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More about NYP
Seniors' Answers

Brief description of Nanyang Polytechnic

Founded in 1992, Nanyang Polytechnic enrols an average of 15000 students every year. It has 7 schools, providing a range of courses for all to choose from. Among all these, its most popular courses are nursing, engineering and business management. As a school that aims to maximise learner potential, it has various programmes for students. An example is Student Life Academy where students get to enrol in enrichment programmes like a new language, new sport, new skills and talks by industry professionals. Another example is Incubator and NYP360 that provides mentoring, funding and resources for startups and business.

Why did you choose polytechnic instead of JC?


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I chose polytechnic instead of JC because I'm not strong at languages " --- Senior A.L

" I think I won’t be able to catch up with other students because I take a long time to learn and beacuse JC is very fast paced." --- Senior S

" The main reason why I chose Poly over JC is because I believed that I couldn't handle the stress and pressure in JC. This was way back then before my national exams. But as I moved on to Sec 3 and Sec 4, you know when schools start to help you explore your tertiary options, I had found a polytechnic course that might interest me. That's when I decided that I wanted to go into that Poly course and not JC. Because, even though I had that inclination of not wanting to go JC, I pretty much was still on the fence on which route to go because my teachers were saying to go JC, but my peers and I wanted to go Poly. So when I knew what my interest were, that "sealed the deal" for me to choose Poly over JC." --- Senior V

Why did you choose Nanyang Poly instead of other polytechnics?


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I chose nyp because it is near my house and I like the quiet environment nyp has" ---Senior A.L

" I'm currently a year 2 student in Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), studying Social Work. The motivation to enter into NYP is because NYP only had the the course that I wanted to enter into. So it's not because of the reputation of the Poly. " --- Senior V

What made you choose (course name) and could you give a short intro to it?


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I decided to do science because it was one of my better subjects in secondary school and I did not really know what I wanted to do and science is the only course that allows you to change to other courses if im not wrong." ---Senior A.L

" I think it’s a good course for students who are not sure which business course they would like to choose beacuse they can get a feel of each course through the programme. A bit overload of information though beacuse a lot of subjects and most of them we didn’t learn in secondary school. " --- Senior S

" I chose Social Work because I wanted to have the opportunity, given by the course, to be involved in the local community and advocating for the rights for those who need it. I've also wanted to work somewhere where I can meaningfully interact with real people. The topic of Social Work is pretty broad in itself, I believe that as a course, it focuses on the social issues presented in Singapore, the resources available to overcome barriers in society and the "human" touch in Social Work; where it's never only about what the professionals can do, but what's important is about empowering the clients and equipping them with necessary tools to be able to stand for themselves." --- Senior V

Describe your schools' culture/school spirit.


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I am not very involved in school but I guess the school is pretty quiet but when there is stuff going on, it can get pretty loud, united and festive." ---Senior A.L

" I think it’s quite chill, favourite experience is going to school for like one lesson every week LOL. " --- Senior S

" The only appropriate way to describe NYP is that we are not as hyped as NP. What NP does is really cool in my opinion, but NYP is more on the chill side. I've heard from my friends from other Polys that NYP has a dull or not much vibe to it, but it doesn't really matter personally. I'm also not sure of the culture within my campus or any other campus, so I won't comment much." --- Senior V

How is the academic rigour? Is it competitive? Is everyone fixated on results?


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I guess different schools have different challenges. But in science school, I do not think it is very rigourous if you are the consistent type of student or a fast learner. As for competition, I guess every school is pretty competitive." ---Senior A.L

" Yes, quite stressful honestly, because now our exams changed to projects, and I have 6 subjects. Each subject has like 3 projects, so it’s literally like project after project after project. We have to do a lot of reports for our projects and the school/teachers are very strict on plagiarism and submitting the project on time." --- Senior S

" Yes, and no for my batchmates for my course of study. Considering the percentage of the cut off point require to enter, and the percentage of JAE to EAE students; which is 50-50. I think that naturally there are individuals who are likely to be more proficient and want to score above average. So the competition is there, but I don't believe that it is as aggressive; like stepping on others in Social work, it could be so for business or other schools in NYP. But if we are comparing Poly vs JC and the level of academic rigour, the kind of expectation/standard and type of stress is different; so I think it's unfair to compare Poly and JC side by side. It's advisable for secondary school students to know what kind of study environment is best suited for them and is what they are willing to put up with. It is also worthy to note that secondary students cannot have the mindset that Poly requires no form of effort or that Poly is more chill that JC, or else you will come to Poly shook XD. You will still need to step up your game in Poly. In terms of wanting to do academically well in order to progress to Universities, it is true that the chances for Poly students to enter Uni is increasing, but I think the better way is for secondary students to do so is still through JC, if they are competent and willing to put up with JC, and don't know what career path they want to enter in yet." --- Senior V

Typical school day:


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I usually don't have or have very few classes on Fridays. The rest of the week are pretty packed, mostly from 9am-5pm" ---Senior A.L

" Just to make a disclaimer; I believe that my course has shorter hours of class compared to other schools/course - so try not use this as a representation of NYP or Poly in general. Year 1 looked somewhat like this: Monday - 9am to 5pm Tuesday - 10am to 4pm Wednesday - 11am to 1pm/No-school day Thursday - 10am to 3pm Friday - 9am to 12pm Sometimes there may also be like 2 or 3 hours break in between depending on the schedule, also holidays and classes on certain weeks only." --- Senior V

What is the class size and gender ratio of (your course)?


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My class only has 20 people, equal number of girls and guys." ---Senior A.L

" For Social work, my batchmates consist for 51 of us. I would say about 15% are boys, and the rest are girls." --- Senior V

Was the competition to get into a CCA tough?


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I only had my CCA for 2 weeks. In terms of sports, I think it is pretty difficult to get in. You must perform better than others during trial sessions for competitive sports like netball, badminton, swimming." ---Senior A.L

" My story is that in Year 1, i signed up for 2 CCAs; Touch Football/Rugby (Sports) and Cru (Club). My experience with joining both CCAs were relatively easy, just had to go to trials/orientation and stay committed. I later on left Touch Football after half a sem because I could no longer commit to the trainings that would end around 9/9.30pm, because I stayed 1hr15mins away from NYP and had to get up early the next day, and that there were full on trainings during the breaks. Usually for sports CCAs, many use the trials to just experience what the CCA is like, so many will end up leaving and going for another CCA of their interest. Anyways, I would stay that the joining part is easy, but the staying part is relatively difficult (like being able to be part of the competitive teams etc.)." --- Senior V

What are some special traditions/activities your school has? Which is your favourite?


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I guess maybe orientation. I am not really sure about the activities in school." ---Senior A.L

" Hm...I'm not really sure, but we had like a mandatory Innovation camp, which was half a day. School-related camps (like SIDM camp, SHSS camp and SBM camp) that are optional. There is this freshman orientation party called, "LUX", which seems to be a big thing in our campus." --- Senior V

Are lecturers easy to approach? Are they open for consultations?


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Lecturers are easy to approach but not all of them. Some are very passionate about consultations, but I haven't really been to consultations so I am not sure abt that." ---Senior A.L

" Our lecturers are very friendly. Unlike all other schools and courses in NYP, we are one of the few courses that address our lecturers by their first name. They are open to hear your questions or any personal concerns that you have, especially with your Class Mentor. I personally think that the lecturers want us to consult them, lol. Usually other lecturers from other school and courses say that Social Work students are fortunate and that our lecturers are too nice for their own good. But do note that the lecturers are also pretty strict in their own ways as well, regarding school work and stuff." --- Senior V

What is the biggest difference between secondary school and poly?

" I think the biggest difference between JC and poly is the learning and teaching style, like poly students need to be more disciplined." --- Senior S

What was the hardest thing to adapt to in JC/poly?

" The hardest thing to adapt is the teaching/learning style because it’s so different from secondary school. " --- Senior S

What stereotype have you heard about your school or polytechnics in general and do you think they are true or not?

" The main stereotype I can think of is that the stress in Poly is lesser than JC. I just don't think it's fair to compare because after all, both kinds of schools have very different ways of teaching and goal of teaching (JC: For A levels and Uni, Poly: To be ready for work). Secondary student should assume that Poly lecturers will still expect you to put in effort and perform academically. Or else, students will come into Poly "shook" xD." --- Senior V