NUS - National University of Singapore
As a renowned university around the world, NUS offers many amenities to its faculty and students. One of the biggest pros would be the various canteens around campus - each with its own perks. Unfortunately the canteen (Techno Edge) at Biz 2 is currently under construction until December 2020, or else that's usually where all the business students grab their breakfast and lunch from. For me personally, I go to the canteen at FASS (The Deck) to grab lunch but Biz 2 definitely has better drinks :) Unless I'm really tired from having morning classes, then I'll go back to PGP for food.
There's a museum on campus which I didn't have the chance to step into due to being placed at PGP so it was rare for me to be on that side of campus. UTown was also pretty far in terms of I only went there four times throughout the semester due to the campus shuttles back to PGP leaving by the hour after 6:00 pm. With that in mind, I'm at UTown if I don't have an 8 am class and I want breakfast or Starbucks. There is a infinity pool on campus at the UTown gym and there's also a much bigger gym outside of UTown too. As a business student, chances are you're either studying at HSSML or in MRB (Biz 1). Like Shidler, as long as the room is empty at MRB, you're free to study in there until the security guards kick you out for the night. Other than that, you'll find yourself studying a lot back at your hall or at the Central Library. |
Going back to shuttle busses, since I lived at PGP, all the busses could get me to Biz except D2 which was specifically for UTown from PGP.
- If you do want to go to UTown from Biz 1 or 2, then take D1.
- A1's terminal is PGP so I usually take it besides D2 when I want to get to Kent Ridge to take the MRT
- A2 is the quickest bus to get to Biz as it takes you there first after departing from PGP
- One of the best things about PGP too is that this is the terminal for A1, A1-E, A2, and technically D2 which all four shuttles gets you to the Kent Ridge MRT Station so you never really have to worry about forgetting to get off
- If you are staying at PGP and A2 isn't coming because it does that sometimes, it's only a 15-20 minute walk to Biz which really isn't far
If you don't feel like grabbing food on campus, there's a couple of food spots at Kent Ridge but it's about $2 more than what you could've gotten on campus. If you also don't want to travel all the way to UTown for Starbucks, there is a Starbucks and Burger King at NUH (the hospital right next to Kent Ridge). I know there is a McDonalds at Engineering or Life Sciences but it's not easily accessible either.
With NUS on the west side of Singapore, it's a hassle having to constantly change lines on the MRT. Although, you'll find that it's pretty easy to get to downtown where all the fun is and you can get just about anything you need within 20-30 minutes from NUS either by MRT or bus. My favorite part would be going to Chinatown for some dou hua (tofu beancurd) or Mongkok Street @ Jurong Point if I want some dim sum during my free time. And if there's good weather, then I take the time to go down to Marina Bay Sands to catch the sunset. The farthest you'll ever have to go from NUS would be to Changi which takes a good hour half once you miss the MRT when you change lines. However, compared to Grab ($23-30 SGD) per ride, I think $1.95 SGD is as good as it gets unless you're pretty tired or you flew in overnight. NUS might not be in the middle of all the fun like SMU, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Sadly, due to traveling almost every two weeks and being stuck in PGP, I never really got to explore campus or Singapore as much as I would have liked. But, I hope that these little things help you out a bit during your journey as an NUS student and it pushes you to really take advantage of all that NUS has to offer :)
Prince George Park's Residences
PGP used to be for single residences only meaning that those who signed up to stay at PGPR did not have to go through any hall life - it was a quiet place for you to just sleep & study.
As of two years ago in 2017, that's when PGPH was sectioned out from the rest of the residences to embrace more of a hall life culture. And that's where I ended up staying at. There's five blocks total, each with seven floors and I was in Block 23. For my block, we shared the laundry room with Block 24 so I suggest that if you do end up at PGPH and in the same block to do your laundry either during the day or you'll end up fighting for the dryers at night. We have our own music rooms, TV rooms, and study rooms specifically for our blocks. But these rooms are shared with the rest of PGPR. (*The printing room is right outside of PGPH at Block 22 near the water fountain & you can study there as well) |
The downside of PGP is when you're assigned to the non-AC rooms. Keep in mind that at PGPH, most rooms are Type C which means that you do not get your own bathroom or sink if you end up in Type A/Type B. So each floor, there's a kitchen and bathroom/shower (4 stalls each) that we all share. When it gets really hot which is everyday, I tend to study in the kitchen and it's my favorite place to watch the sunset :) Other times, I'll hide at the AC canteen near PGPH to study or at HSSML in Biz 2. Note: I barely study in my room because: (1) it's hot; and, (2) whoever designed the room didn't really think about how the placement of the desk light would affect your studying habits (at night, you're bound to have a shadow hovering over your notes and textbooks so always study in the study rooms - you get AC too).
The aunties who clean each floor also does fridge checks every month so make sure to label your food (name, room #) or it'll be thrown out. I never really cooked all semester because I didn't want to waste money on pots and pans but if you're lucky, you could share with your housemates. Most of the time, I'll use the microwave and there is a electric water kettle so it's much easier to cook cup noodles rather than going downstairs to the water machine every time for hot water.
The aunties who clean each floor also does fridge checks every month so make sure to label your food (name, room #) or it'll be thrown out. I never really cooked all semester because I didn't want to waste money on pots and pans but if you're lucky, you could share with your housemates. Most of the time, I'll use the microwave and there is a electric water kettle so it's much easier to cook cup noodles rather than going downstairs to the water machine every time for hot water.
There's an AC canteen and there's a non-AC canteen on Blocks 1-12 side which I'll frequent when I'm craving Taiwanese food. During my stay, one of the stalls at the AC canteen had to close down due to a foodborne illness issue, therefore, always use your best judgment before ordering at these places. (Tip: Buy food from the places that have the "A" placard but even then, be careful of what you consume.) A new Korean stall opened up at the AC canteen right before I left and that's usually where I ordered from after the first two months. Most of the time, I usually just get Chinese food because it's the cheapest when you order chicken and two vegetables unless I can afford beef noodles soup from the Mala stall.
And when all the canteens are closed after 6 pm, there's always Super Snacks :) It's a quick place to get waffles, burgers, and fried food from 7:00 pm to 1:00 am every night. So you don't ever have to worry about starving yourself while preparing for those endless assignments during your time at NUS. If for some reason you're still up past 1 am, there's a sandwich machine somewhere in PGP and a couple stocked up with cup noodles.
It used to be that you had to pay $15 SGD to use the gym at PGP for the whole semester, but I never saw anyone enforcing it during my time there. There's also not much at the gym but it gets the job done if you want to squeeze in a couple minutes of work out before class or going to sleep (Gym hours: 6:00 am to 2:00 pm I think, then they close for an hour for cleaning and it's 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm)
And when all the canteens are closed after 6 pm, there's always Super Snacks :) It's a quick place to get waffles, burgers, and fried food from 7:00 pm to 1:00 am every night. So you don't ever have to worry about starving yourself while preparing for those endless assignments during your time at NUS. If for some reason you're still up past 1 am, there's a sandwich machine somewhere in PGP and a couple stocked up with cup noodles.
It used to be that you had to pay $15 SGD to use the gym at PGP for the whole semester, but I never saw anyone enforcing it during my time there. There's also not much at the gym but it gets the job done if you want to squeeze in a couple minutes of work out before class or going to sleep (Gym hours: 6:00 am to 2:00 pm I think, then they close for an hour for cleaning and it's 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm)
Overall, I really enjoyed PGP in general because I'm usually more reserved and it's nice to have your own space. Having to share the bathrooms/showers or kitchen wasn't really much of an issue because most of the time it felt as if I was the only one on my floor. The only thing you might want to keep in mind is that the aunties come to clean the bathrooms around 11:30 am every day so either get up before then or keep sleeping.
At one point, I did wish I had a roommate because it gets pretty boring but Jonathan kept me company most of the semester since we both got placed in PGP. It all depends on what your personal preferences are and don't be afraid to talk to the housing office if PGP is not for you! As much as PGP helped me to cut down on costs because all I had to pay for was room (we aren't forced to pay $500-600 SGD for the meal plan since we have our own canteens), I wouldn't have minded if I could get an AC room too.
Live. Laugh. Learn.
That was PGPH's motto and being able to stay at PGP definitely helped out a lot in terms of being able to freely do what you want during your free time without having to worry about bothering your roommates. I'm glad to say that I lived my best life at PGPH, laughed a lot with my housemates and Jonathan, and truly learned a lot about NUS & Singapore's culture during my exchange.
Blessed to have seen some of the best that PGPH, Singapore, NUS & the countries I visited had to offer, with some of the best people the world has to offer :)
At one point, I did wish I had a roommate because it gets pretty boring but Jonathan kept me company most of the semester since we both got placed in PGP. It all depends on what your personal preferences are and don't be afraid to talk to the housing office if PGP is not for you! As much as PGP helped me to cut down on costs because all I had to pay for was room (we aren't forced to pay $500-600 SGD for the meal plan since we have our own canteens), I wouldn't have minded if I could get an AC room too.
Live. Laugh. Learn.
That was PGPH's motto and being able to stay at PGP definitely helped out a lot in terms of being able to freely do what you want during your free time without having to worry about bothering your roommates. I'm glad to say that I lived my best life at PGPH, laughed a lot with my housemates and Jonathan, and truly learned a lot about NUS & Singapore's culture during my exchange.
Blessed to have seen some of the best that PGPH, Singapore, NUS & the countries I visited had to offer, with some of the best people the world has to offer :)