When I was in my last year of secondary school, I started having many conversations with my relatives and friends about what’s next for me. Being in a triple science course, you would most probably expect someone like me to continue on to Junior College.
Looking at my borderline results then, I started to reconsider my options. I slowly became more inclined to continue studying in a Poly after ‘O’ levels and I ended up in Nanyang Polytechnic! Back then, I didn’t know what Poly was really like. Come to think about it, I heard many myths about Poly that I came to realise were untrue. Let me debunk 5 myths about Poly today!
1. Everybody is sooooooo “fashionable”
When I was in secondary school, I used to fantasise about Poly life–how everyone is super fashionable. And honestly, I was pretty worried that my wardrobe wasn’t cool enough for me to "fit in". Truth be told, being “fashionable” isn’t that important. On the surface, it seems that everybody puts on their best outfits for school and are always looking good but once I started attending classes, I realised that there are many who wore plain tees and shorts–nothing too fancy or special–and those who dress up fashionably are often the minority. I learnt that what's more important is my attitude towards studies and maintaining friendships, so I chose to focus on that instead of deciding what to wear to school. Poly ain't a fashion show and there are actually dress codes set in place in the Polys.
Credit: Fashion GIF By MOODMAN on GIPHY
2. Choosing Poly = Lots of free time
Another myth that I believed in was that once I enter Poly, I will have lots of free time on my hands to do things that I want because of the flexible timetable. While it is true that my schedule in Poly was more flexible than in Secondary School, flexibility does not always equate to more freedom.
For most of the polys, day classes can start as early as 8am and end as late as 6pm. Some classes may also take place at night too, depending on the availability of the lecturers. It is not uncommon to have a 3-hour break between classes or even a 1-hour lecture as the only class for the day. We might not even have classes on some days! So while it is true that we have more time to spend outside of class (which allowed my friends and me to go out of campus to explore different types of food), most of us had to spend our “free time” finishing our tutorials and working on our group projects instead.
Credit: Working Keeping Up With The Kardashians GIF By E! on GIPHY
3. General Modules are useless
Aside from the modules related to my course, I was also required to take up general modules in order to graduate. All of the Polys require their students to take up modules beyond their course. The name differs for each Poly but it all serves the same purpose of learning skills that may be helpful in the future.
I know of many people who skipped the classes for the general modules because they felt like it was a waste of time. They would calculate the minimum number of lessons they have to attend so that they do not fail the module and skip the rest.
However, if we were to give these general modules a chance, I would say that it is not entirely useless. For Nanyang Polytechnic, choosing a general module is like “chope-ing” for seats at a hawker centre during lunchtime. We need to “chope” for the modules we want, if not we will automatically be assigned to a random module. In my first year, I got to study Korean Language (Beginner Level) and I really enjoyed myself and even aced the module! Nowadays, Year-1 students would also have fitness-related general modules to take. I’ve seen some pretty interesting ones like Swimming, Rock-climbing, and even Yoga!
Credit: Happy Love You GIF By The Swoon on GIPHY
There are also other helpful general modules like ‘Critical Life Skills for Professional Success’ that equipped me for job interviews, resume writing and more. There was also a financial literacy module that helped me gain clarity about managing finances and understanding a little more about how to navigate through financial decisions. So, general modules are not necessarily ‘unhelpful’. These modules are helpful if we choose to apply what we learn into our lives (it begins with paying attention in class)!
4. Frienemies?
I don’t know about you, but I have heard many people telling me how certain courses in Poly have a “toxic” culture such as backstabbing a group member, going MIA (missing-in-action) on a group project (aka being a freeloader). Thankfully, I didn’t experience much of that.
It is true that people in Poly can be competitive but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t nice people who genuinely want to be friends. I’ve learnt that no matter how people treat me, I should treat them with respect and to give in my best in all that I do. If you find yourself in a toxic culture, find an outlet to release the toxicity (e.g. talk to someone you trust) and learn to walk away from it!
Credit: Bad Girls Club Friends GIF By Beamly US on GIPHY
5. Failing modules means I won’t be able to graduate on time
There are some modules that we might not excel in, but that’s okay! We will all be given a chance to retake the module. Even though this might create a challenge to graduate within 3 years, it is definitely still possible with a little bit of hard work. Some of my friends have unfortunately failed modules, but they were still able to graduate in 3 years. Receiving a ‘Fail’ grade can be demoralizing but remember that it’s not the end and that there are friends, classmates, lecturers who are cheering you on, so don’t give up!
Credit: Motivational High School GIF on GIPHY
These are some of the misconceptions I had before entering Poly which I realised weren’t true after experiencing 3 years of Poly education. I hope it was helpful for you to understand a little bit more about life in Poly and clarify any misconceptions you may have!
Still have questions about Poly or which course to choose?
Come and learn more about Poly life through our online event–Honest Conversations–where seniors from different courses and Polys will be sharing more!
Honest Conversations
Date: 13 OR 14 January 2021
Time: 8 – 930pm
Location: Zoom
Click HERE to sign up now!
See ya there!
