Sunday, June 12, 2016

ST3232 review (NUS)

DISCLAIMER: firstly, i am not a professional writer, so if there are mistakes in my language, move on. secondly, the review is mostly based on opinions, so i would advise you to google for more reviews to get a diverse take on the modules you are interested in. thirdly, module details change every semester, so do not expect every assessment will stick. last but not the least, i will not talk about grades. hope this is useful for you, cheers.

ST3232: Design And Analysis Of Experiments

what do you learn?
this module uses purely R and i am sure that after this module, your skills in R will improve. as for content, this module covers topics related to the design and analysis of experiments. you get to learn countless designs and their rationale and what not. also, you get to learn a few more hypothesis to test for differences in sample mean. if you were to notice already, this module is listed under the biostatistics list and i guess it is so because of the nature of its content. the designs and skills learned are more applicable to analysing scientific studies.. those lab studies kind.

how are you being graded?
you are graded according to tutorial attendance, midterms and finals. for tutorial attendance, you just have to turn up for lectures because one of the lecture slot will likely be your tutorial slot. midterms and finals are open book papers.

my take on this module?
well, while you can bring in whatever paper you think might help you with the examinations, this module requires some degree of studying and understanding. it is not a module that once you see it for say once or twice, you will get it. hell no.. in fact far from it. the content is rather heavy but as you slowly understand the concepts, things might turn out easier and easier. not many CAs but heavy content.

advices?
do your tutorials. understand the codes the lecturer gives. these two things are so important that i cannot emphasise enough. one, the exam questions are somewhat similar to tutorial ones in terms of difficulty.. although unlikely you will be asked to write one big chunk of code. two, before you realise it R code makes up like 75% of the module and if you don’t understand from the start, trust me it will snowball big time. three, once you done those two well, you might just ace this module. so yeah.. really do take the tutorials seriously. it is okay if you find yourself not being able to answer most of the questions initially. so long you understand every answer and every line of coding the lecturer gives. start revision early. yes, even if it is open book, there is some kick to it.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

ST3247 review (NUS)

DISCLAIMER: firstly, i am not a professional writer, so if there are mistakes in my language, move on. secondly, the review is mostly based on opinions, so i would advise you to google for more reviews to get a diverse take on the modules you are interested in. thirdly, module details change every semester, so do not expect every assessment will stick. last but not the least, i will not talk about grades. hope this is useful for you, cheers.

ST3247: Simulation

what do you learn?
in this module, you will really learn how to make full use of statistical software R Studio to assist you in handling real life situations. you get to learn how to use realistic models to analyse real phenomenon through simulation studies. you will get to learn to generate discrete/continuous random variables and variance reduction.

how are you being graded?
you are graded through couple of submissions of assignments, midterms and finals. the number of submissions might vary from year to year though the weightage will be similar to midterms i guess.

my take on this module?
i find this module rather challenging but still kind of interesting. higher level modules are more or less this kind.. very focused and practical. though the content is heavy, the content isn’t as vast as previous level modules. the exam papers are rather challenging to me though. the assignments were still manageable. just double check your answers with those around you. some of the answers might vary from person to person but just check for the steps and what not.

advices?
constantly revisit your lecture notes. the things taught in this module will not be rooted into your head that quickly. constant revision and understanding is needed. also, try to see the big picture of things. like this module teaches you to simulate, ultimately, a real life scenario and what not. keep questioning yourself things like “what does this chapter do to help my understanding of the ultimate simulation process” or “which part of the big picture this concepts will fall into place”. i took quite awhile before realising this and by then it was a little too late but not hopeless. assignments might help you in this area.. so take them seriously. aim for full or near-to-full marks for the weightage is great and these submissions will cushion or even pull your overall grades up.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

60

yes this an update of my life.

in the blink of an eye, the year is almost halfway through. i have been living day by day, telling myself to make use of the weekdays to do meaningful stuff in school and now, at work. every week i look forward to the weekends where i can wind down and relax before another week begins. week after week after week this carries on. day matters more than date so naturally did not pay special attention to the month i was living in. but recently, a friend pointed out that it is June already and that half of 2016 has passed by.

wow.. i am not shocked at how fast time flies but rather more shocked at how caught up i am with the things i have at hand to even try and figure that months are flying by. i guess it is like i thought i have been looking forward to near events such as the weekends that make me oblivious to the timeline. nonetheless, i took few steps back and take a look at myself and realised that i am alright with time flying this fast for i have making full use of it as much as i can remember.

moving on, i came across the promotional video of my secondary school celebrating its 60th birthday really soon. i'm proud to see my batch mate being part of this "music video" i guess.. it really brings back nostalgic memories. if your chinese is as bad as mine, there are chinese subtitles.. yeah not so helpful but for me i read better than i listen i guess.


the homecoming dinner though is such a turn off. $100 per head for a good dinner in school is crazy. i would rather go back and visit for free whenever i am available. i wonder how many would actually pay to go for that. yeah it will gather people and what not.. but the price is so.. unaffordable for students. ohh wells.. even if i am rich i wonder if i would pay that price.. because the price and the expected deliverables do not really match well in my own head. until next time then, cheers.