Hello November // Choosing The Right Course!

Greetings starshines!
Not that that photo has anything to do with this post but hey, it's November! ^^

So I've had this post saved as a draft for days now and I finally decided a good topic to blog about.

Ever since my secondary school life (and my sister's) ended, I stopped remembering when the usual exam and holiday periods are but it just occurred to me that N/O Levels may or may not already be over. Nonetheless, I hope this post helps those of you who are about to enter your tertiary education :)

1. There is no such thing as an easy course
   I remembered in my time when our favourite question to ask our seniors is if their course is easy to pursue and they would either tell you the truth and said no, or said that it's easy to promote their course of study and encourage you to pursue it. But here's the cold hard truth: nothing comes easy in life. The number of points that is required to enter a course is not a measure as to how difficult it is. Believe me, I would know. I'm currently in nursing where it takes roughly 27 points to enter and yes, many people would be saying, "Oh my God, that's so easy." Trust me when I say that the easiest course to enter may be the hardest to stay in.
   
   
2. Explore different kinds of courses offered and keep an open mind
   This only means one thing, Open Houses! Let me be the first to say that it is life changing. I started going to the open houses when I was in Sec 3 all the way to Sec 5 and I'm so glad that I managed to cover all the polytechnics! I certainly didn't had a favourite poly because let me tell you, the only time when poly students are that energetic would be during their school's open house. Anyways, back to the point. Singapore has five polytechnics and each offers approximately 100+ courses. No matter how long you've been planning to enter a specific course, there's bound to be some others which may attract you also. Heck, there was a point of time when I was pretty interested in Maritime Engineering. I know right, me in engineering? Pfft. But after all, you have 12 choices to fill so make those count!
   
   
   
3. All polytechnics are cool
   I actually still often have a debate with my boyfriend (who's studying in a different institute than me) about who's school is better - but we obviously know who's the real winner here, aing kidding! I'm not trying to brag or promote my school in any way but I do get positive responses when I tell people that I'm from Ngee Ann. I honestly believe that every school is unique in it's own way. It has already come to it's point where it doesn't really matter which poly you go to because all of us take three years to get a diploma. Polys like SP and NP have been around longer than others so that's why they're more well known but in the next ten years when all the schools are on par, it won't really matter.
   
   
4. Follow your heart
   Okay this might be contradicting to what your teachers/parents may have told you but here me out. I hardly think that there's a diploma out there which won't guarantee a good future. Every industry has it's own hiccups every now and then so in that aspect, it basically depends on your luck. Choose something that interests you. A course with your own definition of the 'wow' factor and not just how much pay they give you. I took this module last semester which thought me that money is not really a motivator. Because hey, even if I'm offered a large sum of money to do my FYP another hundred times, I still wouldn't do it. (Get my point?) Your favourite course may not pay well in the beginning but if you love what you do, you would obviously be motivated to get through it. And it would be the right kind of motivation too. 

And in any case you ended up not loving what you do, then do what I always do: suck it up. I don't know how life would be after poly but everyone has been telling me to regard this as a stepping stone. It might probably suck to have wasted three years but anything is worth it when you do what you love. 

Oh gosh, it's been a good 3 - 4 years since I was in secondary school and I miss being able to choose from all the courses I could enter. At the end of the day, it still depends on how well you do. So my advice is to just study well and hope for the best :) 

On a side note, be sure to sign up for NP's Red Camp if you haven't! 

Good luck! Xx