SMU BOSS Bidding Tips

Posted On June 1, 2021

After 4 years at SMU bidding for modules I have decided to pen some insights that I have heard from seniors about BOSS and tips which I have used during my time at SMU.

Disclaimer : If you’re aware of this content or considered to be a person who aces in your BOSS bidding, feel free to skip this article and check out other content on my instagram or website, which might excite you. Information is accurate as of June 1 2021, verify with SMU website / faculty / student organisations on recent updates or further details about the BOSS feature.

BOSS? What?? Who is that? Well it is the bidding online system which the SMU community uses to select their modules that they need to take. Its similar to the STAR system used in NTU, but has greater autonomy.

There are tons of resources on how to navigate this system online, so let’s skip that and dive into the key aspects.

Preparation

You get access to the available courses 3-4 days prior to the bidding round.

1. Know the bidding schedule which is found here.
2. Know how much e$ you have in your account. You get e$100 a semester but can get additional e$ over the semester from the surveys that are presented at the end of each semester.
3. Early on, during your university days, map your courses. Check out the Course Catalogue beforehand to know the courses you can explore. Your older self will thank you.
4. Understand your strengths – Do you prefer project or exam based modules? Do you enjoy working on SMU-X modules?
5. Know who you want to bid modules with or without. Everyone has a forte and it may not align with your interests.
6. What do you want your schedule to be like? Are you someone who craves 3 school days and 2 days to focus on other commitments?

Choosing your modules

1. Ask around your social circle or check online (SMU Mods) for the reviews for the modules and professors you would like to take.
   • Based on reviews, you can judge if the professors’ are in demand, and if the module is a compulsory core hence more students will bid for it. Hence classes might be pretty expensive for the popular ones.
2. Be daring to take risks
   • Modules that are taught by new professors tend to be cheaper because there are no reviews, hence more likely to get a slot in round 1.
   • SMU-X tend to be relatively cheaper than the non-SMUX counterparts. This is because you work mostly with a client and have greater workload. But greater exposure and builds up your portfolio.
   • Usually morning lessons and night classes, especially on Monday tend to be cheaper (if there are other slots on other days).
   • I’ve bid for Professors with poor reviews and I’ve had some pleasant surprises. Don’t let someone’s experience, dictate your opportunities. Its all about the perspective!!
   • If you really want to take a module and you don’t have friends, just go for it. You will definitely meet new peeps.
   • Don’t bid in a large group of friends, cos not everyone will get in.
3. Identify classes you must clear early on, so you could graduate on time, leave some modules for exchange etc.
   • Pre-requisites like STAT101
   • Core modules i.e. OPIM201, FIN201, MGMT102
   • Try to stay away from 0.5 Credit modules and take 1.0 credit. It saves your effort.

The actual thing – placing your bids

By now you would have heard enough information on how to check the modules, place bids, estimate bids. Nonetheless, here are some trivial information.

Estimating Bids

1. I’ve heard senior who used regression analysis on the 5 years data and I tried it once. I ended up being the max bidder for that module (wasted precious e$).
2. Another simple method is take the average bid from the past BOSS round and multiply by 1.2 or 1.3 (depending on your risk appetite and budget). But honestly, this doesn’t work well for classes that are new and you will be simply inflating the bids.
3. I simply do a visual check and keep close to the average bids unless I’m desperate for the module and there are limited slots.

Placing Bids

1. Try to get your modules as much as you can in the first round. Because people panic when they don’t get their mods and drive the prices up in subsequent rounds.
2. There is a feature called DICE which is vaguely known or used. In Year 1 Semester 1, I bided for 2 modules, and I was placed into only 1 of it.
3. Over the years, I placed bids for 6 modules and I will DICE those modules which I wouldn’t mind taking but are not urgent.
   • DICE is simply placing more things in your shopping cart and when your budget exceeds you remove it.
   • Let’s say you’re wanting to get into 4 modules and you have placed bids for 6 modules. However, due to poor bidding strategy, you managed to secure 2 of the modules you wanted, the system will check the modules that you left on DICE and try to slot you in if you there are sufficient.
   • Just in case you can’t follow, here’s another example. Let’s say you intend to take 4 modules and you placed 6 modules and DICE 2 of the module. If you managed to secure all the 4 modules the system will drop the 2 DICE modules.

Is there anything else that you have learnt that I missed out? Or are you interested in knowing more about the mapping of courses? Leave your queries in the comments or reach out to me via email at defoodladie@gmail.com