I was bedridden for two months, my grades had slipped, and I'd almost convinced myself not to apply. Here's how a fractured bone became the foundation of my biggest leap.

My name is Manaansh, and I'll be heading to Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore to study Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. I'm also, separately, obsessed with making video games.

Why NTU?

When I first started researching universities, Singapore wasn't exactly the first country that came to mind. I was deep in the “American university” rabbit hole. For a while, I was genuinely torn between Purdue and NTU, running comparison after comparison in my head.What settled it for me was looking at NTU beyond the name. It currently sits at 12th in the QS World Rankings, which is ahead of several Ivy League institutions. The campus is the largest in Singapore - over 200 hectares. But more than the aesthetics, NTU has a reputation for doing something that a lot of universities claim but rarely do: balancing serious academic rigour with an actual life outside of it. And after realizing it, I stopped second-guessing my choice - and committed to it.

NTU's campus spans over 200 hectares - the largest one in Singapore, with buildings that look straight out of a sci-fi movie. And, is home to internationally recognised DSAI Research Centre.

Why Data Science and AI?

Here's the honest version: I want to make video games. Always have. I've spent countless hours coding, designing, researching game mechanics, and reading about the craft of it. It's not a hobby, but it's the thing I come back to every time I have a free afternoon.

So why not just study Computer Science and be done with it?Because when I looked at DSAI, it had everything I actually care about, including programming, AI, mathematics, everything at one place. I've always had a strong grounding in maths, and the idea of combining that with machine learning and data science felt more exciting than just another CS track. Game development is increasingly built on AI and procedural systems anyway.

Going with DSAI felt just right. It had the right amounts of all the subjects I take interest in.

I'm especially looking forward to the deep dives into Machine Learning and AI Fundamentals, and to working in the DSAI Research Centre. It'll be my first real hands-on experience in a formal research setting.

The Two Months That Changed Everything

In 2024, I fractured a bone and spent roughly two months largely bedridden. If you'd asked me then, I would not have described it as a turning point, but I would have described it as incredibly inconvenient.

But something shifts when you're suddenly removed from the pace of everything.

My grades weren't where they needed to be, and somewhere along the way I'd stopped believing I was the kind of person who would get into a place like NTU. That sounds dramatic, but there was just a quiet, persistent background noise when I sat alone with myself: colleges like that probably aren't for you.

I developed confidence. I ignited self-appreciation and encouragement. That injury made me what I am today.

The time alone, with the injury, had forced me to sit with that noise long enough, and eventually my mind was forced to actually challenge it. I came out of those months with something I hadn't before, a stubbornness about my own potential. When I went back to studying, it was different. I scored well enough on my board exams to know I had a real shot. I didn’t feel that my application was good enough, nor was I sure that I would get in - but all of the self-development which had happened to me in the past few months was enough for me to open the portal, fill my application with supreme efforts, and click on “apply”.

The Application: More Honest Than I Expected

My parents and my best friend Shreevar were the people who kept me grounded through the process. My father, in particular, was more anxious about the decision date than I was, - he'd remind me to check the portal twice a day. When the acceptance came, I called him first. I remember he was briefly startled by the energy in my voice.

If I could go back and give myself one piece of practical advice, it'd be this: don't apply to too many universities. Coming from real-life experience, at one point I was juggling UIUC, Purdue, and NTU simultaneously, trying to hold three very different futures in my head at once.

As for what actually got me in: I think people underestimate how much Singapore values academic consistency. Extracurriculars matter, for sure, but if your grades aren't there, nothing else compensates. My board exam results were the thing that gave me a real shot. Your marks aren't just numbers - they show persistence, consistency, and the ability to handle academic rigour.

Score well, and it won't matter if you've played sports or participated in MUNs. For Singapore at least, academics come first.

Singapore Is Waiting

I fly out in the third week of July. A few weeks of orientation, then the semester starts in August. I've been thinking about what it'll feel like to be in a city I've never lived in, surrounded by people I've never met, studying something I've been building toward for years.

There's a part of me that's sad about leaving - my family, Shreevar, the cricket games in the evenings. The recharge days of doing absolutely nothing in particular. I know that feeling will stay for a while.

But mostly, I'm ready. The fracture, the doubt, the chaotic application process, all of it was pointing somewhere - NTU is the somewhere. I want to learn everything the programme has to offer, build things that matter, and eventually find a way to make the games I've been dreaming about since I was a kid.

I want to make this opportunity at a new life worth it.

If you're reading this and you're in the middle of it - the doubt, the slipping grades, the quiet voice telling you that places like this aren't for you - I'd just say: chase it anyway. Work hard, be consistent, and don't let the noise win. Your marks, your story, and your stubbornness are enough.