#self-fulfilling

I must say that you freshies are lucky enough to have this gradeless first sem to be able to tweak your CAP into the perfect score that you want! NUS has introduced this new system, one year after my matriculation, and this initiative was to encourage trying out different modules in the first semester and creating a smoother transition from either army or JC into university life, yet it created yet another host of 'problems' - the desire to forge the 'best' CAP that one could have.

I said 'best' CAP, and not the 'highest' CAP, because the highest may not be the best. Many freshies may hear from their seniors that it is not wise to S/U too many modules, as they may 'suffer' in later sems. Some decisions seem obvious; keep the As and S/U the Cs; but when it comes to the Bs.. it becomes tricky. Everyone loves heuristics, and it is easy to apply heuristics. However, it is important to understand the rationale behind these heuristics, and by doing so, we will be better able to make our own judgements for our own grades (heuristics do not work in all situations)

**I have to say that by writing this post I do not guarantee to help you get the perfect CAP that you want, but I hope that by presenting the facts on the table, you can decide for yourself how you want to S/U your mods. 

Before knowing the heuristics, we must know how the CAP system work. CAP = Cumulative Average Point. This means that in every semester, the modules we took in the previous semesters are still considered into the calculation of our CAP. It is a cumulative calculation, rather than an average of the semesters' CAP. Every single modules contributes into the calculation of the overall CAP. And therefore...

1. Keep the A+, A, and A-

This is obvious. Usually only the top 25% of each class gets into this region. For some modules, there may not be a bell-curve; the professor decides whether the student is good enough to receive an A, and that may be an even rarer occasion than the bell-curve. These are the grades you will keep at all costs as they pull up your CAP.

2. S/U the C+ and C

I would advise this, only because the C+ and the C gives grade points of 2.5 and 2.0, which is way below the minimum CAP of 3.2 to be on the honours track (if you wish to do honours) By S/U-ing the Cs, these grade points are not considered into your CAP, and you do not have to re-take these modules.

3. S/U the D+, D, and F

Similar to reason #2, I would S/U these grades just because it does not contribute much to my aim of reaching a CAP 3.2. This move comes with a caveat, that is these modules will be considered U (ungraded), the modular credits are not considered, and you have to overload in your next semesters to fulfill the modular credits.

Reference: Provost's blog on the Bell Curve

That's all the heuristics I would provide. When it comes to the Bs, things become trickier, because that's where most of us would lie on the bell curve, and the chance of getting Bs across your education in NUS is significantly higher. Another reason that the Bs are the harder grades to decide to S/U or not is that it is around the range of the degree classifications: CAP 4 and above --> Honours (Distinction), an average of B+; CAP 3.5 and above --> Honours (Merit), an average of B; CAP 3.0 and above --> Honours, an average of B-. This is where every grade can help to bring up one degree of classification, even by the decimal point, and more deliberation has to be taken.

On deciding whether or not to S/U your modules

1. Look at the bigger picture

Since every module contribute to the final CAP computation, the decision to S/U any grades depends on whether you think, in the 3/4 years of education, these grades will play a role in beefing up your CAP. For example, the B+s that you S/U could have played the role of buffering the drop in CAP by the Cs that you might get in subsequent semesters (and you cannot S/U them). Looking at the big picture is important, but we are mostly limited in our views, focusing only by the semesters, or by the individual modules. We take a total of 120MCs or 160MCs in our 3-4 years in NUS, and there are plenty of chances to use other modules to help pull (up or down) our CAP.

2. Set a goal

Are you aiming for Honours (Distinction)? This will require you to maintain a CAP of above 4.5. Are you contented with just a Honours? Then a CAP of above 3.5 is sufficient. It is then rational to S/U any modules that fall below the expected CAP which you wish to maintain. I recommend keeping your modules such that it is slightly above the CAP you need to achieve the various honours classification, and not be over-optimistic that you will always do well in future semesters. That being said, you may want to tweak your S/Us such that you get a higher CAP, to apply for scholarships (but I am not sure how the various scholarship boards take into account this new gradeless system in semester 1, and therefore there will be an inflation in CAP - a CAP 5 based on just one module, while the rest of them might be a B-, is definitely less superior than a CAP 4.5 based on 5 modules that attained A-) This brings to the next point...

3. Be a realist rather than an idealist.

Say you have A+, A, B+, B-, and C+, which gives a CAP of 3.90. You can adjust your CAP to a 4.67 by exercising S/U on the B- and C+, but should you also S/U the B+ to get a perfect 5.0? Being realistic and falling back to advice 1 (look at the bigger picture), there are higher chances of scoring a B+ than a A+ or A, and the B+ is more likely to contribute to the overall CAP in the long run. 

What we are trying to do in this first semester S/U system, is to try to create the strongest CAP that we can, based on our future performance in NUS. Since we will never know our future performance, then we will never be able to create that perfect CAP. In the short-run, just for this first semester, it at least gives you that sense of grandeur that you have achieved a high CAP (false security, I would say). 

4. Stay optimistic!

I mentioned that we should be realists, but I believe we can all still be optimistic about our performance every semester. Every semester is a fresh new start, do your best and you may get surprises in your grades. After having gone through three semesters in NUS, I still do not predict my grades with accuracy, and I do get surprises (good and bad) on my grades, every semester. Some did worse than expected, but was buffered by another module that did better than expected. 

Just do expect that it is easier to observe a great drop in CAP, than to observe a great increase in CAP; it is easier to fall than to rise. The grades you get may not always be a reflection of your effort or learning you get from the module, so do not let the letter grades affect your learning experience. It is natural for us to compare grades with friends, but it is more vital to compare with your (past) self and seek improvement every semester.

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You have just started out your journey in NUS, and a university experience is much more than just the letter grades you receive! Join a CCA, participate in a volunteering group, travel the world with friends or by yourself, learn how to dance, do a research, go for conferences and symposiums, write a book, play an instrument, be a PD for an orientation camp, apply for internships, stay in hall or colleges, make new friends, seek out opportunities that enrich your life as a student, and as a person.

All the best in your upcoming years, and enjoy this last stage of education in your youth =)