<p>Hi, Nanini and Revealspec. I will try to organise these into points.</p>
<p>Academics:
Fortunately, I happen to have a friend who majors in yours as well. She was a top student and has maintained her scholarship here at HKUST. I daresay she is very hard-working as hell. However, her results have been, according to her, less than stellar, which I think is not true at all given her major!</p>
<p>My point is that there is a lot of competition. In your case, even if you specify a major at this point of admission, this is not guaranteed. You are finally allocated to a major based on the result of Year 1, which is to say that you may or may not get the desired major due to the competition. </p>
<p>Having brought up this point, you may think that competition is not really a problem as long as you determine to do your personal best and that you are satisfied. However, HKUST courses mostly employ relative grading - the bell curve. Due to the keen competition, they cannot have grade inflations, can they? Even if you score 40/50 in the midterm examination, which is 80%, you can be but a mere average. But, then again, I have a friend who scores 50/100 and gets an A because the mean is 30 (Engineering is fiendishly difficult. I admire those people; they fix the problems of the world). Well, you get a dosage of reality. It depends on how you view yourself. You may have been the best in your secondary education, but coming here you get some retrospection. It depends on how much you can accept the relative grading, or else, you become obsessed over the mean, the SD, the statistics, but sadly, not the learning process nor the acquisition of skills. It is disappointing that the best effort put in may not come to fruition as you might expect. The worst part is you cannot afford to ignore it because it has repercussions on your chance of exchange programmes, graduate schools, getting internships, and job offers. The academic culture can be overwhelming, so brace yourself.</p>
<p>Professors:
You can check the websites of your respective departments for the list of professors and what research or courses they are teaching. They have, more often than not, impressive profiles. But, that does not mean they can teach well.</p>
<p>Class:
Lectures, mostly. Tutorials exist in some classes. Classic Powerpoint slides are uploaded on an online platform LMES. You have some really sloppy ones or good ones from the lecturers. Science and engineering is mostly rote learning with occasional literature review, group presentations and tutorial assignments. Business and humanities are analytical and have many presentations!</p>
<p>Class Schedule:
You arrange your timetable so that you have the best combinations possible. This involves Add/Drop and Queueing for classes which are popular due to grades and/or timing. The earliest starts at 900 which is quite late, I think. The latest so far ends at 2130. People try to arrange the best combination so that they either start early and finish by 1200 or they start at 1200 and end at 1930. Another thing is day-off. You would want a day off on Friday on Monday. </p>
<p>Science and Engineering: You have laboratory sessions. So, forget about ending early, but look forward to day offs on days which are not your sessions.</p>
<p>Homework and Assignments:
Science and Engineering: laboratory reports. They try to train you in scientific thinking and report writing, but alas, it is more of the latter. Reports are often subjected to plagiarism detection e.g. Turnitin.com because students have past-year, soft copies which sometimes date back ten years. Students passed their work to the next generation all the time, and no, the department does not make modifications to these laboratory manuals. Honestly, I do not think this helps you with critical thinking. Your paraphrasing skills involving synonyms, language syntax, and word count approximation, however, will have been honed to new heights. You are the epitome of a living thesaurus.
Also, you have LANG classes. They are Language for Science/ Engineering Students classes. There are two kinds of classes: one for the more English proficient students and, of course, the less proficient.</p>
<p>Business: Projects, projects, projects! The highlight of your Business life. You will have this infamous class called LABU, Language for Business Students. It is not language per se. You have a case to analyse and present solutions. My friends were driven nuts. Naturally, you have to handle group dynamics and deadlines.</p>
<p>There are dress codes, so people here often wear suits. A bit of digression: it may be that Hong Kong is a business city or the colonial legacy which makes everyone dons their black suits and stockings as if they are called to the Bar. You will see that committees of clubs are all dressed up like this during promotional weeks during which they cheer, shout and stomp as though they are in some sports events. The academic building does shake
lecturers complain because they cannot teach, and there is traffic obstruction. As a result, they set up Decibel monitoring and it does exceed the safety limit. </p>
<p>So, presentations
some students will rehearse many times and late at night. Some do not even sleep and go straight to class the next morning. I tend to notice this trend amongst local students (no offence! Mind you, I stay up overnight to finish assignments too). They can be quite concerned with perfection, delivering the lines to the utmost precision of what they have been reciting. Good morning/afternoon/evening. Today, I will talk about
. I do know a guy who uses Photoshop to create personal slides. Perhaps a bit of spontaneity would save the day
</p>
<p>Finance, Accounting, Economics, and GBUS (global business) are one of the more taxing combinations. So, they are considered the elites amongst the Business students. I think they permeate some kind of aura. If you have made peace with this truth, God bless you. The peasants are Operation Management (OM), Marketing, and Information Systems (ISOM). As much as I would like to disagree with labels, I have seen the difference first hand: the number of examination papers and the kind of assignments they have are a lot less. </p>
<p>Most Business classes involve class participations, so people raise their hands to answer questions all the time. You may have been a little reserved during your secondary years, but this is the time to assert yourselves. I think it is a good way to train your confidence.</p>
<p>Examinations:
Standard multiple choice, short response questions and essays within time limit. You do have open book examinations too during which those books and lecture notes which you so treasure may not come in handy. </p>
<p>An idiosyncratic thing I notice is the so-called cheat sheets. You have a limit of maybe one A4 paper to scribble down formulae, concepts or anything which you think is helpful for your examination.</p>
<p>You also have take home examinations. This is conducted on LMES online platform. You have a 24-hour limit to submit these analytical essays. This is often the case for Marketing, Social Science and Humanities classes. </p>
<p>Grading:
HKUST has been using the 12-point grading with each letter grade corresponding to points. A+ = 12.00 which is the highest. However, since 2011, they change it to the 4-point (actually 4.3!) GPA with a maximum of 4.30. As a rule of thumb, try to maintain your grade within the Second Honour.</p>
<p>Final Year Projects (FYP) and Undergraduate Research Opportunities (UROPs):
FYPs concern Science and Engineering students, but Business students may also opt for this if you are driven by curiosity and basic, pure research. As the name implies, you attach yourself to a potential advisor who is a professor. You basically conduct a research, write reports and conduct a poster presentation. It may be optional for some. It is worth 10 credits HKUST (a course is usually 3 credits, sometimes 4) and usually takes two terms to complete in the last year. </p>
<p>UROPs are like FYPs, but optional. You may do it over the summer holiday. It enhances your curriculum vitae and puts you in contact with professors who may likely be your referees. </p>
<p>Internships:
Science and Engineering: I must warn you that there are not many opportunities outside to gain pertinent work experience outside academia, especially for research. There may be some conservation work with Ocean Park and the Wetland Reserve, but that absolutely requires Cantonese and Mandarin skills.</p>
<p>Business and sometimes Science and Engineering: Most internship with local companies requires you to have a command of, in addition to English, Cantonese AND Mandarin. International companies like Merill Lynch, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Credit Suisse may be more lax. There is no gainsaying Cantonese and Mandarin are almost required de facto. </p>
<p>Exchange Programmes:
Science and Engineering: See [School</a> of Science - International Exchange Program](<a href=“Home Page | School of Science - The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology”>Home Page | School of Science - The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) You have choices in order of preference and a selection interview. In my case, it was a group interview of 5 people. No pressure, just simple questions to see whether you can survive and thrive there. Note that you have to maintain your grade at a minimum of B-. Most people go during Year 2 Autumn, Year 2 Spring or Year 3 Autumn. You can transfer credits. For American institutions, it is one-to-one i.e. 1 credit USA = 1 credit HKUST. For European destinations, you multiply each ECTS credit by 0.56 and round down. </p>
<p>Business: Your selection process is based on grade and interview. You may not get the desired destinations. France HEC Rouen is a popular choice because you get to travel a lot. More career driven ones go to American institutions. </p>
<p>I think it is one of the best parts where you get a term worth of escape from HKUST. But, plan wisely so that you do not have to defer graduation or break your neck trying to make up for credits which cannot be transferred. </p>
<p>Library:
Where some people live their lives. Seaview
And presentation rooms. Ah, they used to have these cool moving shelves to save space, but I am not sure whether they still have them. </p>
<p>Student Halls:
HKUST is having a housing crisis now that they switch to the 3-3-4 education system. So, you may have to live off campus.
Mostly you have roommates and rooms are small. Only Hall 7, the newest, has some single rooms. Still, you have toilet mates: a suite of two rooms sharing a shower and a toilet. I live in a suite of double rooms i.e. 2 in each of the 2 rooms and 4 people sharing a toilet and a shower. So, pray to God, you have considerate roommates that do not sleep at unearthly hours and have acceptable hygiene. Local students go back home on weekends. Guys and girls live on the same floor, but different suites. Hall 7 has some activities which you must attend in order to remain in the Hall in the coming terms. These activities are grouped into themes. Check their website.</p>
<p>Hall 6: bigger rooms than Hall 7, but shared toilets and shower facilities. The definition of sharing here is
all inclusive. Guys and girls DO SHARE toilets and shower facilities which are in the same place in this Hall. Gender equality, indeed.</p>
<p>Hall 5, 4, 3, 2: not very nice conditions. Noisy, dirty.</p>
<p>Hall 1: the oldest, first existing hall. Enough said
</p>
<p>Most Halls have sea view and mountain view, depending on which side of the corridor your room is. I have so far lived in both. After three years, I get sick of sea view stuffs: swimming pool, track, dormitories
</p>
<p>Suicides:
To address the rumours, yes, there were cases. So far I remember there was a PhD student in the post-graduate apartment. The recent tragic case in May is of an undergraduate dual degree in Engineering and Business in Hall 6 on the 8th floor. This sort of thing happens and life goes on. </p>
<p>Lifts:
There are MANY lifts in HKUST, and very likely you NEED them if you live in Halls. To put in perspective, to get from the Atrium to the barbecue pit at the beach, you take 4 lifts and go down, according to the levels, 32 storeys. On average you take 3-4 lifts to classes. So, if ever, one set of them just one breaks down, I will not go to class. You have the option of walking the meandering roads
up to the equivalent of 30 floors. Having brought that up, some people have mountain bicycles
</p>
<p>Campus Food:
There are few places to eat. The food is
how should I put? I became averse to eating on campus beginning Year 1 Spring, and by the time, I was in Year 2, I eschewed some canteens. In Year 3, I have virtually eschewed campus food. It is not bad, but you just get sick of it.</p>
<p>LG1:
- Char Chaan Teng : (HKD$19-30) Rice combination: chicken rice (not the Hainanese, Singapore or Malaysian, nor the Thai kind), Char Siu (barbecued , Chinese style pork) rice. Cheaper Hong Kong style breakfast (HKD$13-20), and Tea time (a local HK thing when the menu is cheaper during 1400-1700.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the We Proudly Brew Starbucks : Starbucks stuffs at slightly cheaper prices (HKD$21 up for Latte). Some cakes and desserts.</p></li>
<li><p>the mini Dim Sum place: all-day Dim Sum. Decent. Crowded at lunch time.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>LG5:
-McDonalds and its café. </p>
<p>LG7:
-The major canteen. Too many stuffs to cover. Okay.</p>
<p>The Café:
-where most international students and faculty members hang out. Starting to charge exorbitant prices. Make peace with the quality and the price you pay.</p>
<p>The Bistro and The UniBar:
More expensive. Rarely goes there because it is a bit of a distance.</p>
<p>Vicinity of Campus:
Direct buses to Hang Hau, Choi Hung, Po Lam, Sai Kung.</p>
<p>Hang Hau: your gateway to the city areas (Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay, Wan Chai). Decent malls with a hypermarket called Taste. They have some standard franchise food chain: McDonalds (again), Haagen Daz, Ajisen Ramen, Yoshinoya, Genki sushi, and some local places. </p>
<p>Choi Hung: Your gateway to Mong Kok, Tsam Shui Po, APM mall. An interesting place is the nunnery. It is quite the contrast: you see a serene place of meditation with nicely manicured Chinese garden amidst the city landscape. A peaceful place to have first rate vegetarian meal. </p>
<p>Po Lam: Mall stuffs</p>
<p>Sai Kung: seafood at exorbitant prices, some nice Western cuisines due to the majority of expatriates there. </p>
<p>Activities:
You have a myriad of activities to do: student societies, ISA (International Students Association) activities, personal activities. If you have some free time to join and it helps you balance your university life and keeps your sanity, go ahead. I will list some activities:
Subject clubs: Dont worry, they do not do the intellectual, academic things, just barbecue, society dinner and the likes.</p>
<p>ISA activities: I think they have a Facebook page. Check it out.
- pub nights: cheap entrance fees; cheap booze; organised in student halls
- boat parties: Im not sure if you know this. HKUST has a pier, so now and then the ISA organises this. Entrance fees around HKD$250-300 for booze and light food.
- international food: Food from respective countries at cheap prices.
- beach parties: usual stuffs; cheap booze and music. </p>
<p>Trips:
Other than these club-organised activities, you may also do some travelling in Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China. In winter, you can hike, eat hotpot and drink hot herbal tea. There are many trails here in Kowloon and the outlying small islands; they have one of the most magnificent views and you will bump into wild animals. Yes, there are indeed wild cows and boars roaming in parts of Hong Kong. In summer, famous beaches reek of sun tanning oil (coconut, banana
grilled in the heat). Alternatively, there are other smaller, less well-known beaches in the vicinity of HKUST that you have to take a short boat trip. HKUST itself has a beach metres of sand strip where you can book barbecue pits. These are some of the things not mentioned in the HK tourist guide, so the rest can be found on those pamphlets. </p>
<p>Outside Food:
Aside from good Dim Sum at cheaper prices than elsewhere, do check out openrice.com for food reviews, after all Hong Kong has a wide selection of cuisines. </p>
<p>I can only elaborate insofar as the question you posted. Hope this helps. If ever, anything comes up, I will try to answer.</p>
Thanks for any info that can be shared !!</p>