My review of Semester 2 (Year 1)

Again, I took 5 subjects for this semester.

1. Malaysian Studies (compulsory subject)
2. Introduction to Financial Accounting
3. Introductory Macroeconomics
4. Marketing Theory & Practice
5. Business Law


1. Malaysian Studies

I can say it's a boring subject. More like a repeat of History in secondary school if you ask me, except that everything is in English. That's the only difference I guess. I can't even remember my lecturer's name for this subject.

At first, I would sit in the class for 2 hours each time. Then, the trick is to come for like 10-15 minutes or so and sign your attendance. After that, I went back to the library to study something else. And guess what? I got a 100% attendance certificate! Sounds fake, right? ;P I don't even come for the whole 2 hours.

Come exam time, it wasn't bad at all. I just hope to get at least a Distinction for this subject, even though we are only required to pass it.

-Internal assessment: 36/50
-Exam: 37/50 (based on how I felt I did)
-Total: 73/100 (Distinction)


2. Introduction to Financial Accounting

Well, compared to the Principles of Accounting & Finance last time, I'd be happy to settle for this one. There's more theory this time around, so I have to remember them like hell. However, there are some recalls from what I learned last semester, but this time, it is deeper than it was before. It's more focused on Financial Accounting specifically.

My lecturer is Dr. Mohana and my tutor was Dr. Eu-Gene. They're really cool people, especially Dr Eu-Gene. He's so active in class and it's hard to fall asleep during tutorials. However, it is easier to fall asleep during lecture time because it started at 8.00am, which is too early for most of us. Oh well, but they still rock my world! ;P

Come exam time, the questions were relatively doable. There's this 1 question where I really screwed up, so yeah, some marks lost there. Oh well, at least I'm mostly confident with how I answered. I'm going for a HD on this one.

-Internal assessment: 25/30
-Exam: 56/70 (based on how I felt I did)
-Total: 81/100 (High Distinction)


3. Introductory Macroeconomics

Aaa... finally. Back into the realms of familiarity breeds contempt. I learned Macroecons before back in pre-U, so yeah, it's just a matter of recalling what I learned. But it's never easy, I can tell myself that. To squeeze within 3 months is a mammoth task. Somehow, I slacked real badly in the run-up to exams.

My lecturer is Dr. Grace while my tutor is Mr. Wilson Ow (a few would pronounce it Ow Ow, which is by confusion somehow). Dr Grace is quite strict when it comes to noises during lectures. However, she's a good lecturer and I can understand what she says most of the time.

In my tutorial class, there were only about 6 students in my class, which is quite unusual. The less, the better. The key is to do your tutorial work everytime before you come to tutorials so that you won't get lost. I slacked in the last few weeks and skipped tutorial works. Darn it, how lazy can I get?

Come exam time, the questions were quite tricky. I hope I can do it well in the end. I reap what I sow. I'm really hoping for a HD, but I feel pessimistic for now.

-Internal assessment: 26/30
-Exam: 50/70 (based on how I felt I did)
-Total: 76/100 (Distinction)


4. Marketing Theory & Practice

Marketing is something totally new for me. It's a subject revolving around our daily lives such as ads, prices, promotions, etc... Practically, it's easy to understand, but theoretically, it's a bit hard.

My lecturer is Ms. Crystal Yap while my tutor is Ms. Norbaizura. Ms. Crystal would always wake us up with her funny videos she showed during our lecture. I would normally seat near the front of the lecture hall. She recognised me when I first came for her tutorial class, which was a chaotic situation in timetables for tutors. We played a game during tutorial and I somehow won. ;P So yeah, Puteri Nur Sarah, you are so going to sing in front of everyone (if only I had recognised your signature). Just kidding.

Ms. Norbaizura on the other hand, has an unbelievable knowledge of real life marketing. This can be seen during presentations done by the students in my class, myself included. She would bombard us with questions that seemed impossible to answer. LOL! If only you look at their faces... But yeah, she's cool.

Marketing was never my favourite subject, so I study for the sake of it. Come exams, it worked like clockwork until... I forgot to include STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning). Darn it, I lost 6% because of that. Oh well, I can still aim for a HD in this case. Anything is possible.

-Internal assessment: 40/50
-Exam: 40/50 (based on how I felt I did)
-Total: 80/100 (High Distinction)


5. Business Law

I can't believe how much I hate Biz Law. It was so practically easy, and they the theory is so hard... I pretty much screwed up during exam time, so in the very least I can hope to only pass it.

My lecturer is Dr. Vanitha while my tutor is Ms. Sunitha. Dr Vanitha is distinctive for her examples using the Disney characters (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, etc...). My tutor on the other hand, is very strict about her students coming prepared for class. She'll explode if some of them didn't do their tutorials and just hope for answers. That's where she hit them hard.

-Internal assessment: 20/30
-Exam: 40/70 (based on how I felt I did)
-Total: 60/100 (Credit)


Well, that's the end of my Semester 2 review. Basically, I had plenty of ups and downs during my 1st year in uni. Time flies so fast that pre-U only seemed to finish just yesterday. I started to miss uni life during this long summer break. I lost my discipline (ex. mandi lambat, main game, etc...) completely. I HATE HOLIDAYS!

On the political side, I really hope there will be a by-election in Kota Siputeh, Kedah. The people loves it when there's a 'buy-election'. This is because the BN government would give back what it stole from them. MONEY. It's basically an UMNO seat, but not by much. But I'm still cautious about this place. It's hard to predict who will win and by how much. The most important thing is that, people would get their money back. It's an economic stimulus, increasing consumption and thus, increase GDP. Time and time again, 'buy-elections' are good for the economy.