I was tied up the past few days studying and singing. I have managed to finish reading the first few chapters of the textbook, and starting on the next few chapters later on in the week. The first few chapters are nothing much, except to answer queries on how to study humanities effectively and score well in them.
Really useful tips. Why did I not have these all those years ago? All my years of being an Arts major, and I never knew these tips existed. At least this gives me a bit more confidence in facing my studies head on.
The chorus sessions are getting more fun and interesting. Jennifer is really a cool conductor! Since there are no real Altos, she paired up all us girls together, so we have to take turns singing the Soprano and Alto parts.
There are five songs to sing, so I will be singing three Soprano parts and two Alto parts since my partner is able to sing the lower notes better. It is such a struggle singing the Alto parts after the voice is tuned to singing high notes all the time.
It was my mum’s birthday on Sunday. This year my dad was around for her birthday, so my parents went out that evening. Last year, my brothers and I treated my mum to Hard Rock Café for lunch, then we went to my grandma’s place where my uncle bought her a cake and had a karaoke party.
Since my dad was around this year, we left him to plan the celebration instead of us. Speaking of which, my first brother is coming back for the New Year! In fact, he should be already on the plane now. Yeah! We can finally stay up late to catch up again!
I was looking through the grading system and class of qualifications for the SIM University. Apparently, it also follows the Grade Point Average (GPA) system just like the other local universities. Before it became the fourth university last year, it used to go according to the Credit Unit (CU) system. I am considered the pioneer batch under the new system.
In the past, there used to be the CU system for all our local tertiary institutions as well, but this was changed to the GPA system around the late 1990s – early 2000s. In fact, when I started my studies in NIE under NTU, it was still on the CU system, until my final year when all was changed to GPA, and my grades were recalculated as GPA grades.
The change came about because in the CU system, every module carries a certain unit. Thus, anyone who completes the unit gets the credit, but that does not distinguish the higher scorers from the lower scorers.
When it comes to ranking according to class of qualifications, there were many disputes. For example, in a normal degree, one needs 100 CUs to be considered as having completed the entire course. So if all the students get 100 CUs, but only a few of them got selected for the Honours programme, the rest will dispute as to why they were not selected if they scored the same.
Which is why now although the CU system is still ongoing, ie undergraduates must still complete a certain number of modules and fulfil a certain number of credits, the GPA system has been adopted to rank the students in case of any dispute. The GPA counts the overall grades instead of the overall module units, so those who scored well will be reflected.
The GPA system goes like this :
A+ (85 – 100) – 5.0
A (80 – 84) – 5.0
A- (75 – 79) – 4.5
B+ (70 – 74 ) – 4.0
B (65 – 69) – 3.5
B- (60 – 64) – 3.0
C+ (55 – 59) – 2.5
C (50 – 54) – 2.0
D+ (45 – 49) – 1.5
D (40 – 44) – 1.0
Less than 40 (F) – 0.0
According to this, if one scores a C to B average means the results are really poor, considering it is just a border line pass and into the 60% grades. And if you score a D, that means you probably already failed that subject, although it is counted as a point. No wonder I could not progress further. :-(
The class of qualifications takes the total average GPA of all the modules. Which means if one takes twenty modules throughout the course, the final grade will be the average of all the twenty modules.
Thus, for a mere Pass, one needs a final average GPA of 2.0 – 3.49 (C to B average), second lower honours 3.5 – 3.99 (B to B+ average), second upper honours 4.0 – 4.49 (B+ to A- average), and a first class honours 4.5 – 5.0 (perfect score throughout). Hats off to those who are smart and good enough to take Honours then. I really wish to learn your skills of scoring well too!
Really useful tips. Why did I not have these all those years ago? All my years of being an Arts major, and I never knew these tips existed. At least this gives me a bit more confidence in facing my studies head on.
The chorus sessions are getting more fun and interesting. Jennifer is really a cool conductor! Since there are no real Altos, she paired up all us girls together, so we have to take turns singing the Soprano and Alto parts.
There are five songs to sing, so I will be singing three Soprano parts and two Alto parts since my partner is able to sing the lower notes better. It is such a struggle singing the Alto parts after the voice is tuned to singing high notes all the time.
It was my mum’s birthday on Sunday. This year my dad was around for her birthday, so my parents went out that evening. Last year, my brothers and I treated my mum to Hard Rock Café for lunch, then we went to my grandma’s place where my uncle bought her a cake and had a karaoke party.
Since my dad was around this year, we left him to plan the celebration instead of us. Speaking of which, my first brother is coming back for the New Year! In fact, he should be already on the plane now. Yeah! We can finally stay up late to catch up again!
I was looking through the grading system and class of qualifications for the SIM University. Apparently, it also follows the Grade Point Average (GPA) system just like the other local universities. Before it became the fourth university last year, it used to go according to the Credit Unit (CU) system. I am considered the pioneer batch under the new system.
In the past, there used to be the CU system for all our local tertiary institutions as well, but this was changed to the GPA system around the late 1990s – early 2000s. In fact, when I started my studies in NIE under NTU, it was still on the CU system, until my final year when all was changed to GPA, and my grades were recalculated as GPA grades.
The change came about because in the CU system, every module carries a certain unit. Thus, anyone who completes the unit gets the credit, but that does not distinguish the higher scorers from the lower scorers.
When it comes to ranking according to class of qualifications, there were many disputes. For example, in a normal degree, one needs 100 CUs to be considered as having completed the entire course. So if all the students get 100 CUs, but only a few of them got selected for the Honours programme, the rest will dispute as to why they were not selected if they scored the same.
Which is why now although the CU system is still ongoing, ie undergraduates must still complete a certain number of modules and fulfil a certain number of credits, the GPA system has been adopted to rank the students in case of any dispute. The GPA counts the overall grades instead of the overall module units, so those who scored well will be reflected.
The GPA system goes like this :
A+ (85 – 100) – 5.0
A (80 – 84) – 5.0
A- (75 – 79) – 4.5
B+ (70 – 74 ) – 4.0
B (65 – 69) – 3.5
B- (60 – 64) – 3.0
C+ (55 – 59) – 2.5
C (50 – 54) – 2.0
D+ (45 – 49) – 1.5
D (40 – 44) – 1.0
Less than 40 (F) – 0.0
According to this, if one scores a C to B average means the results are really poor, considering it is just a border line pass and into the 60% grades. And if you score a D, that means you probably already failed that subject, although it is counted as a point. No wonder I could not progress further. :-(
The class of qualifications takes the total average GPA of all the modules. Which means if one takes twenty modules throughout the course, the final grade will be the average of all the twenty modules.
Thus, for a mere Pass, one needs a final average GPA of 2.0 – 3.49 (C to B average), second lower honours 3.5 – 3.99 (B to B+ average), second upper honours 4.0 – 4.49 (B+ to A- average), and a first class honours 4.5 – 5.0 (perfect score throughout). Hats off to those who are smart and good enough to take Honours then. I really wish to learn your skills of scoring well too!
5 comments:
Hi, if you find it a struggle to sing low notes, it could be because a)you have yet to grasp the correct technique of singing or b) you have yet to develope the musicality to be able to sing harmony instead of just melody. There's really no such thing as 'cos one's used to singing high notes therefore alto part is a struggle. Ask any sop and they'll tell you singing alto part is a breeze - the only problem being whether they are able to project at the range... For those who don't think so, it's probably cos they can't read the music. Girl, just learn to use your vocals properly and you'll find singing alto a breeze. If you still don't know how, you may want to explore looking for a voice tutor willing to help.
- from a closet soprano
I do not know my average, but I remembered lots of C's and D's during my Uni days. (Not a single A in my core subjects too :P)
Anon : I've already said I'm not a good singer, and yes, I am looking for a voice tutor for voice-training.
Ole Wolvie : Not too bad already for your type of subjects.
Hmmph, it sounds really difficult to ace your subjects. Sheer hard work need not guarantee a distinction in the papers. Anyway, wish you all the best!
Thanks! May you do well in your studies too!
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