SPS Logistics Committee

I am confirmed into the SPS logistics committee, which means together with my fellow logistics committee members Yiting and Borui, we will be the "bad guys" around SPS room.

We will scream at people who mess up the room, people who leave food behind and people who treat SPS room = store room. Dear SPS members, your golden age under the previous committee is over. :)

We however will be the workhorse whenever there is SPS event. We will need to make sure all logistics items are in place. And at that, we look forward to everyone's support and assistance.

I thank everyone for your support in nominating me to the committee, and we look forward to the betterment of the SPS community.

Onwards to Year 1 Sem 2

Another tiring semester to gruel through. After an all-out war on CORS for a freshmen seminar, I am now 1009 programme-points poorer.

LSM1101 Biochemistry of Biomolecules
Proteins, amino acids, enzymes etc.

LSM1102 Molecular Genetics
Mendelian genetics etc. quantitative genetics etc.

SP2171
More Mathematica, and this semester we would be commencing on our literature review. For a mere 2MCs, weekends and brains juice will be used up.

SP2174 The Cell
Another torturous SPS thematic module. Seniors gave the module the nickname "The Siao" (insane). For 4MCs, you get 2 hour lecture, 2 hour tutorial and 2 hours lab weekly!

Bite bullet and go!

FMS1206C Idols of the Mind
Since this is my last "freshmen semester", this is my last chance to take a FMS. Every science students's dream: no exams and free CS/CU grading. Its probably (and hopefully) worth the 1009 p-points I burnt.

This module will discuss the philosophy behind the scientific method.

EC1301 Principles of Economics
My sacrificial module this semester. Bidded for it, because its cheap (1 p-point), and supposingly quite slack (100% MCQ assessment). Will drop this module at the first sign of trouble. I only have A-level H1 Economics background, and is under no delusion that I will do well in this. I will probably be beaten by bell-curve.

Though an FASS module (breadth module), both lectures and tutorial is actually conducted in science, which means no troublesome cross-campus travels!

Summary
I perform better than expected last semester, and my CAP is now 4.75. In the light of more challenging modules this semester, I am expecting a more modest result. Hopefully, my CAP then will still be above 4.5 (or least 4.25), so that my option to take up NUS-KCL Biophysics CDP remains open.

Year 1 Sem 1 Result

The main lesson lesson learned is that predicting your NUS results is futile, and often way off. This is because, your absolute performance doesn't matter, it is the relative performance that decides your grade (i.e. bell-curve). Another lesson is that, do not be dishearten if you did not perform well for your midterm (neither should you be complacent if you did well), because your grades is not fixed until your last paper is submitted.

After a hectic first semester, I am glad that I got reasonable good grades. I will continue to work hard to maintain my standing.

LSM1103: A+
Ironically, the module which I predicted to be wost-faring, turned out to be my best. I got into p-trouble and was struggling through all the CAs, yet it turned out with an excellent grade. A fun module overall, but also heavy on workload.

LSM1104: A
On expectation. Did well in the CAs.

SP2173: A
On expectation. Quantum mechanics isn't a biologist's cup of tea, but nevertheless did well in the various CAs thanks to a great support community we have established in SPS. Dropbox!

CM1401: A-
Started out on this module with optimism. Was leading in the CAs, but got careless in the final paper. Satisfied with an A- though.

Semester Average Point: 4.875
Cumulative Average Point: 4.75

Plan for Year 2 Sem 2:
With a good grade in semester 1, I will attempt to bid for a freshmen seminar (either FMS 1207P or FMS1206C) to "freeze" my CAP. If ACC1002x bid points are cheap, I will bid for it with a mind to drop it once things don't go well. I will continue to keep my workload at 18MC since it is working great for me. SPS modules are after-all time vampires.