Covid totally disrupted my travel plans, so when the covid pandemic finally ended, I decided to take a gap year in AY 2022/2023 in order to travel.
I got pregnant while travelling, so I am wondering what my options are: Should I matriculate in 2023 or defer by another year? Some of my thoughts (in no particular order):
1. As a girl, I don’t need to serve NS so even if I defer for another year, I am still on equal footing with the guys from my batch.
2. Assuming that the pregnancy takes 9 months, I should give birth just in time for the 2023 academic year. However I will probably miss orientation. Orientation is one of the highlights of NUS life so I would prefer to defer for one year rather than miss orientation.
3. My field of study is WFH-friendly. It seems that I keep my options open by delaying matriculation to 2023.
4. It seems that the maternity facilities in NUS are really quite subpar, so studying with a newborn baby would be quite the disaster.
5. SMU seems to be a better choice for studying with a newborn (closer to childcare facilities in the city area). However NUS has a higher ranking in my field, so Im not sure whether it is worth switching to SMU just for the better childcare.
Any advice?
Here are what netizens think:
- What seems to be obvious is that you will likely need help with childcare whichever school you might end up attending and you will need to have someone who is willing and able to step in to babysit when you need help. For example, you are not going to be able to bring the baby along when you need to take exams. As for whether to matriculate later, I don’t think it will matters as long as appropriate childcare help is available since the baby is not suddenly going to grow up within a year. Take care and all the best!
- Man, I wish I am this calm. I had more stress than you when I wanted to eat Calbee chips but did not want to buy it because the price increased from $1.50 to $2.15.
- I hope u have figured out your childcare arrangements as it will be tough to go to school and if no one takes care of the baby. E.g. what if baby falls sick and cannot send to infant care ? Life after having a kid is very very different than life before. Do be mentally prepared. Wish u all the best