CORS

Well, don't think I'm nutters, at least .. not yet! CORS stands for Centralized Online Registration System...Well yeah..I was pretty much doing what you are right now, when I first heard about it too!
But you know what? Its the one change, in the transition from school to college, that I've really enjoyed and appreciated! It is the system that gives you the opportunity to make the fullest of a university education!
Unlike in many colleges back home, where students decide on the course and branch before their first year itself - like ECE, EEE, etc. - here, you only choose your faculty and initial interest. For example, I'm studying EE - Electrical Engineering. Whether my 3rd alphabet should stand for Electronics, Communications, Embedded systems, Gaming Technology, Control and Automation, Bio-electronics or Engineering Science is left up to me - to choose in my 3rd year!
And CORS is how I can choose. The introduction of CORS, made the entire system modular - i.e. every subject that you wish to study is offered as modules. For example, 'Analog Chip Design' is offered as a subject by the Electrical and Computer Engineering faculty for students who wish to specialize in Micro-Electronics.
Well you may be wondering - is the choice of opting for the modules after 2 years of studying advantageous? I definitely think so. One major reason is that to take level 3 modules, you need to have satisfied certain level 1 and 2 pre-requisites - which covers common ground for various engineering branches over the first 2 years at university. This certainly means that you'll, at least, not take a module you did miserably in before!
Another beautiful thing about the course structure here, that I've woken up to only now, is that your specialization modules - called Technical Electives (TEs) are categorized into Depths and Breadths! You are required to do 4 modules as breadths - all of which must be from different specialization tracks and 4 depths, of your choice again.
The breadths allow you to explore different options - for example, you could do a module from bio-electronics assuming that your bio background will offer you an advantage - only to realize that there is more of bio and less of electronics in this track! If this is to your liking you can consider doing the other 4 depths from this track and become an Electrical and Bio-electronics Engineer! If not, well, you always have 3 more breadths to choose from to find the track you're interested in!
So much for the major.
The advantage of a university education over that of a college is in doing modules that spur your all-round development and not merely your technical intuitions. NUS requires us to do certain General Education Modules (GEMs), one of which must at least come from the Arts faculty! There are other university level requirements which require you to study at least 7 modules (and that is really a lot considering that we study, on an average, around 44 modules over the 4 years!) which come from outside your faculty - 3 of which, must for engineers, come from the Business School. In addition to all this, you have the option of doing a minor (which you can get by studying an extra 6 modules) I've opted for this and I'm doing a Technopreneurship Minor (TR minor)
Hmm...well I strayed away quite a bit there! I mainly came here to say this..
CORS has begun again! And I can't believe I'm already registering modules for my 5th Semester!! Anyways, I've placed advance bids for these modules: -EE3408, EE3601, EE2001, EG2401,TR2201,GEK1000. Hope I get them. Its going to be a really really hectic semester, what with the 6MC project module + my project-oriented TR! But I want to do 6 modules this semester so that I can try and do a few extra depths if possible, later on in my fourth year. The summer's already over!! It seems like just yesterday I was whining to you about geting my results! Time flies. So let me at least try and flow.