Stanley Neoh Jia Jun
Class
1715
Rank points
90
NUS
Computer Science and Math
NUS Merit Scholarship
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My university application journey
I had a difficult time deciding what course to take in university. Physics has always been my strength and what I wanted to do since young which narrowed down my decisions between physics and engineering where I eventually chose physics due to it being more rigorous and accepting NTU's offer for physics with the second major in mathematics. However, as time passes while I am serving my national service, I realise I was not mentally ready to go down the path as a researcher as I was worried what if on the off-chance I lose my passion for physics. I spent a lot of time thinking about what drew me into physics in the first place and opened my options to other possibilities. I realise that just being good at the subject is not enough of a reason to make a choice and I had to consider what I actually want to accomplish. I wanted to peer into the future and help others make a better decision with better predictions. I realise that what I wanted to accomplish is in the fields of data science. This led me to apply and accept NUS Computer Science and Mathematics.
Life after NYJC
National Service may seem like 2 years being taken away from you and in all aspects it basically is. However, that does not mean we cannot use these 2 years to put ourselves ahead of others. These 2 years should be used to explore yourself and verify the future you want for yourself as well as to pick up useful skills. My friends and I constantly ensure that we will not be behind our peers when we enter university by practising skills we know will be useful in university and beyond. Whether if you dislike NS or not, you will be serving your 2 years so it is better to make the best of it in your own way.
My Future Plans
Hopefully, be able to work as a software engineer or a data analyst and eventually work as a researcher in artificial intelligence.
Tips for Juniors
Selecting a course for university is important but you should remember that it is not everything. My physics teacher told me that there is never a wrong decision as even if we make a less than the ideal decision, we can learn from it and better understand what we want from these mistakes.