A day ago, I published a post that garnered way more response than I expected - the good, and the bad. I wrote about my thoughts on how I feel as a student studying in Polytechnic, coming from a perspective of a Year 3 student who came from the School of Business.

I posted this up on Facebook last night and the word started spreading. 


Here are some issues which I'd like to clear, and some of my views on the GOOD POINTS of polytechnic. 

1. I come from a biased point of view.

Almost every negative comment is telling me how I'm being so one-sided for the article I've written. That is very true, because my entire post was (1) based on my own personal experience and opinions, (2) basically ranting about the pain-points in my life as a polytechnic student, (3) coming from the Business Student point-of-view. 

There was a comment which went like...

"Your points are too subjective, one-sided, and does not reflect accurately on the thoughts of all poly students."

I won't say that it's too subjective, because if it was, it wouldn't have garnered this huge response of students agreeing on what I said. Lots of people seem to have agreed from where I'm coming from.

But I do admit that, despite my title stating "The truth about life as a Polytechnic Student", it does not necessarily have to reflect EVERY SINGLE poly student out there. I mean, isn't it obvious? As similar as what these people are going through, it is pretty much common sense that we all come from different backgrounds and environments. 

I didn't publish this comment though, because I didn't like this anonymous guy's tone. Lol. 

2. I had ONE bad experience during my journey in polytechnic that really impacted me.

Out of all the good experiences that I had throughout my three years in poly, there are bound to be bad ones, and one of them that happened in the third year really got me thinking about how I felt about students these days. 

Let me give you a scenario which happened to me:

"A good friend of yours (lets name this person "A") had always been a supportive individual and someone you feel you can depend on to cheer you up at times when you needed a listening ear. However, when you enter the same project group as "A", you found out that "A" had mentioned to someone else about being unhappy having to group with you. Sounds childish and so 'old school', but it's true. 
Weeks later, you got the courage to ask "A" about the situation and awkwardly cleared things up. Everything seemed fine for a week or two. You started improving on making an effort to have a better attitude towards school and being more punctual because of the motivation you got. During group meetings, there are smiles and laughter and no more bad feelings. (at least you thought so) 
Just when you thought things got better, peer evaluation came. The next moment you know, you got marked down for your attendance/attitude/contribution. A week later, you talked it out among your group mates, but ever since then, you can't bring yourself to trust them anymore."

I know this might not sound familiar to you because it is MY PERSONAL experience, but I hope to emphasize on the fact that,

(1) I really dislike it when people put a fake front in front of you.

(2) Especially when they know that you're trying your best to improve for the better and change your stupid habit of being late.

(3) Peer evaluation also does not have much of an impact on me because I'm not AS concerned of my grades than the others, but a group mate or friend lying to me about everything being okay, and marking me down behind my back while pretending to be a team, is NOT okay. (personal take)

That being said, it's great to know that some of you have the perfect team mates and grow up in the perfect educational environment. I admire you to the max. But please don't forget that not everyone is as fortunate as you. My thoughts might be biased, but the same goes to you. To each his/her own opinion.  

3. Bad experiences do not have anything to do with the school I'm in.

It's more of an issue with the people you meet nowadays. I'm also not the typical studious type of student, and I have myself partly at blame for occasional bad grades. But when you talk about my lecturers and course of study, they are perfectly fine. 

I might have stated my views on how I felt about lectures, too, but most of my lecturers are the best people with the funniest characters and such lovely personalities. They were the ones who were there to motivate me continuously and even listen to some of my complaints. The ones who help me clear my doubts when I needed their help for consultation. 

A reader from NYP also gave some thoughts of his/hers.


Although I still dislike lectures, I totally agree with what he/she said. That's a different point of view for you guys. 

4. I absolutely LOVE the fun aspects of polytechnic!

Camps, events, bazaars, outings... The list goes on! As much as I'm a poor example of a good model student, my past two years of polytechnic life had its perks too. With a bunch of fun loving people, we organized the Freshmen Orientation Camp and Programme for our incoming batch of juniors. It was hella fun and I got to know lots of new people!

Aside from that, some of my course mates and I were also part of the Organizing Committee for our course. It wasn't exactly a smooth journey, but there were fun times through the events we planned such as the Christmas Parties and Course Outings! You don't know how much fun I had aside from studies.

I assumed that my previous article was an obvious, one-sided personal opinion from the negative aspect. Looks like some of you didn't think so, so here you go. 

5. I'm still grateful for the things I've learnt, nice people I've known and knowledge I've gained. 

Maybe I sounded a little too emotional in the previous article because I had it written with lots of emotions and deep thoughts put into it. But I'm going to now state it VERY clearly that, apart from the bad, there is so much good exposure gained and nice people I've gotten to know. I even met my boyfriend there and some of my best pals, even through simple activities such as Orientation Camps.

Also, I don't find the education system wrong. How many times do I have to say that it's based on my own experiences and opinions? 

So why are people telling me things like,

"You, lady, are in for a rude shock if you think having this attitude of yours is going to take you far in the future. Believe me, no employer will appreciate such cynicism, lack of respect." - Anonymous

Don't you think you're going a little overboard? I'm not intending to work in a company that I don't interest in, and neither would these employers hire someone like me. But what I can tell you is that, there are really nice and accepting people out there who understand your strengths and weaknesses and know how to utilize them to the fullest. They might be rare in the society, but there ARE these people out there. You just don't know them. 

Who are you to lecture me about my attitude with an attitude like yours? Lol. Fancy trying to be all "opinionated" as an anonymous without a status or position. Try harder.

Or even telling me to quit school,

"Very immature piece of writing. Not trolling or anything but you need to think about the bigger picture. Not happy with the "mundane" process of school? Quit then. I was once like you in poly and I regret to this day. Do yourself a favour and take your studies seriously - one thing I wished I did at your age." - Anonymous

"Quit then" - Lol, say until very easy leh you. Once again, I've ENDED my three years of studies in polytechnic so I don't know what there is to "quit". Whatever happened to your past, I don't care. All I know is you're rude, mean and a no-guts anonymous.

Here are other bad responses I've gotten:

(different responses from different anonymous people)




You guys really know how to ruin a person's day, don't you? 

Now that I've read enough of these comments, I'm really glad that majority of you can relate to it. =) 

Although the intention was writing it just to express my thoughts as an ordinary schoolgirl from poly, I'm really thankful for the kind comments and constructive feedback. 



And to all of you nice people, I wish all the best for your studies and good luck! Like I said, there are still some really nice people out there, you just have to get to know or meet them. =) 

Let me know if you still have any doubts, but I hope this had cleared out some misconceptions on life in polytechnic. Different people, different environments, different experiences, different cultures. It all depends on which path you've chosen.

As for the haters, stop posting these rude remarks and go study. Must guai, okay? 

P/S. (Made My Polytechnic Survival Guide for those who requested! Check it out!)