Mark just wrote an entry about the stupid state of SMU due to all our “smart students” (what an irony!), which has inspired me to write a post of my own.
It’s the week before exams right now, and I have done maybe 5% of the studying that needs to be done. Why? Because I’m sick of the system. Since when did our library open 24 hours for all of these freaks to stay over and study?
You know I can fully appreciate the fact that if you’re on the verge of getting a C, you are studying your butt off to move it up. But if you’re getting an A-, do you really need to invest an additional 60 hours to push it up to an A+?
How did this all happen? Very simple:
1) The shift in student population.
As Mark rightly notices, SMU used to be a dumping ground. I may be in the 2005 batch, but our enrollment was in 2003 or 2004. Of my 6 SJI friends who are in SMU now, only 2 of us, Johnny and myself, applied for SMU from the get go. Only when it was becoming more established did the rest jump on the bandwagon, and that’s been happening since.
Awhile back it was possible to get Bs and maybe Cs and get into SMU. Now? Everyone’s from a top JC and a straight A student. And quite honestly, that has sucked the life out of what used to be fun about school.
Every September-ish for the last 2 years SMU asks me to go back to CJC to pitch SMU to them. Why the hell are they still coming to me? Because there’s little to no new blood from the non-top JCs. So they have to make do with me.
2) The school system encourages this.
Despite our claims to want all-rounded graduates, our own system pisses on people who bother to do CCA or other things because at the end of the day for selection purposes, they go by grades. Sure, it’s practical (or maybe lazy), but tell you what, how about we tell the new year ones that exchange applications are settled predominantly by your GPA and your CCA matters less? Don’t lie to them. Just tell them straight. Let’s see what “vibrant” student life you get.
If you want a school that has “student life”, then reward student life.
And recently, we had news that the school wants to increase intake to 2,000 students in 2 years. Really? Do we have magical buildings that I don’t know of to house all these students? Are our teaching staff numbers growing at the same rate?
Let’s look at one of SMU’s original USPs (unique selling points): Small class sizes, which means more interaction between student and faculty thus enhancing class discussion and value. That was with classes of 30-40, now we have freaking 50 students in one class. It’s ridiculous.
So, now when everyone is getting your acceptance letters into SMU, ask yourself if you want to be part of this incredible system, or if you’re better off elsewhere.
For those who’re already in this incredible system, are you sick and tired of it? Do you want to change it? Do you even care? Or do you need to get back to your books right now at 1:45am because your exams are on Monday?
Tags: academics, rants, SMU, smu gpa obsession, smu small class sizes, smu student life, smu system, smu unique selling point, smu usp, stupid state of smu
April 13, 2008 at 1:59 am |
that’s why dey… we need to FEED them the game! it’s worse than heroin.. at least take heroin, still can study..
April 13, 2008 at 2:00 am |
Oh btw my friend got A A B D for As and didn’t even get called up for Biz interview.. instead.. she got Econs (wtf?!?!)
April 13, 2008 at 8:31 am |
[...] Victim of its own success? 13 04 2008 (Inspired by Mark and Daryl’s [...]
April 13, 2008 at 10:50 am |
1. I have no idea how I manage to get into SMU
2. I am now dying together with the rest of the 1% of those who are not straight As students
3. I am so not a top JC student..or rather,not even a JC student.lol
4. What happened to student life ? oh wait,we do have a student life…study nonstop
5. I am so proud to say that I have been studying in school the WHOLE week and have done like…5% of what i should really cover for my papers.hahaha
good luck for your papers shitfu =)
April 13, 2008 at 1:02 pm |
@iammyy yeah I guess it’s ok for some of the yr 3s or yr 4s to say forget it I’m not playing this game anymore, but it’s hard for poor yr 1s with gpa at stake. Good luck to you too!
April 13, 2008 at 1:31 pm |
wahahaha.
eh, you’re lucky you’re told to go back CJC. I was asked to go back Indon and pitch leh!
I’m pretty relaxed this term though, no complaints necessary.
Ya I think they really should stop taking in too many ppl… like those airheads.. Eeks.
and.. *cough*some PRC ppl*cough* that needs better English and attitude =/
And I think you can have better student life if you hang out with the right people. Well true we gotta study everytime but hell, didn’t I have fun. I used to go out to makan about weekly, also watching films, or just sitting down together talking nonsense. Yes you can have fun. You can have good student life. Just hang out with the right people. I strongly believe my friends are the one keeping me sane and even stronger each day
(apart from my boyfriend of course hahahaha)
April 13, 2008 at 3:33 pm |
yeah I totally agree!
I felt cheated the moment I stepped into SMU. We just have to agree that SMU has terrific marketing tactics.
And when you realized that people from your jc pales in comparison with the top 3, it’s quite intimidating. It’s the culture I had been trying to avoid since secondary school. I can’t believe I’m experiencing it in uni. And uni is supposed to be the best years of your education. I’m already in doubt :X
Well, think about it, you are graduating in a year man. And I will be stuck for erm. 3 years?
April 13, 2008 at 7:22 pm |
daryl abt the library being open 24×7, you have to remember that there are the kids who live in hostel and not at home and find the lib a good place to hang out, not just to study but also to spend time with their friends (who are like surrogate family of sorts in this land that is foreign to us)
i totally agree with sylv… the PRC kids are scary. they need to have their heads examined. and they need to learn to have some fun. and having fun friends is the key to surviving – surround yourself with ppl who dont take everything or themselves too seriously.
its all about your personal attitude towards grades. you can either choose to run the rat race or choose to not even acknowledge the presence of the rats, or the start and finish line of the race. do what brings you joy. do at least 3 small things every day that bring value to you or to someone else.
my friend said the other day that SMU is the best uni for networking, and i totally agree. even if your grades arent the greatest, go out and meet people from companies you wanna work for and let them see who you are aside from your CV and covering letter. things will work out. they have for me
if you know what you want and go after it, it will happen for you! let the smuggers fall by the wayside!
when i look back on 3 years at SMU, there are quite a few things im happy to have done, things which will live on after im gone from this planet… and really, not one of those things was a 2000 word report or a bunch of ppt files. adios amigos!
April 13, 2008 at 8:59 pm |
Hi Daryl,
You took the words out of my mouth.
SMU markets itself as a university that is different and vibrant. I came into SMU thinking that as an American university, less emphasize will be put in grades and exams, but to my horror, after coming here, I realised that this place is just the same as any of our other U.K-style university, where grades are top priority.
I was even more surprised when I see people from RJC and the other elite JCs in school. Considering that when I applied or at least talked about going to SMU pre-army, relatives would tell me, “Don’t be stupid. SMU recognize meh?” and everyone else around me was telling me not to go to SMU and comparing it to SIM.
I think the school administrators have a part to play in this whole new stressful environment that is SMU. Before I came here, I’ve always hear that SMU is more project-based with less exams, but having gone through 2 semesters already, I’ve been hearing my professors telling me that there will be exams for modules like “Creative Thinking” and “Management Comms” come the next batch. They were also telling me that they have to increase EXAM weightage due to school policies.
Why is that so? Why is a supposedly different and american-university going the way of mugging and regurgitation?
At times, I’ve wondered whether forgoing my australian education 1 year ago was a right one.
I have 5 papers coming up this week and by sheer coincidence, I have 2 papers on the same day (3 hours each).
Bleah
April 13, 2008 at 10:19 pm |
@Sylv: Absolutely right. I suppose the difficulty is the “right people” have been dwindling rapidly since 2005. I’m not sure many even exist anymore!
@seeyun: Hey nice to see you drop by! Good comparison with the secondary school mentality. It’s like all about getting your 9A1s etc and the rest doesn’t matter.
@manya: haha of course I did not target the library opening 24 hours for the people who use it as a gathering point. It’s specifically for those who want to study! Your points are completely taken. I know that people like you and I had those great experiences and it’s such a waste that not many others will because of their insane grade obsession.
@David: I think you nailed the school administration’s accountability right on the head. It is exactly these moves towards instilling exams for classes like creative thinking that is absurd and pointing the school in the wrong direction.
April 13, 2008 at 10:48 pm |
Woah everyone’s so heated up with this discussion. You know what, I’m simply thankful that I’m graduating soon, without having to continue to fight for space in the school kopitiam, library, classrooms, and sometimes even the toilets! SMU is taking in TOO MANY students and are all increasingly more book smart than street smart, high in IQ but low in EQ. Ahhhh well, I’m just glad I’m graduating in December.
April 17, 2008 at 10:16 pm |
[...] easy to look at posts from myself and Mark and Nabilah and say “Oh these people are jaded yr 3s and yr 4s in school [...]
May 9, 2008 at 1:20 pm |
hey, i’d just like to know what courses you and your friends(those who wrote the articles) are in. seems like the school is cut-throat, competitive and some-what doesn’t have a vibrant student life.
because i’m being offered to study economics in smu. i heard that the career prospects are great, but i’m just generally concerned with the life/culture in smu.i don’t wanna become a siaozabor cos it’s stressful, and also, i’m weaker in my math so doing econs may be a challenge to me. yes/no?
just to add, i think reading your blog and your friends’ blogs have been really helpful in helping me decide whether smu is the uni forme.
May 14, 2008 at 10:00 pm |
[...] SMU Review I’ve noticed a jump in blog traffic to my blog posts regarding SMU “Are You Sure You Want To Come To SMU? Think Carefully” and “At Least One Professor Thinks SMU Has Lost The Plot Too“. I suppose [...]
April 6, 2009 at 8:17 pm |
[...] students of SMU think that the culture has changed. Read more about it from Cerebral Snapshot and Darly’s Blog. I do not know them but chanced upon their sites on the [...]
September 13, 2009 at 10:24 am |
These posts form my school fellows in the blogosphere are disturbing. I guess this is what happens when you send sg kids to an American school.
Instead of whining on the internet, why not take it to internal platforms such as SMUBE/SMUSA and press for dialogue with the management, who will be able to address your concerns, and you know, even implement new practices to increase your comfort level.
Pity my peers just want everything fed to them, want grades without learning and what-not. All you have to watch out for in SMU is bratty and whiny students who don’t want to grow up. FAIL. Otherwise it’s a mighty fine facilitator for real learning and practical skills.
And btw, the school system has been encouraging me to participate in endless new activities sourced for by CCAa that can make me healthier, enhance my creativity, help me make friends and have some giddy fun and make me open-minded and unafraid to step-out of my comfort zone. The horror.
It’s a privilege to study here, I wish SMU would screen students based on what they want from the uni system. Heck, I’ve tons of ideas on how SMU can attract students who can truly utilize the system for their gain, and not tear it down and turn it to NUS/NTU(which are archaic in some respects and just don’t hold a candle to SMU in training management students).
Guess what, I’m gonna ask the school admin to address the netizens’ concerns and let the world know the school’s philosophy. Then the right students will flock to SMU.