Today I'm blogging for yesterday and today. Haha. Tts cos its a common topic, mainly about the SMU talks.

Sat(19 March):
Well, managed to get up early for the Business Management talk for SMU at Raffles City. Was rather sleepy after yesterday's class gathering. Managed to drag myself on to the MRT to get there. The BM talk would start at 10am.

Anyway, reached City Hall and found out that the talks were near to where the SPH Scholarship talk was previously held. All I had to do was follow the stream of youngsters like myself going upstairs. Would have been faster to go in via the Stamford Hotel lobby but I wanted to look around at the shops. Next to the escalator going up was this huge cardboard display of a guy saying "SMU Openhouse Upstairs" in a super enthu manner.

I ended up waiting in line as people at the entrance were giving out pamphlets. Most of them seemed to be current SMU students. There were also booths outside for the various faculties. I admit 2 of the people at the entrance sort of pissed me off. I went over, then this girl chose at that moment to talk to her male partner about the pamphlets they were giving out. I mean, they took so long and I just stood there, waiting. In addition to that, there were many more behind me and they were waiting to go into the ballroom too. So f***ing rude (excuse the language but I just can't stand people who rudely ignore you). In the end I had to go to the other girl standing on the opposite side of the entrance to get my pamphlets. Sheesh.

Anyway, that nasty first impression aside, I squeezed my way through a crowd of people to stand at the back of the ballroom. The BM talk was overwhelmingly popular and there weren't any empty seats available. At least the people standing were considerate. Nobody standing in front blocked the view of the people at the back. They either stood out of the way or sat down. Tts a lot considering a hobbit like me. Haha.

What followed was a very relaxed, seminar sort of talk. It wasn't this guy just talking and everyone listening. It consisted of a group of academics on stage, including professors as well as an ex and current student. Each of them were questioned by the host speaker who introduced them and then asked them questions pertaining to the course. This ended with a Q & A session which I found informative. There's nothing more convincing than hearing about the course from the lips of a current student. It really told me what I needed to know.

After that, it was lunch time, then back tothe Admissions talk at 1pm.

The ballroom was even more overwhelmingly crowded. And strangely everyome chose to stand by the door rather than move in to the back. Once again, I strained to see the stage, and my new heels helped. :) I also saw a few familiar faces, namely Vasudhya, Jolyn, another TJ girl and Yazid who poked his head in after the talk started. But other than that, not many ex-TJCians.

Yadda yadda the usual... Good A Level grades, min. C6 for O level A Maths, an interview and on-the-spot 30 minute essay. Turns out that the interview and especially essay carry the equal or maybe even more weightage compared to the A Level results and the CCA record. SAT 1 included. Dun know if I want to go to SMU but if I want to, then I'll definitely give it a shot. *victory sign*

After that, left the talk. A band was playing up front. The musicians were good, but the lead singer was doing a rather off-sync rendition of Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". I ran for cover, filling in the details for a friend who was too lazy to attend the talks but wanted to know the admission details. Blagh.

Till tomorrow then.

Today(20 March):
Back to Raffles City to attend the talk at 1pm on Admissions again. Felt that it was necessary in case I missed out on any details the last time. It had been really noisy yeaterday as some inconsiderate people didn't close the door behind them after they entered or left, allowing noise from the lobby to filter in.

Yadda yadda... Didn't miss much, though they had left out the fact that interviews would be conducted ffrom April to June. Enough time for me to prepare myself mentally. However, they mentioned intake for AY2005. And guess what?

Business Mangement: 500
Econs and Soical Science: 100 (only wa siao!)

After that, SESS (School of Econs and Social Sciences). It started with this video, before the "panellists" came in. Same seminar style as BM, though the guests seemed more distinguished. That Banyan Tree Resort lady was one of them, as well as a African-American who used to work for JP and Morgan (what the heck do they do anyway??). Also another ang moh, a BBI(British-born-Indian), and the Founding Dean Prof. Mariano who's Fillipino. They were all very eloquent and impressive. And all had a sense of humour. The host speaker, a Prof teaching at SMU, was also a good speaker. I didn't feel sleepy, which was good.

I admit I was very impressed with the presentation. I admit the turnout was smaller than the BM one, though that pleased me. Lesser competition should I try to get in, and I've decided to.

After that, walked around Raffles City and Citylink Mall, thinking hard. Mainly, it was weighing my chances of getting into SMU SESS and NUS Sociology. Both had roughly equal Pros and Cons. I admit the interview system of SMU provides me with more hope, as I feel that NUS still likes things done the old-fashioned way, which is results first. I dun know, but I'm willing to give SMU a try.

I'm still feeling pessimistic now. But for now, it's SMU, or Smoo (as I affectionately call it) for me. I'm gonna give that stinking interview and essay a shot.