It’s that time of the year again for university applications, and the universities in Singapore are finally having physical open houses this year after a 3-year hiatus! As students who have been through the same phase, we know how it feels to feel lost and unprepared for the upcoming academic school year as you enter as freshmen! If you are looking to enroll in NTU but feel lost, fret not, as we are here to give you some tips!
Tip 1: Decide if you need hall accommodation!
As NTU students call it, Pulau NTU isn’t just a funny name! NTU sits on the western side of Singapore, a 20-minute bus ride away from Pioneer MRT station. It is a huge campus covering 200 hectares of land, hence depending on what course you are in, you may still have to take the internal bus shuttle services to travel to your school, which can add another 10 to 20 minutes to your travel time!
Hence, for you Easties, Northies and Southies, who stay on the other end of NTU, do consider staying in hall as it could take up lots of your precious sleep time to travel from home to NTU for classes! If you are looking to stay in hall, remember to make your hall application before the deadline, or it may be difficult to get a hall in the second semester if you miss the first semester’s application.
Tip 2: There are shuttle buses to and from NTU!
For students who do not have the option to stay in hall, but still live far away from NTU, you would be pleased to know that NTU provides shuttle bus services from Monday to Friday, for students living in different parts of Singapore!
Currently, there are shuttle bus services from Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Gombak, Pasir Ris, Punggol, Seng Kang, Tampines and Yishun to NTU
Each area has a different pick-up time and frequency, hence do check the NTU website to know what time you should reach to be in time for the buses! A tip is to reach at about 10 mins earlier than the bus arrival timing to ensure you can get on the bus as peak seasons may see buses filling up quickly!
Tip 3: Do not underestimate university workload!
I bet most of you have heard all about university being much more relaxing than other chapters of your educational journey and that university is a phase for playing.
Well, as seniors ourselves, we have countless times asked who on earth said such a bold statement!
University content may not be as in-depth as Junior College, but the workload is certainly not as light as some people may say. Within 13 weeks, there will be topics every week that will not be gone through again, and for some courses, each module will have class participation, group assignments, and individual assignments all packed within the 13 weeks! Hence, if you are looking to excel in university, be prepared to be extremely busy within the 13 weeks of school! Sometimes we find ourselves hardly having time to breathe in between such heavy workloads!
We understand entering university comes with excitement but also uneasiness, as it is a brand-new environment and a whole new kind of academic life! It is normal to feel nervous, but keep in mind this is the best 3 to 4 years of your life to experience as many things as possible! We hope these tips can help you better prepare for your incoming university experience, and we wish you all the best for your university life!
Check out part 2 of our article here on how to make the most out of your time at NTU!
Tips to make the most out of your time in NTU – Making Friends, Student Exchange, MOOCs
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