the whole year. A 3.2 CAP for normal degree is considered Pass with Merit (There's only Pass and Pass with Merit). A 3.2 in honours stream is considered 3rd class, which is pratically considered a normal degree.

 

[cosycatus]

I think you shouldn't be so concerned about the pros and cons of NTU or NUS, BUT you should be more concerned about how majoring in Lit is going to help u enter journalism.

Journalism accepts everyone. We have writers in Straits times that have a Ph.d in the physical science ( Andy Ho), Tan She Er ( who graduate with a degree in music and is doing her Ph.D in some strange subject now.) and the usual variety of degres.

And because they do take in people from a wide variety of backgrounds,you have to be really good if you do not have a relevant degree in mass comms or info comms.
Think along this line and plan how you can enter journalism.

The way i see it, the insitution having a long or short history, doing a honours in 3 or 4 years, bigger or smaller cohort, closer or further prof relationship, being the pinoneer batch or not, etc etc does not matter at all.

Or do you really know u want to enter journalism?

 

[fotografia]

mervlam: hey, what do you mean by "barely possible with a minor for my batch" ? meaning it's tough to cope with 2 majors?

cosycatus: i'm quite keen on joining the journalism line, if i minor in mass comm & major in lit will i qualify less (academic wise) for that line? because to me mass comm teaches the skills needed while lit teaches (or developes) the stuff needed in journalism.

now i'm quite certain i want to go ntu but my friends and family think i'm dumb for giving up the place at a "better" uni ... :dunno:

 

[fotografia]

and hey, repeating my question again ... does anyone know if double majoring means graduating with a shared degree in the 2 majors?

 

[mervlam]

mervlam: hey, what do you mean by "barely possible with a minor for my batch" ? meaning it's tough to cope with 2 majors?

cosycatus: i'm quite keen on joining the journalism line, if i minor in mass comm & major in lit will i qualify less (academic wise) for that line? because to me mass comm teaches the skills needed while lit teaches (or developes) the stuff needed in journalism.

now i'm quite certain i want to go ntu but my friends and family think i'm dumb for giving up the place at a "better" uni ... :dunno:

I'm pretty certain that it's not two Majors but a Major with a Minor. eg. Major in English Literature with Minor in Comm. Studies. Of course it will be tougher (relative term) coping with a Minor programme along with your Major.

my degree is in engineering. considering that we spend about 24 hrs per week in classes, there isn't really any spare time to take up a Minor for my cohort (class of 2005).

but with the New Undergraduate Experience programme, it is possible now for engineering students to take up a minor. Students from other courses have more spare time to take up another Minor.

"Better" university? IMO, it's the quality of the education and the balance in life that is more important. Four years ago, i gave up my place at NUS engg. to study at NTU engg. reasons: NTU offers a more practical hands-on approach, and the more active student hostel life there.

visit the NTU website at www.ntu.edu.sg and check out the section on the New Undergraduate Experience somewhere on the bottom left.

 

[LazerLordz]

Hmm..NTU offers LIT now?Which year of application was it open too?When I got my NUS place in 2003, never heard of it though..

 

[mervlam]

Hmm..NTU offers LIT now?Which year of application was it open too?When I got my NUS place in 2003, never heard of it though..

The new School of Humanities and Social Sciences offers a course in English (Literature)

 

[user111]

it feels better to get an honours. NTU is direct honours, so go for it.

 

[mervlam]

it feels better to get an honours. NTU is direct honours, so go for it.

a direct honours course doesnt mean you get a guaranteed bachelor degree with honours. it depends on your overall grades.

 

[user111]

yes but its still feels better than non-direct honours courses where u have to fight to get in.

just a sidenote to fotographia: NUS degree courses tends to emphasize on broadbased learning, which i supposed to make u a more well-rounded individual. for example those cross faculty modules. personally i am not a fan of this policy because i dont believe in all this extra things since learning all these extra things can be done on your own time and pace. rather i believe in focussing on the major. your preferences may vary, cheers

 

[jsbn]

hey guys! kinda facing a mini crisis here.. would really like to hear your opinions because so far no one's been breathing a word of advice to me ... i got accepted by nus (fass) & ntu (literature) and i can't make up my mind! i was actually contemplating mass comm @ ntu since journalism's the line i wanna enter but i wasn't confident (so i skipped the whole mass comm interview/test thing and now it's too late). so now i'm choosing between 1. majoring in lit (and info comm as minor) in nus or 2. majoring in lit (and mass comm as second major or as elective) in ntu. i'm clear of the pros and cons of each but i think if i get your opinions it'll enlighten me more so ...

the pros of nus:
1. reliable (100years of hist!)
2. certs from nus highly regarded

the pros of ntu:
1. direct honours course in lit
2. i can take mass comm as a minor/elective! (nus no mass comm)
3. they're offering double major ***
4. small lit cohort, heard they accepted 50 out of 650, meaning a closer prof-student relationship! not sure if stat is correct tho ...

the cons of nus:
1. large lit cohort, therefore profs not as close to students (heard it's about a thousand? :dunno
2. no direct honours ... there're selection rounds!
3.

the cons of ntu:
1. pioneer arts batch ...
2. abit ulu pandan ... (no offence to any ntu grads here!)

*** does anyone know if double majoring means graduating w/ a shared degree in, say, lit & mass comm?

Dude, my advice to you: "I'm no NTU or NUS grad. School matters not. You can enter the most prestigious Uni in the world, with this 'worldwide recognition' cert. But its YOU who have to work towards your goal. The school's only a facility for education."

Go where ur heart tells you to go.

 

[fotografia]

hey all! thanks for all the advice, they're really good. i got a reply from the head of literature prof in ntu regarding the double major issue, here's what he said:

I believe you were offered a double major from the outset (not everyone
was). This essentially means that should you take up the offer of a
second major in Economics, you would eventually end up with a first
major in English Lit, and a second major in Economics - it isn't really
a shared degree. ..... Your degree scroll will read BA (Hons) in English while your transcripts (academic record) will indicate that you have a second major in Economics and list all of your grades in both majors.

what are transcripts? :dunno: i had this feeling when i read his reply that the second major's like a minor anyway ...

mervlam: i heard ntu's better when it comes to engineering! i think my main worry is that it's a brand new course, i'm scared of being a guinea pig.

lazerlord: this year! it's a new course, and that's why i'm hesitant.. like trial and error kinda thing. (i was the pioneer batch for a jc too and it was crazy)

user111: hey thank you, i never knew about the broadbased thing, that was revelating, i don't like broadbased curriculum ...

jsbn: haha that's the advice i'm most afraid of getting! to follow my heart, because my heart may be wrong ... but thank you anyway! will try my best to keep to my own faith :sweat:

 

[limkopi]

A uni degree juz opens up a gateway. A basic degree is more or less a "must" to be a journalist but having a mass comm degree / minor doesn't necessarily guarantee u a place in journalism, as wat is taught in sch is barely enuff for the real work situation (these words came fr my colleagues who grad fr NTU Mass Comm). & like wat jsbn & cosycactus said, the uni u grad fr doesn't really matter too, as both NUS & NTU grads are widely accepted in (I believed) all industries.

In fact, I guess being active in ECA's (it tells ur future employer u're not a bookworm), displaying a strong flair in language & writing as well as a keen sense in current affairs does give u an extra edge during the job interview. Having gd results is of cos, a major plus point, but having Hons or not, I seriously dun think it matters much, except maybe pay-wise, Hons will fetch u a slightly higher entry salary. But then again, like wat kenshinz said, a 3rd class hons = Pass with Merit = waste of time...

Juz some thots fr an NUS FASS alumni currently in the mass media industry.

 

[mervlam]

besides the higher starting pay, if you are thinking of furthering your studies after your basic bachelor degree, the honours may come in useful.

transcripts are academic records of all your grades of all the subjects/modules you have taken in your course of study.

you may want to clarify with the professor any further doubts. they are the ones who knows best. we are speculating only.

i was from the guinea batch of engineering students being offered the 2 year common engineering curriculum. meaning, like NUS, NTU also focuses on boardbased education, where a certain number of hours of your course time goes to cross-faculty subjects. eg. Electrical & Electronic Engg. students taking a few modules in Civil / Mechanical Engg subjects, a module in Economics, a module in Law, a module in Comm. Skills, a module in HRM. therefore boardbased education at basic degree level is here to stay, and as well as at prestigeous overseas universities like Stanford.

 

[DeusExMachina]

Having come from both schools, NUS for me BA and NTU for my MSc, I can tell you NUS is much more rigorous, you will be tortured twice as much to get the same grade, but you will learn twice as much, depends on how you want to play the game. And the food in NTU SUXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX BIG TIME. Plus its practically Siberia so make sure you've got transport well thought out.