The new freshmen are about to join the new academic year soon this coming March. Are you one of the new freshmen? Worry not, this is the guide to entering a university in Singapore and all you need to know is in this guide! Let’s get started!
The guide to entering a university in Singapore: 10 Tips
1 – Know the route to your campus
Unless you stay on the campus, knowing the route from your house to school will save you a lot of time on your first day of school. There are many different routes you can take to your university, picking the fastest, most convenient, and cheapest route is possibly the best. Hence, you may want to try out different routes prior to starting your semester to get a glimpse of what your travel will look like. Additionally, you should also consider a rainy day route. Not all routes offer shelter, and not all sheltered areas give you the fastest travel time.
The last thing you want on your first day of college is to be panicking about the route and weather. Knowing your route gives you one less thing to worry about on your first day of school.
2 – Navigating around your campus and school
Universities and colleges are big, bigger than the secondary and tertiary schools we used to go to. They have different faculties, schools, facilities, and many other locations around the campus. The distance from one faculty to another can take 20 minutes to walk. Some campuses hence have shuttle buses to bring students from one side of campus to the other. Thus, your role as a student is to find out about the shuttle buses offered and be familiar with the routes the shuttle buses take.
3 – Scholarships
Students can look for scholarships to sponsor their college fees. If you already have an idea of where you wish to work after you graduate, you can go ahead and apply for scholarships at the company of your choice. Whereas for those who are unsure, you can also google Singapore scholarships and find what is suitable for you.
Scholarships are a great way to secure a job after graduation as the majority of the scholarships out there require students to work for them after graduation. Additionally, scholarships can offer students monthly allowance and expenses until they graduate. This can help many students who struggle financially to ease their burden.
4 – Going to campus prior to your first day
You need to familiarize yourself with your school and faculty, knowing how to navigate your way through your faculty can help save time on your first day of school. Take a day or two to tour around your campus, check out your faculties, school activities, and of course, the food there! You will feel less panicky on the first day of class since you already have a glimpse of what college life will look like in your faculty.
5 – Find forums and community
In Singapore, you can find several forums and communities to join to know what is happening within the school. You can find the latest news and even friends that are on the same course as you. Reddit, Telegram, and Facebook are the few social media platforms where you can find discussion forums.
6 – Setting realistic goals & managing your stress
In college, nobody will instruct you what to do, you will need to learn to time manage. Academics in universities are certainly not going to be the easiest. Hence, you should be mindful when it comes to setting goals for yourself in college. Setting too high expectations can cause stress to build up. Learn to manage as you go along,
Read also: 4 Useful and Effective Time Management Tips for Students
7 – Managing your daily expenses
Going to university somewhat means that we are transitioning into adulthood. In college, we are responsible for our academics and mental well-being, and for some of us, finances. The majority of the students either take up internships or part-time jobs during school or school holidays to earn the extra allowance. You can look out for job opportunities around your campus too. Some students may find it difficult to balance work and study, hence managing finance during the school semesters is important. You will have to consider things like food and transport.
8 – Know your school portal well
The school has a website portal for everything. As a student, you are responsible for knowing the relevant portals for school. Spend time navigating through the different portals and make sure you know where you can find the needed information such as examination results, allocation of courses, scheduling timetables, and others.
You are also encouraged to download the relevant mobile applications for schools. For example, logging in to your school email on your mobile.
9 – Check out the clubs and co-curricular opportunities
Whilst you have time on your hands before school starts, you can keep a look out for the clubs you are intending to join in your first year. You can easily find their Instagram pages and find out more about their activities through their updates. When school opens, you are able to attend orientation sessions to find out more about the co-curricular activities.
10 – Build up your social skills
The last tip in this guide to entering a university is to build up your social skills. The majority of the students will have 3 to 4 months of school break before college commences. During this school break, it is advantageous to build up your social skills. In college, we need to learn to be outspoken, this will help us to make new friends in class that will later be our teammates in projects. Additionally, many students believe that university is the start of a new life. Having social skills can help you to build up your connections and easier to look for help in school.
In a nutshell, the college will be a new and exciting experience for many! This guide to entering a university will help students to start their college life right. Now that the restrictions for the pandemic are easing up, you will be able to return to campus and experience campus life! Enjoy while it lasts!
