DISQUS

Nicole · 2 years ago

nicely said..

budak · 2 years ago

And there we had all those ads about SMU students unleashing their creativity.... to screw the world for a fast buck.

huiyin · 2 years ago

AMEN!

c the fairy god lover · 2 years ago

aye aye! flying f*cks to them! :) understand your sentiment exactly. at least you are studying a more open ended curriculum, us poor sods in acctancy with all the kpmg-pwc-ey brainwashing, def know what you mean.

wasn't universities supposed to be about mental training, about the rigours and the learning? it seems to just brainwash, and throw big-ass words at you.

Siow Boon · 2 years ago

Bless your soul! The school is a lie!

Z · 2 years ago

Ok ok about the 'showdown', u're allowed to wear non-heels footwear k.
And yes, I did warned you abt that upper-middle-class mother(fraker), didn't I.

donaq · 2 years ago

Why a geek like you did not study something technical I'll never know. Anyway, you'll soon be out of it, so chin up!

James Gallagher · 2 years ago

Adri in a suit and heels - can I just say NPNT :)

popagandhi · 2 years ago

budak: i beg to differ. it's about smu students being willingly screwed over for a fast buck.

hui, boon, c, z: we need to detox. tandoori chicken!

donaq: i'll never know either!

james: :) no such record exists.

M-u-z · 2 years ago

Bravo. You stick it to them girl. There are thousands of paths to success and a Uni degree is only one of them. Do what makes you happy. That's the key.

Professor · 2 years ago

Eh, I thought SMU has an ad that states they are "different". Never expected them to prod the students towards the corporate path.

JamesTKJ · 2 years ago

yes you should carry on doing what you like.

mb · 2 years ago

Please come to work in a suit and heels tomorrow. Thanks.

William · 2 years ago

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

Ah Heng · 2 years ago

"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else – means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting." --- e.e. cummings

Lainie · 2 years ago

you strike me as someone way beyond the place you study (which at most could only be a nice complement to your person), and that was before reading this post.

always a good thing. some people can't see beyond the narrow boundaries they've constructed.

StrIfe · 2 years ago

Well said. The way Corp Comm and OCS are working, we are just robots in the line. Lets get out fast.

sylv · 2 years ago

wah. i just knew that you're an SMU student too. And reading your post convinced me that this torture of mine is going to continue.. Until approximately 3 years from now. Sigh.

Ridz · 2 years ago

Was bloghopping and ended up here...I'm glad you wrote this piece. The narrow focus on landing jobs in MNCs is something that's really stifling students, not just in SMU...
and it's great to see someone who's able to step out

Live your dream~! =)

jun · 2 years ago

i see you went for that "compulsory pre-requisite" talk peppered full of 'Citibanks' and 'KPMG's' and 'Merril Lynches' and 'CreditSuisse'. i hate that fucking talk.

yuch · 2 years ago

i agree with lainie. lack of choice screws us all over doesn't it. and geeks don't have to study technical stuff because they're geeks, eh.

wanida · 2 years ago

oh well, smu. my love hate affair with it will never end.

though now that i'm just a commencement out of it, things are starting to get pretty nostalgic.

mj · 2 years ago

NTU doesn't put you in suits or heels.

sue · 2 years ago

Hear hear! Especially the constant name dropping of various MNCs at ALL 'career talks'. Ugh.

dewi · 2 years ago

this is all too familiar.

i hate the world too.

dinner soon. hang in there. : )

serendipity · 2 years ago

i HAVE TO COMMENT about this.

Way to go girl!!

it's grrreeeaat (far greater than anything) that you choose what you love to do and not be stuck by conventionals. That's WHY i choose to quit local U to pursue something that is far better than the few measly courses in the few measly unis here.

Satya · 2 years ago

i want some tandoori fish.. :) take care! MacBook is back in action, was unable to connect to the net yesterday using the built-in ethernet yesterday..

victoria_s · 2 years ago

interesting thoughts. Well, but not everyone is like you, bold =).

I agree with you about the education and mnc. The thing is these MNCs keep acquiring small companies.. so it is actually scary..

Agagooga · 2 years ago

Friend says he went for the talk too, but just scanned his talk and left.

Creative Thinking! :P

k · 2 years ago

my exact sentiments whenever i am in school. and i just hate the pointless banter with peers about which major to study, which company to go to and countless other brainwashed stuff.

nevertheless, i am still happy (somewhat) to be here...sure beats studying science in the west!

pl · 2 years ago

well said!

i HATED the system.
like you, i chose to join smu of my own free will,
but i realised that i got out of 1 wretched system and into another.
i slugged through it all and graduated in 3 years.
hang in there!
=)

bep · 2 years ago

I graduated from smu last year. Managed to get through my 4 years there without having to don heels (yes, i'm female). I'll admit it's hard to get out of having to wear a suit, but choice of footwear very much depends on personal preference and there are more sensible options around if you know how to tweak it to your own sense of style.

That said, I have to agree that red tape is everywhere, even in establishments that claim to be "different". At this point, pretty much all you can do is to ride it out and enjoy the cheap beer! ;]

orange! · 2 years ago

YES! Another disillusioned soul from SMU. SMU is becoming so stuffy, like the corporate offices you see down in the CBD, I wont be surprised if any Singaporean mistakes us for the working crowds working in a major building downtown given how often we wear those stupid presentation attires.

9 more months for me, and good riddance!

Nikita · 7 months ago

Hello, I've been offered both SMU and NUS Business, and to my happy disappointment - found your blog.

I'm assuming you'd say NUS is better? :)

popagandhi · 7 months ago

i really wouldn't be able to tell you. in my mind, i would have left the country for any semblance of a higher education. i was optimistic in thinking that "our schools are quite good, we should give them a chance". i was sorely disappointed to find that i'd given up on four years abroad in some very good schools for.. this. i am of the opinion that our local unis are all pretty much the same, only the cultures are different. i did not take to SMU's corporate culture well. there are other things i dislike about NUS (although i did not go there, i have grown up in the NUS culture all my life.. my whole family is involved in that university). i always thought that if it had to be a singapore university, it would be SMU. but. now i'm not so sure. i'd say leave if you have the chance, but that's just me ;)

Nikita · 7 months ago

Yes, well I do not have that golden option of leaving the country - am actually from India, so in a sense - I'm already abroad :P

Pray, tell me more about SMU's corporate culture?

"I am not interested in working for Merrill Lynch. Nor JP Morgan. Nor Goldman Sachs. Not a bank either. I don’t think I’ll be working in anything involving Excel spreadsheets, so count me out from 99.8% of the jobs you think I should be doing " - This sort of scared me as well...I've heard SMU Career Service is one of the best? no?

Agagooga · 7 months ago

From conversations with people studying overseas, I realise overseas schools aren't as good as Singaporeans think.

But yes, the culture is a lot more liberal.