write while still can

"Welcome to the most gruelling program in SMA!"

(SMA = Singapore-MIT Alliance)

That's how the dear director first greeted the 11 students in CE (Computational Engineering Program). Though similar, CE is structured slightly different from the rest. With that comes different expectation and standard, which unfortunately is rather higher.

The "gruelling" part is not an understatement according to some seniors. Reinforcement of this statement may come from many. One of the real-case example, according to the dear director, is that some of the previous batch students are confirmed NOT to be able to complete the program on time.

I was disillusioned by the sharing of some close friends who have undergone MST (Manufacturing System and Technology) of SMA before. According to them, life in MST is only about projects, exam and assignments. True enough, as when I wanted to have a human conversation with them (a.k.a meeting face-to-face and not virtually) I travelled back to NTU as travelling to city area for them might mean some unfinished or imperfect assignments. Even on Sunday, the atheneum will be full of students.

I thought, there should be NOTHING worse than that.

And only today that I know that I was wrong all along. They (it's a plural word) told me that indeed CE is the toughest. Only seconds after that Prof Khoo came into the room and reinforced it with his "gruelling" statement. Ha, I am trapped now. But well, there's no turning back so just wish me luck.

There's no mercy in SMA. The minimum GPA requirement is (damn) fixed. Another real-case examples said that some of ex-students had been really expelled and worse still, they have to PAY BACK. Everything, from tuition fee (both MIT and NUS) and also stipends and other amount that SMA had spent for them.

Even Prof Khoo said that we really went pale after hearing all this. Man, really, it was beyond our "expectation".

So if you see I write much less here, you know why...