How much it actually costs you (or your parents) to skip one lesson in NUS
Ah, the age-old question of: “to pon or not to pon?”
It’s 10.45am and you hear the equivalent of three lorry drivers blaring their horns (a.k.a your alarm). Desperately, you check the weather report for the rare, miraculous off-chance that a hail storm has hit tropical Singapore and your 12pm lecture has been cancelled. No luck there. You regretfully think back to the previous night’s Dota/Clubbing/HTHT/Supper session which lasted till 5am and begin to question the choices you make in life all at once.
Speaking of which, another seemingly innocuous question then presents itself, “to pon or not to pon?”
To help facilitate your decision, here at The Bullet, we did the math - calculators and all - to come up with just how much it actually costs to skip one lesson in NUS.
Methodology
First, we took into account the average school fees per semester across the various faculties (namely, Business, Science, FASS, Engineering, Computing & SDE) for students admitted AY2016/2017, which gave us a magic number of $4142 (rounded to the nearest dollar). Next, assuming the standard number of 5 modules (4 MCs each) is undertaken per semester, this would cost you $828.30 per module per semester. Now, for everyone’s sake, we’re going to be extra conservative and assume that this amount is spread evenly across a full 13 weeks of lessons (but who are we kidding, tutorials only start in week 3 and most lessons are more or less wrapped up by the time week 12 closes). This means that each week, one module will cost you $63.70.
Given that the average module has 2 x 2 hour lessons per week, and discounting those with 3 hour seminars, each lesson is approximately worth...
$31.80.
What you’re giving up per $31.80 ‘pon’
If you’ve decided that the pillow deserves to see your face more than your lecturer does, and hit the snooze button, here’s what it’s gonna cost you per lesson (based on the artful skill of guesstimation):
An $18.90 dish at Waacow, upgraded to a meal WITH extra side dishes
Source Everybody knows only the top 1% can afford side dishes after a main meal.
12 Curry Puffs from Old Chang Kee
Source That’s some good stuff right there.
That basic, yet grossly overpriced Topshop tee you’ve been eyeing
Source Let’s be honest, what else can you afford there with a mere $30?
2 sessions of eyebrow threading from your go-to Indian auntie at Chinatown
Source Make it 1 session if you only put your trust in Browhaus aunties.
One person’s Zouk cover charge
3 Uber/Grab rides from UTown to Orchard Road
Source And this is without them good ole discount codes.
But of course, if you’re a firm believer of the Sunk Cost Fallacy in that money paid is already money wasted even if you do attend class (after all, the lecture hall is just a glorified open-air sleeping pod anyway), by all means skip to your heart’s content. Or at the very least, have the decency to watch the webcast from the comfort of your bed, 1.5x speed.
To note
These numbers are based on the assumption that you’re paying fees a Singapore Citizen would pay - heavily subsidised fees. If you’re not...we’d suggest you consider just sucking it up and going for class. And if you're on a scholarship that pays for your school fees, just know that we hate you. Also, we know that your school fees don't just pay for your lessons, they also include amenities, services and other miscellaneous fees. But then again, if you don't go for classes, how do you take advantage of said amenities and services?
Can't use school amenities anyway if you don't go to school in the first place
Did this help make your decision easier? Let us know by leaving us a comment!
