Whether you're fresh out of school or back from a 2 year all-expense paid trip to an island off Singapore, there's a lot to information to swallow upon entering NUS. We've all been there, and now we've painstakingly gathered all that info so maybe you don't have to.

tl;dr: useful links and summary are at the bottom of the page.

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First things first - How do Courses work?

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NUS Follows a Course system. Every semester, students have to register for modules that they want to take (CourseReg) and these are your classes. Courses have Units that are assigned based on how much workload is in the course. Normally, courses are 4 or 5 units each, and each unit roughly translates to 2.5 hours of work per week (So a 4-unit course has an expected workload of 10 hours a week). Students are expected to take a minimum of 18 units per semester, and a minimum of 160 units to graduate. Generally, you will end up taking 20 units in a semester (Equivalent of 4 or 5 courses), and you may take more than 23 units (Overloading) if needed. You cannot overload in Year 1 Sem 1.

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Courses each have codes that follow a certain structure. For example, the code for Communications and New Media's introduction course:

NM1101E

The first few letters represent the course or major it's related to. If you're looking to major in CNM, you'll be looking to take mostly NM-coded courses.

The numbers in the middle are to differentiate your courses from each other. The first digit represents the level, with higher-level courses requiring more work or knowledge. NM1101E is an introduction course, it's only a level 1000 course. As you progress, you'll start to take higher level courses.

The last letter (Which some courses might not have) represents the type of course. 'E' stands for Exposure, which means you must take this course if you wish to study the associated major.

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Okay, how do I register for these Courses?

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If you mention the word "CourseReg" to a group of students, there's bound to be a few tears coming from some students. Let's dry those tears. Once you've decided what courses you want to take, the journey is not yet over. You need to register for your courses and their respective tutorials on the Education Records System (EduRec). For a detailed guide to CourseReg and Tutorial Bidding, click here.

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What are S/U(s)?

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It stands for Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. It's a way of excluding your course grade from the calculation of your overall CAP. You can S/U most level 1000 and 2000 level courses (As long as it doesn't have a prerequisite). If you get a C (2.00) or above, it's considered Satisfactory. The course will be deemed complete and you get the units but it will not be counted into your CAP. Likewise, if you get an Unsatisfactory (U) grade, you are considered to have failed the course (And may have to retake it) and do not get the units, but it will still not be counted into your CAP. Most students get to S/U up to 32 units of courses (8 courses). There is no limit to how many you can S/U in a semester, but you can only carry over up to 12 S/U units when you enter Year 2. For example, if you did not use any of your S/U units in Year 1, you will still only be able to S/U up to 12 units in Year 2. If you used up all 32 units in Year 1, you will not be able to S/U any more courses in Year 2. You get to declare your S/Us after the semester's results are released, and you can do so on EduRec. For the full FAQ, click here.

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What's so special about special term?

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IDK Tbh

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Too Long; Didn't Read

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Most of your school-related business will be done on EduRec.

You can check a list of courses available, their MCs, and customize your timetable on NUSMods. You'll normally take 20 units per semester (About 4-6 courses).

You can S/U most level 1000 and 2000 courses to not include its grade into your CAP. A grade of C (2.00) or above is considered S, or a pass. S/U Calculator

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