Study Abroad Diary: Hannah Burnett – Post 4

Student experience 20 January 2020

Hannah is currently in her third year of the MChem (Hons) Chemistry with International Study course where she is studying at Nanyang Technological Univeristy. We’re catching up with as she reflects on the end of Semester 1.

Exams and The End of Semester 1

Towards the end of the first semester there was another round of midterms followed by the start of final exams 3 weeks later. Despite the frequency and intensity of these assessments, a small group of us went on a long weekend trip to Myanmar to celebrate the end of midterms. The best thing about studying abroad, especially in somewhere so different to the UK, is exploring new countries and cultures.

During our time in Myanmar we visited a city called Yangon and a smaller rural place called Bagan, which has over 2000 temples and stupas in its archaeological zone. Although Yangon is mostly developed the Bagan and Burmese culture is relatively untouched. It provided an amazing insight into how the locals live and the rich history of the country. We even had a tour of a local village that grows, spins and weaves its own cotton! To explore the temples in the archaeological zone, we rented electric mopeds and rode around the dirt tracks through the ancient structures. It was an unforgettable experience.

Hannah and her friends at the archaeological zone in Bagan

Revision and Exams

Upon our return, it was time to start revision. Two of my four exams were open book and one allowed 6 sides of A4 notes; a very different exam format to the closed book exams at Manchester which contribute 100% to the module grade. With the exams being open book, I was a bit lost as how to revise. I settled on a technique of briefly reviewing the material then doing practice questions for the bulk of the time available to revise.

Another challenge was understanding the bell-curve grading system. In Singapore, you receive a grade, which is calculated based on your position in the class. The grade has an associated point score which contributes towards a GPA. For us exchange students, Manchester converts our grades into the familiar percentage grade. It’s hard to tell how well we’ve done until our grades are converted – especially for midterms because a low score may translate to a higher grade.

After the stress of exams, I took 3 day solo trip to Perth in Australia before going home for a couple of weeks at Christmas. Just off the coast of Perth is Rottnest Island, home to quokkas (the happiest animal on Earth). Quokkas are endemic to Rottnest Island, so they can’t be found anywhere else on the planet.