AY2014-2015 Semester 2 Modules

And the much delayed post is finally here. I have been resting for the past three weeks of school as I did not manage to have a proper break last winter. Of course that comes with a price; I'm already lagging behind for several modules.

But anyway, it was really hard deciding on my modules this semester. One reason was that I had wanted to take two level-4000 EC modules but unfortunately, the modules offered this time round aren't exactly interesting. So the initial plan was two EC, two ST, SS and my last GEM. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, it has become one EC, three ST and one SS which also means I have cleared the requirements for my second major. Well, I shall go into the details of my module selection now.

1. EC4332 Money and Banking II

For some reason, having taken EC4102 makes this module slightly less interesting than I had imagined it to be. Nonetheless, this was one of the must-take modules for me. Probably it's just that the content now is somewhat similar to that covered in EC4102 so I'm feeling a little "unsurprised". This is not to say that the module is easy. In fact, I think if anyone finds EC4102 hard, the next thing he or she should be doing is to avoid this module at all costs, or at least if it's taken by Martin Bodenstein. Apparently, EC4332 under Park Jungjae is peanuts which thus explains the excessive demand last semester. On the other hand, the same module is definitely under-enrolled when Martin Bodenstein takes it, like in this semester. Anyway, as predicted, EC3332 is of zero help to EC4332 and I mean zero. But I really like it how this module can provide me with the insights to the models used by monetary authorities and how monetary policy plays a role within the general equilibrium theory so I am really looking forward to the topics after Week 7.

By the way, I had wanted to take EC4880 but thank goodness I realized that the finals is qualitative-based and that's a big no-no. 

2. ST3239 Survey Methodology

This was one module that I had only decided to take at the eleventh hour. By that, I really mean one day before Round 1A starts or something. And I spent a freaking 1.4k on this module, the most I have ever spent. Oh well, but what's the use of keeping so much points anyway. 

So it was between this or ST3241 Categorical Data Analysis I. I have looked through the content for both modules repeatedly and I finally decided to prioritize my interest and grades a little bit more than usefulness. I mean I am not going to conduct surveys ever in my life or at least few professions require knowledge in this field whereas on the other hand, ST3241 is more applicable in the sense that categorical data is quite commonly seen in databases, research papers, etc. But, looking at the difficulty of ST3241 tells me it's not gonna be a wise choice in addition to the extremely steep bell curve.

If not for the lack of EC modules to choose from, I would have waited till Year 4 Sem 1 to take ST3233 Applied Time Series Analysis instead of ST3239 as ST3233 is only offered in Semester 1. But I have to say that the way this course is conducted is in many ways similar to ST2132 so I am sort of gradually leaning towards this module.

3. ST3242 Introduction to Survival Analysis

Again, this was another module that I decided ok maybe not at the eleventh hour but "seventh hour"? And it was largely due to the difficulty level of this module. Or rather for my standards, this module will prove to be a challenge. However, I came to realize the usefulness of this module and how it can be applied to many situations and hence, I decided not to have so many reservations and just do it. 

4. ST3247 Simulation

This is definitely a module that I foresee myself having a lot of difficulties with but it's also the module that I have firmly decided on from the very beginning. In fact, if I hadn't chosen this module, there will be many GEM for me to choose from as this module is the one causing all the clashes. But this is really one useful module so I placed it plus EC4332 on top of my list and so modules that clash with these two just have to give way.

I had actually intended to take ST3244 Demographic Methods but obviously ST3247 is a better choice.

5. SSA2211 The Evolution of a Global-City State

Can I just skip this? Basically, I took this module firstly because yes, I need to fulfill the university requirements and secondly because I can S/U it. Simple as that. Oh and right, it fits into my timetable.

6. GEM1536 Darwin and Evolution
And so I dropped this module in Week 2 despite spending a bomb on it. Reason is very simple: reality did not meet expectations. I thought this module was gonna be a bit more scientific but heck, the questions include stuff like "Which university did Darwin attend?" and that is enough to put me off apart from the fact that it is apparently a must to attend lectures in order to take down all the important notes which will be tested for exams. All I can think of are my two remaining S/U options. And so asking me to attend lectures for a module that I am intending to S/U is nuts. I mean how do you expect me to attend lectures for a GEM when I don't even attend the lectures for my core modules?

And that's all for the updates.

Anyway, it does appear that my workload is a lot lighter compared to last semester. But really, it isn't any much lighter. Although it was reduced from 6 to 4 core modules, there isn't actually much of a difference. First, the core modules this semester are a lot harder. Second, they're also more time-consuming probably because there are assignments to be submitted every now and then for three out of the four modules. In addition, my RA prof has been assigning me with new tasks every week and most importantly, I will get started on my thesis preparation this semester as it's quite likely that I'll be doing it next semester instead of my last semester.

Semester 5 is over!

Yesterday marks the end of my fifth semester as I had my last finals and yes, 6 finals in a timespan of exactly one week. By far, this is the most gruelling semester for me as I had 6 core modules on top of work. Thankfully, not all the modules are too demanding. However, I am not very confident of doing well this time round (again) mainly because of the steep bell curve for several modules like EC3332, EC4102, ST1131 and ST2137; the finals for EC3332, EC4102 and ST2137 were disappointingly too easy and suprisingly, ST1131 finals was a bit more challenging than I thought. I feel a bit bad talking about this module though because I can literally count the number of hours I spend on it for the whole semester. Moreover, there are some modules which I did not do up to expectations for midterms and that may cause me my grade. Well, I shall leave the details to my module review after results are out. 

I'll be starting my internship tomorrow which leaves me only a day in between as my break. But I think it's good to be occupied rather than having too little on hand. Now I think it feels weird to have finished finals in the first week of exams as my finals have been stretching to two weeks since Year 1 Semester 2. Nevertheless, I'm quite drained this semester so it's good to have finished all the finals within a week. Somehow though, it feels like this semester has passed too quickly such that it seems that I haven't settled down very well to study my modules very thoroughly and everything's over.

And MPE is coming up and I guess I should have decided on my modules for Sem 2. Finally, I can take just 4 core modules from now on (if you don't count the last semester) which is good because I am beginning to understand how time-consuming level-4000 EC modules can get. By the way, the Economics department has requested for students to complete a MPE exercise for the next academic year. It seems like they are asking for EC4101 and EC4102 to be taken away as core requirements for honours and also to open more electives for students. I've seen the new electives and they are pretty interesting like the Economic and Financial Forecasting, Income Distribution Analysis and Mathematical Economic Analysis.

Anyway, here are my choices:

EC4332 Money and Banking II

Apparently, this module is many times harder if you take it under Bodenstein instead of Jungjae. He even recommends that students take EC3314 and EC4102 before taking this module. So I guess a fair amount of maths will be involved. I saw things like multivariate, eigenvectors and eigenvalues in the syllabus so it should be one of the more challenging electives. 

EC4880 Topics in Economics: Special Topics in Economic Growth and Macroeconomics

This took me quite some time to decide on it. I was contemplating a few modules mainly EC4333, EC4394 and this. And I decided that maybe it's time I prioritize my interests and grades a bit instead of usefulness. Despite this module being quite theoretical, I think it will suit me better than the rest. I really wanted to take EC4341 in place of this in view of the wider range of electives that's going to be offered in 15/16 and that EC4341 is a must-take for me but then Gentile is really not going to give me as good a learning experience than Davin Chor can. So I will leave this module to Year 4 Semester 1.

ST3239 Survey Methodology

This is one of the more fundamental modules that I think if you are looking into research fields in the future, you should take it. It teaches different types of sampling methods; how to construct surveys taking into cost considerations etc. Conducting surveys is probably one of the more layman-understood areas whereby it's "just like that" so I'm hoping this module will provide me with some new insights. One drawback is that I heard the bell curve is extremely steep and that it is highly popular so it isn't that ideal if you're suffering from the problem of lack of bid points.

ST3244 Demographic Methods

I was deciding between this module and ST3243 but I think ST3243 may be a bit over-specialized. So I'd rather take more general modules to gain the necessary skills to increase marketability. I guess the module title makes it quite obvious that students are going to learn about demographics such as population rates, fertility rates etc. I am looking forward to the part on making projections though.

SSA1201 Singapore Society

This is definitely one of the most irritating component that all undergraduates must clear. I chose this because (1) it fits my timetable (duh) and (2) it doesn't seem like it requires much studying to be able to crap during exams to get away with any grade that's B- and above so that I can s/u it with zero problems. And I am not looking forward to the 25% class participation component at all because I've seen how this department works and most of the time, the arguments are full of fluff.

And so that's all for the updates. It doesn't seem very easy to be able to secure two level-4000 modules when you are not in the SOC4 batch yet. EC4102 was easy to get because no one wanted to take it under Aamir Hashmi due to the rumoured difficulty compared to Semester 2. I hope the same goes for EC4332 since I'm not too sure how EC4880 will turn out exactly. Past experiences tells me 4880 isn't easy to get so it's like you should be prepared to waste over 1k bid points on it. But that's not the main issue for me. The thing is non-honours students are not allowed to bid in Round 1 and I probably have to wait until Round 2A or 2B to bid for it and by then, all the slots may have been filled up and it'll no longer be offered for bidding. So that means I have to go through all that hassle to appeal for it and it doesn't help that I have no other possible choices besides this. Hopefully, MPE will work its magic.