Decision Making by ASEAN students

[lilet]

I am posting this for myself and my fellow Malaysian ASEAN scholars. The main question that I would like to ask is how does one choose whether to accept the ASEAN Pre-U Scholarship or not when he/she is asked to make the choice in about one or two weeks from now. Since there are many ex-ASEAN scholars here in ReCom, I trust that I will be able to get lots of valuable feedback from the seniors! :D

Firstly, let?s say about JPA, Petronas, Bank Negara Malaysia and various other scholarships that the ASEAN students here have applied for. As far as we are concerned, the confirmation of the scholarship award won?t be out soon, at least, not in the current month when we have to make our decision. So, the problem now is should we sign the agreement and then cancel it if we get confirmed by the other sponsor or should we quit right now. I am sure that ReComers who have studied under the ASEAN program will know that we will have to pay back all expenses that the Ministry of Education Singapore has spent on us plus a 10% interest. So, students who choose to quit before signing the agreement will not have to pay back a single cent while the rest who violate the agreement will have to pay a significant amount, thanks to the wonderful exchange rate and high Singapore cost of living. :D

Next will be about our future if we stay on and complete our A Levels here. It is general knowledge that not all of us will be able to obtain remarkable results in the A Levels exam. Where do we go after that? I know that we can apply for various scholarships offered by a variety of sponsors in Singapore, of which some of them are quite lucrative. But how high actually are the chances to get those scholarships, considering both our grades and the competition with local students? Maybe it is too pessimistic to say that we might not meet the requirements for these awards, but if this does happen, what can we do then? :? Return to Malaysia to continue our studies? Can anyone tell me what are the options open for us regardless of whether we do well or not?

And then, there is the new, competitive and more stressful environment in Singapore which has to be taken into account too. How do we know whether we will be able to cope well? Should we take the risk and give it our best shot? Though it wouldn?t cost us a cent if our scholarship is terminated due to poor performance, our reputation will surely be tarnished. My Malay Language teacher told us about a scholar who went back to Malaysia mid of last year because she did not want to take the exam due to the lack of confidence that she will do well. He described her as ?very pressured and had a breakdown?. Although she did come back to continue studying in Singapore after being persuaded by her family and friends, and eventually did do well in her A Level, there is no guarantee that we will also be so lucky like her. :roll:

These are a few of the main questions that I and the rest have right now. Maybe there are some of you who would like to share the experiences that you went through when making the same choice last time. I would be extremely grateful to hear all advices and suggestions that anyone has to offer! Thanks a lot! :wink:

[lilet]

I am posting this for myself and my fellow Malaysian ASEAN scholars. The main question that I would like to ask is how does one choose whether to accept the ASEAN Pre-U Scholarship or not when he/she is asked to make the choice in about one or two weeks from now. Since there are many ex-ASEAN scholars here in ReCom, I trust that I will be able to get lots of valuable feedback from the seniors! :D

Firstly, let?s say about JPA, Petronas, Bank Negara Malaysia and various other scholarships that the ASEAN students here have applied for. As far as we are concerned, the confirmation of the scholarship award won?t be out soon, at least, not in the current month when we have to make our decision. So, the problem now is should we sign the agreement and then cancel it if we get confirmed by the other sponsor or should we quit right now. I am sure that ReComers who have studied under the ASEAN program will know that we will have to pay back all expenses that the Ministry of Education Singapore has spent on us plus a 10% interest. So, students who choose to quit before signing the agreement will not have to pay back a single cent while the rest who violate the agreement will have to pay a significant amount, thanks to the wonderful exchange rate and high Singapore cost of living. :D

Next will be about our future if we stay on and complete our A Levels here. It is general knowledge that not all of us will be able to obtain remarkable results in the A Levels exam. Where do we go after that? I know that we can apply for various scholarships offered by a variety of sponsors in Singapore, of which some of them are quite lucrative. But how high actually are the chances to get those scholarships, considering both our grades and the competition with local students? Maybe it is too pessimistic to say that we might not meet the requirements for these awards, but if this does happen, what can we do then? :? Return to Malaysia to continue our studies? Can anyone tell me what are the options open for us regardless of whether we do well or not?

And then, there is the new, competitive and more stressful environment in Singapore which has to be taken into account too. How do we know whether we will be able to cope well? Should we take the risk and give it our best shot? Though it wouldn?t cost us a cent if our scholarship is terminated due to poor performance, our reputation will surely be tarnished. My Malay Language teacher told us about a scholar who went back to Malaysia mid of last year because she did not want to take the exam due to the lack of confidence that she will do well. He described her as ?very pressured and had a breakdown?. Although she did come back to continue studying in Singapore after being persuaded by her family and friends, and eventually did do well in her A Level, there is no guarantee that we will also be so lucky like her. :roll:

These are a few of the main questions that I and the rest have right now. Maybe there are some of you who would like to share the experiences that you went through when making the same choice last time. I would be extremely grateful to hear all advices and suggestions that anyone has to offer! Thanks a lot! :wink:

[DecentMerson]

it's true that there are many ex-asean in recom...hehehe


all the answers are based on my personal experience and they should not be ur choice.... just my opinion and may not be applicable to everyone or anyone... :P

So, the problem now is should we sign the agreement and then cancel it if we get confirmed by the other sponsor or should we quit right now.

do you have 100% confident and assurance that u can get an oversea scholarship???if ur parents work for petronas, then you shouldn't have go to Singapore...if u got 12A1(straight A1) or more, u can virtually say bye bye to Singapore..but be sure that u are not that unlucky like one of my school mate...

he got straight A1(10 A1),
he rejected ASEAN from the very first day he got the offer,

and he got an offer from JPA, but it is Medicine to Indonesia, and once u got it, u can either take it or leave it.. what would u do? take it? leave it?

.. if ur result is not that magnificent, then u may one to consider to stay put in Singapore...

So, students who choose to quit before signing the agreement will not have to pay back a single cent while the rest who violate the agreement will have to pay a significant amount, thanks to the wonderful exchange rate and high Singapore cost of living.

err... u words or quite misleading....
actually, all u have to pay is the expenses after the first 3 months...
which is the money starting from april....oh yar...Oldham is damn expensive.... just to let u to have a figure in mind.... my parents paid about RM 15k for compensation(ouch)...(April - August(5months..))

so, let say if u got a scholarship in April, then u will have to pay about RM 3k.... only....

Next will be about our future if we stay on and complete our A Levels here. It is general knowledge that not all of us will be able to obtain remarkable results in the A Levels exam. Where do we go after that?

there are several options....
one) stay in Singapore, get a loan, get a partner, get a family and .....live happily ever after....under stresss...... :roll:

two) go to Aus under FAMA scholarship(father and mother)...

three) do extremely well in A-levels and get a Singapore scholarship

four) come back to Malaysia and go to Semi-private uni like MMU, IMU and all the MU u can think off...

How do we know whether we will be able to cope well? Should we take the risk and give it our best shot?

err.. nobody can tell... how did u fare in ur 1st common test? if u are among the top...and congrats.... if u are not, work harder...

what is problem that u didn't fare well?? adapting problem? BGR(boy-girl relationship) problem? or just dun like the style(method of conduct)?

in Singapore, to be the top, there are only 2 ways.... either u work very hard and egt very little sleep and suffer for 2 years or u are genius which have graphic memory or super long memory time...and understanding power....

so, to leave or not to leave, the choice is yours...

if one leave now, by risking it all, and (touchwood)got something which he or she doesn't want(study medicine in Indonesia), or (touchwood) get nothing at all, he or she may also consider continuing his or her studies in private colleges like Inti(who still offers full scholarship....), Sunway(rm 5000 max) and Taylor (nothing) and Metropolitan(rm 3000 max).....

it is ur decision.... :!:

[DecentMerson]

it's true that there are many ex-asean in recom...hehehe


all the answers are based on my personal experience and they should not be ur choice.... just my opinion and may not be applicable to everyone or anyone... :P

So, the problem now is should we sign the agreement and then cancel it if we get confirmed by the other sponsor or should we quit right now.

do you have 100% confident and assurance that u can get an oversea scholarship???if ur parents work for petronas, then you shouldn't have go to Singapore...if u got 12A1(straight A1) or more, u can virtually say bye bye to Singapore..but be sure that u are not that unlucky like one of my school mate...

he got straight A1(10 A1),
he rejected ASEAN from the very first day he got the offer,

and he got an offer from JPA, but it is Medicine to Indonesia, and once u got it, u can either take it or leave it.. what would u do? take it? leave it?

.. if ur result is not that magnificent, then u may one to consider to stay put in Singapore...

So, students who choose to quit before signing the agreement will not have to pay back a single cent while the rest who violate the agreement will have to pay a significant amount, thanks to the wonderful exchange rate and high Singapore cost of living.

err... u words or quite misleading....
actually, all u have to pay is the expenses after the first 3 months...
which is the money starting from april....oh yar...Oldham is damn expensive.... just to let u to have a figure in mind.... my parents paid about RM 15k for compensation(ouch)...(April - August(5months..))

so, let say if u got a scholarship in April, then u will have to pay about RM 3k.... only....

Next will be about our future if we stay on and complete our A Levels here. It is general knowledge that not all of us will be able to obtain remarkable results in the A Levels exam. Where do we go after that?

there are several options....
one) stay in Singapore, get a loan, get a partner, get a family and .....live happily ever after....under stresss...... :roll:

two) go to Aus under FAMA scholarship(father and mother)...

three) do extremely well in A-levels and get a Singapore scholarship

four) come back to Malaysia and go to Semi-private uni like MMU, IMU and all the MU u can think off...

How do we know whether we will be able to cope well? Should we take the risk and give it our best shot?

err.. nobody can tell... how did u fare in ur 1st common test? if u are among the top...and congrats.... if u are not, work harder...

what is problem that u didn't fare well?? adapting problem? BGR(boy-girl relationship) problem? or just dun like the style(method of conduct)?

in Singapore, to be the top, there are only 2 ways.... either u work very hard and egt very little sleep and suffer for 2 years or u are genius which have graphic memory or super long memory time...and understanding power....

so, to leave or not to leave, the choice is yours...

if one leave now, by risking it all, and (touchwood)got something which he or she doesn't want(study medicine in Indonesia), or (touchwood) get nothing at all, he or she may also consider continuing his or her studies in private colleges like Inti(who still offers full scholarship....), Sunway(rm 5000 max) and Taylor (nothing) and Metropolitan(rm 3000 max).....

it is ur decision.... :!:

[ElansarGelmir]

Decisions are very hard to make. But finally, it's up to you. My friend from ASEAN got JPA scholarship to Germany, but she rejected the offer because she has fallen so much in love with Singapore. No ler, actually, she just don't want to compensate that much money to Singapore and after all, her result is good (she's from VJC) and i think she's confident of getting a scholarship after A Levels. While for me, making up my mind is the hardest time of all. I received the news (of my getting JPA) on Monday and i'm supposed to return to Malaysia on Wednesday. Not only the terminating of the scholarship is tedious and rushing, but i dun even have the chance to say goodbyes to my friends except through SMS and stuffs ...
There are lots of things to give up as well... the mass dance, my council, and the ones whom you have stayed under one roof with for the past 8 months. But still, I'm not certain of my future there and i almost flunk my GP. Scholarship there is a NO NO for me. Thus, i choose to accept JPA. After all, there's no GP here. Haha...

I think you should see what you are willing to give up, and what you can 'tahan'. If you think you can give up the good and fun life in SIngapore to study in the boring and saporific UiTM or elsewhere, then by all means, take the scholarship. If you are willing to give up JPA's opportunity for other better options in the near future, go ahead. I can't speak for you. I chose to give up RM 12k to flee from GP in Singapore... A little imprudent, ain't i?

[ElansarGelmir]

Decisions are very hard to make. But finally, it's up to you. My friend from ASEAN got JPA scholarship to Germany, but she rejected the offer because she has fallen so much in love with Singapore. No ler, actually, she just don't want to compensate that much money to Singapore and after all, her result is good (she's from VJC) and i think she's confident of getting a scholarship after A Levels. While for me, making up my mind is the hardest time of all. I received the news (of my getting JPA) on Monday and i'm supposed to return to Malaysia on Wednesday. Not only the terminating of the scholarship is tedious and rushing, but i dun even have the chance to say goodbyes to my friends except through SMS and stuffs ...
There are lots of things to give up as well... the mass dance, my council, and the ones whom you have stayed under one roof with for the past 8 months. But still, I'm not certain of my future there and i almost flunk my GP. Scholarship there is a NO NO for me. Thus, i choose to accept JPA. After all, there's no GP here. Haha...

I think you should see what you are willing to give up, and what you can 'tahan'. If you think you can give up the good and fun life in SIngapore to study in the boring and saporific UiTM or elsewhere, then by all means, take the scholarship. If you are willing to give up JPA's opportunity for other better options in the near future, go ahead. I can't speak for you. I chose to give up RM 12k to flee from GP in Singapore... A little imprudent, ain't i?

[lilet]

all the answers are based on my personal experience and they should not be ur choice.... just my opinion and may not be applicable to everyone or anyone...

Haha, doesn?t matter, all opinions (esp from ex-ASEAN students) are generally very informative and provide a different perspective to view this situation. :D

Sorry about the reimbursement part, (sheepishly) I didn?t realize that the counting only starts from next week (around 29th April) until this morning? Got the wrong impression from the way the teacher in charge put it? But still, getting another scholarship in April is quite out of the question as from what I gather, JPA awards will usually be out in May as the interviews (for the other scholarships as well) will most probably be conducted around next month. Am I correct? So, the longer we stay, the more we have to pay back. Yeah, Oldham Hall is seriously expensive, about SGD 700-800 per month while school fees in AJC is about SGD 250 per month too. Though I would say that most of the current batch of ASEAN students are not poor, it is still a burden some of their parents if they choose to quit later?

one) stay in Singapore, get a loan, get a partner, get a family and .....live happily ever after....under stresss......

Haha.. this option sounds quite good minus the last part! :D How does one actually live happily under stress? 8O Maybe I should go ask any Singaporean who is happy. My hallmaster said that foreign students who are offered scholarships to study without bond in Singapore are hoped (by their respective Singaporean sponsors) to choose this option after completing their course? 8)

I chose to give up RM 12k to flee from GP in Singapore... A little imprudent, ain't i?

About this, I strongly applaud your decision! I would have done so myself? Wonder if I will be that lucky too? :wink:

Thanks for all the replies!!! They?re extremely helpful?
:D

[lilet]

all the answers are based on my personal experience and they should not be ur choice.... just my opinion and may not be applicable to everyone or anyone...

Haha, doesn?t matter, all opinions (esp from ex-ASEAN students) are generally very informative and provide a different perspective to view this situation. :D

Sorry about the reimbursement part, (sheepishly) I didn?t realize that the counting only starts from next week (around 29th April) until this morning? Got the wrong impression from the way the teacher in charge put it? But still, getting another scholarship in April is quite out of the question as from what I gather, JPA awards will usually be out in May as the interviews (for the other scholarships as well) will most probably be conducted around next month. Am I correct? So, the longer we stay, the more we have to pay back. Yeah, Oldham Hall is seriously expensive, about SGD 700-800 per month while school fees in AJC is about SGD 250 per month too. Though I would say that most of the current batch of ASEAN students are not poor, it is still a burden some of their parents if they choose to quit later?

one) stay in Singapore, get a loan, get a partner, get a family and .....live happily ever after....under stresss......

Haha.. this option sounds quite good minus the last part! :D How does one actually live happily under stress? 8O Maybe I should go ask any Singaporean who is happy. My hallmaster said that foreign students who are offered scholarships to study without bond in Singapore are hoped (by their respective Singaporean sponsors) to choose this option after completing their course? 8)

I chose to give up RM 12k to flee from GP in Singapore... A little imprudent, ain't i?

About this, I strongly applaud your decision! I would have done so myself? Wonder if I will be that lucky too? :wink:

Thanks for all the replies!!! They?re extremely helpful?
:D

[aquila]

Wooo... ASEAN scholarship!!! You probably shouldn't ask people like me who fled from Hwa Chong because you won't get an objective answer!!!

My reply is COME HOME if you're like me!!! Muahaha!!! Well, I got the ASEAN scholarship to Hwa Chong and the pressure was overwhelming. I would have stayed if I didn't get JPA scholarship and if I wasn't headed to US though. So my advice is apply for ASEAN and apply for JPA. After you get your JPA result (assuming you got ASEAN earlier) then decide!!!

When I was in Spore, they didn't take into account our first 3 months there when computing the amount we had to reimburse the govt. Mine totalled $3000 plus after five months.

If you want to do medicine, don't go to Spore either because it's extremely hard to get into med school there. It's really hard to say. Some fellow ASEAN scholars chose to stay in Spore despite getting straight A1s while others like me chose to come back. After all, there's no guarantee that you'll get a scholarship from SPore after A levels and I'm extremely happy with my time here in the US. Also, Sporeans have to complete their degree in US in 3 yrs while the rest of us get 4yrs.

Spore motto is work as hard as you can.... get us as much income as you can!!! reduce time increase productivity... my sporean friends and I here at Duke always joke about how their Sporean sponsors will only let them marry foreigners if the foreigners prove to be beneficial to the Sporean economy. YES, the potential spouses have to be interviewed by the sponsors!

Well, the work pressure here in the US is enormous too but I'm happy working hard here. I guess it's because I chose my university and fought hard to get in. In Spore I was thrown into Hwa Chong. Also, the kind of competition is different. IT's intense but it's not cut throat.

[jiinjoo]

I guess I have the honor to give the other side of the picture 8) How strange to learn that the dilemma one experience 5 years ago is exactly the same today.

(FYI I was ex-ASEAN 98/99 in HCJC 98S31, stayed in Eton Hall and Hua Zhong hostel, currently on EDB-SIS (ST, SCS) to CMU/Stanford, and you'll find me laboring in Bedok from 2005 to 2011).

So I walked the other thin rope that you described - stress yourself more than your S'porean peers, get a better result than them even though you didn't start off from equal ground (in my case I started my GP lessons in "special classes", where we did spelling and dictation much like what you do in standard 3), then fight for scholarships to get out of the country like a mad man (literally - take the booklet that lists ALL the available scholarship from that country, look at the eligibility column and cross out those that says "S'pore citizen and PR only", then apply for the rest, all of them...), pray, get it, go overseas, come back after getting your degree, work like a mad man for 6 years and see if you meet your partner yet or not (note: unlike decent merson's description of just getting a partner...) and decide then whether you want to 1. stay, 2. leave, 3. die.

Chances are, the above won't happen.

People have left the system at all points, as decsribe in previous posts: after your first common test, after SPM results, after JPA is in hand, after promo (1st year test), after probation (those who didn't do well in promo will be on probation and if they don't improve their scholarship will be suspended).

And even if you finished your A-levels, the system sorts of lure you towards NUS/NTU where you'll apply for the loan option (ASEAN or not) i.e. work in sg for 3 years. And some will rebel against it and go back to local institutions like private U or colleges. We jokingly say that that's like "starting again", i.e. you should have went to college straight, but of course it is an unfair statement considering the experience you'll have.

And even after NUS/NTU, you'll continue to compete for a job. Yes, the ultimate goal is to have a good paying job in S'pore, hopefully with MNCs so that you get to go overseas, earn a lot of money and retire in an island near redang (ok whatever). Not everone is so lucky. Some finish their 3 years not earning much and came home, some goes off to seek fortunes in Australia, US, Japan, China or other European countries. Most however, will stay, and stay for good...

Just so that you get some statistics, my batch saw some 250 Malaysian direct scholars (i.e. came after SPM instead of going through parts of secondary education) and out of which less than 10 are on some sg scholarship overseas in US, UK and Australia. The bulk are in NUS/NTU, accountants just graduated (3 years) and the engineers are doing their final year project right now. A small group are aiming to go China to work with Sg companies there, and the rest are pretty much stuck in international companies in Sg. They can't pursue PhD until they are done with the 3+ years, alternatively they can get into other opportunities (A-star for example sponsors students to do PhD, different bond scheme).


Strangely it sounds pretty horrible, which is why over the years we're seeing more nationalities from non-Malaysian countries coming for ASEAN, as well as a huge surge of PRC scholars. Sounds like Malaysians don't "need" the scholarship when we can depend on our own tax payers. This kind of argument makes ASEAN sound like the forever 2nd-choice, the cake with no topping, or the toilet with no toilet paper. Recent years has also seen the MOE's decision to move direct ASEANs away from traditionally good schools, for reasons I've yet to learn, secluding the elite S'poreans from the directs - a move I wasn't very happy about, but that's another story.




I went through this long winded description to illustrate a point - that I didn't take what I got for granted. It is an incredibly interesting journey thus far, and I am very very blessed and lucky to be here in sunny California. For the dumb reason for fleeing from home, I treated my ASEAN offer letter as my passport to leave my mum's nagging and all the mediocre life behind. I was wrong - stress, competition, and independence brought me to cherish what I have even more. It brought me to appreciate my family, my friends, and most vividly, my country. There is not a day that I went through in that island not reminding myself of my roots and my cause, and I make sure that none of my newly acquired friends in S'pore walk pass my life not knowing who I am, where I'm from, and why I'm here (and recently and increasingly, why I'm sucking their tax payer's money instead of my own country's).

From a career point of view, I bought into half of what my father have been lamenting throughout my teenage life - that Malaysia is not a totally race-blind and class-blind (and may I add more: religion-blind, sex-blind, age-blind, etc.) country. He urges me to go to S'pore in the hopes that Sg will treat me better, at least my skin color matches the eyes of the employers there. Another practical view that I bought also about half of is the fact that I want to roam the private sectors in search of creative jobs and vast opportunity, and not be bogged down by bureaucracy, the largest of which is the government of a country. I don't want to begin a career in the government, maybe I'll come in later in life to make a difference as I see fit, but to channel my youth spirit fighting to stay afloat in a place where people are in search of the metal rice bowl instead of pushing the frontier of technology does not capture my imagination even a bit.

Instead of falling into stereotypes to leave an impression (of which I've already marginally did), let me just say that after ASEAN, I looked back and seriously regreted leaving for Singapore. Not knowing my A-levels result then, I was timid to disript my life and start over again in some private U in Malaysia. I continue to give tuitions in S'pore to bring myself away from home, reinforcing my own believe that I can get something other than getting stuck in NUS/NTU. The legitimate story I told everyone was that it was easier for me to negotiate for a scholarship if I'm in town.

During that stay, I came into contact with the poorer S'poreans, students in the "neighborhood schools", people who didn't graduate from RJ or HJ, people in the N-level stream etc. They thought me an important lesson that I couldn't forget - live the life that you want to live, instead of answering to the forces of rationality all the time. Leading a happy life, these people aren't bothered by the fact they can't get into JC, that their future is sort of determined, that they won't be earning big bucks or even have any chance to lobby the government to make a difference. But they go on pursuing what they want to do, what they think will yield the greatest reward of their life.

I asked myself the same question: what do I want? I've never asked myself this question before and now (year 2000) I'm asking myself a funny question - what do I want? The answer became clear: I want to go where nobody has gone before. I want to overcome my timidness and my ego and learn about my true self, learn about my true strength and learn about my true destiny. For the first time, I wanted to go overseas.

I went overseas. Today, I'm sitting in a computer cluster in EPFL in Switzerland, having fully understood the implications of my stint in S'pore and what it has brought to my life. Eventhough it has only been 4 years, I have forgotten about the regret that I had, and living my life fulfillingly. It is just a small step in life, and since it has brought me towards the right direction, I'm happy with my stay in S'pore.



So I would suggest to you the most important question to ask yourself when making any decision in your life, including this one: What do you want to do? (hint - this is a very common question in sg interviews)

What do you want out of your life. It is never too early to think about it. It is never too early to plan ahead. Don't bother regretting later coz you have chosen a path and your future has lots to offer. Your family is probably economically stable (else you won't have the Internet to lepak at), so you should be able to decide what you want for yourself pretty easily. Some of you are attached, choose wisely - do you want to risk jeopardizing your relationship? (statistically, about half of the LDRs fails) Do you want to stay close to home so that you can see you parents every other week? Do you want to stand up to meet the best of the world, running the risk of hurting your ego and possibly ending up on a path you would never had wanted? Do you regret easily? Do you want to earn a lot or money? Do you want to work with the government? --- what do you want?


Best of luck choosing. 8)

[topdog]

although i am not facing any asean dilemma, i just wanted to say thanks jiinjoo for the inspiring post.

[__earth]

although i am not facing any asean dilemma, i just wanted to say thanks jiinjoo for the inspiring post.

somehow, i think that was said in a sarcastic way. :wink:

[topdog]

although i am not facing any asean dilemma, i just wanted to say thanks jiinjoo for the inspiring post.

somehow, i think that was said in a sarcastic way. :wink:

nope, you are wrong. no sarcasm intended. why would you think i may have been sarcastic??

[__earth]

hmm.

because of the word although and the especially the word inspiring.

but then, i was wrong :cry:

[lilet]

Thanks to Aquila for sharing... :D

Thanks a lot too to jiinjoo for spending so much time writing such a long and interesting post... :) You sound like you have found the one, true direction in your life. Congrats! I would say that many people out there, including me, are still looking for that road... 8) But what do you mean by "continue giving tuitions in singapore"? Do you mean that you started giving tuitions even though you were still at A Level? But we are not allowed to do any form of work, right?

Also, I am sorry but I didn't catch a point in your post - what did you do to get you overseas? Did you manage to get a scholarship from Singaporean sponsors or you are on private funding? :?:

For the last few questions in the post, yeah, my family is economically stable... but in Singapore the only place I can lepak with internet is in my JC's library... :roll: No, I don't have any interesting boy-girl relationship to talk of... Family.. I miss them but I guess I can cope alright without having to be together everytime.. On the others, not very sure yet! haha... :lol:

[DecentMerson]

Strangely it sounds pretty horrible, which is why over the years we're seeing more nationalities from non-Malaysian countries coming for ASEAN, as well as a huge surge of PRC scholars. Sounds like Malaysians don't "need" the scholarship when we can depend on our own tax payers. This kind of argument makes ASEAN sound like the forever 2nd-choice, the cake with no topping, or the toilet with no toilet paper. Recent years has also seen the MOE's decision to move direct ASEANs away from traditionally good schools, for reasons I've yet to learn, secluding the elite S'poreans from the directs - a move I wasn't very happy about, but that's another story.

Globalization, i suppose...the PRC students are more abundant and have same quality (if not better)...

err... quite true that the direct ASEANs to top JCs like RJ and HC are relatively lesser than others like SA and AJ... the reasons??? no idea... but definitely not for good...

For the dumb reason for fleeing from home, I treated my ASEAN offer letter as my passport to leave my mum's nagging and all the mediocre life behind. I was wrong - stress, competition, and independence brought me to cherish what I have even more. It brought me to appreciate my family, my friends, and most vividly, my country. There is not a day that I went through in that island not reminding myself of my roots and my cause, and I make sure that none of my newly acquired friends in S'pore walk pass my life not knowing who I am, where I'm from, and why I'm here (and recently and increasingly, why I'm sucking their tax payer's money instead of my own country's).

hahaha... i think that smart people think alike... hehehe.... :P
or maybe there's lack of choice.... if not ASEAN, i will be going to FORM6.... actually i prefer FORM6 than ASEAN, but that's another story...quite a sad one.... :cry:

1 thing i learn in Singapore is to love MALAYSIA!!!
Viva MALAYSIA!!!!
everyday, i see how pathetic are Singaporeans.... singing the national anthem without knowing it's meaning...
and i see how sad for SIngaporean to be programmed just to be patriotic...or at least to act patriotic...

i learn to cherish my friendship and all the things i used to take for granted at home... although i have lots of new friends in SIngapore, i think acquaintances is a more appropriate word...friends, just a few... it is so cool and really touching to have ur friends that continue to write to you even though u are in Singapore....friends that still remember ur birthday and sent u a hand-made card on time.... and a lot of little things that are seemingly insignificant...

everynight, before i closed my eyes... i will think about my family... and how much they have done for me....oh yar... even the trite (weekly mamak session with my buddies and cybercafes (warcraft cum Counterstrike) activities seem good memories to me...

I used to think that my country is kind of unfair... but i'm really silly to think so...no other country will treat u like home country... Singapore is so selfish and 'self sufficient'(at least they think so)
Giving out no-bond-scholarship sounds so good...using their taxpayers money to develop the ASEAN region.... (my foot)...just euphenism for luring the brains from other countries....

maybe becoz of this, i became more patriotic... it is really sad to see more and more people(especially Malaysian) to decide to become Singapore citizen...
SADSADSAD :cry:

i never try to cover my trail... as in I'm proud to be Malaysian.... i'll prove to the world that Malaysian is just as great as any others in the world... if not better....

[z]

i left after 5 months at RJ. paid about $5k to MOE coz i still wanted to visit singapore and don't want to be sued :P

i must say the 5 months at RJ was really awesome! at that point of time, it was my best 5 months ever in my entire life.

this may sound cheesy, but one of the main reasons i didn't stay in RJ is because i couldn't bear the thought of becoming a PR/singaporean 5-10 years ahead. i didn't have a relationship going on at that time, so that definitely made things easier. some of my friends were caught in that dilemma. also, i got into a mild conflict (which was eventually resolved) with the tennis team teacher advisor... getting away from ultra-kiasu people and avoiding unnecessary difficult exams sounded like a really sweet deal :)

it's difficult to abandon the extra-curricular commitments. leaving my close group of malaysian friends was difficult too, but that's part and parcel of life. i have no regrets whatsoever in returning to Malaysia, even with full knowledge about the "character building" living condition of UiTM haha:D it's all good. i did go through a slight down period in the beginning of my UiTM experience. but after that you realize that life goes on and things will get better. it's up to you to make the best out of the situation.

not to downgrade our education system or anything, but based on my experience, you are definitely more competitive if put into the Malaysian pool rather than the Singaporean pool when it comes to university admissions. there are ASEAN scholars who do exceptionally well but the reality is that most people do take time to adapt to the pace in JC and as such you may be a little slow as compared to native singaporeans in grabbing opportunities etc.

my take on this is always: go for ASEAN, get exposure... get new experience... learn about our neighbor. then balik kampung for JPA:P

[lilet]

Strangely it sounds pretty horrible, which is why over the years we're seeing more nationalities from non-Malaysian countries coming for ASEAN, as well as a huge surge of PRC scholars. Sounds like Malaysians don't "need" the scholarship when we can depend on our own tax payers. This kind of argument makes ASEAN sound like the forever 2nd-choice, the cake with no topping, or the toilet with no toilet paper. Recent years has also seen the MOE's decision to move direct ASEANs away from traditionally good schools, for reasons I've yet to learn, secluding the elite S'poreans from the directs - a move I wasn't very happy about, but that's another story.


Globalization, i suppose...the PRC students are more abundant and have same quality (if not better)...

err... quite true that the direct ASEANs to top JCs like RJ and HC are relatively lesser than others like SA and AJ... the reasons??? no idea... but definitely not for good...


Yup, there are many PRC scholars, I think about 180 of them in my hostel alone. But better? I am not sure about that. I would admit that they are quite good at Maths but the others, I dunno. Just to share some experiences, not to critic people behind their backs but there was once when the MOE officers called a meeting with these scholars to warn them about often skipping school by getting a MC. Very often indeed, and since it's all paid by the MOE, the officers are not happy about it and gave them a nice "talk". Other than that, I always see China couples around and there were rumours of "sightings" of "indecent acts" around the hostel, :oops: especially in the stairs area, which is in fact, not that closed-up. Worse still, these usually happen in the afternoon... 8O

everyday, i see how pathetic are Singaporeans.... singing the national anthem without knowing it's meaning...
and i see how sad for SIngaporean to be programmed just to be patriotic...or at least to act patriotic...
i never try to cover my trail... as in I'm proud to be Malaysian.... i'll prove to the world that Malaysian is just as great as any others in the world... if not better....

Yeah, I agree with that! :lol: I can feel more cells labelled patriotic growing in my body right now... :wink:

my take on this is always: go for ASEAN, get exposure... get new experience... learn about our neighbor. then balik kampung for JPA:P

That's what I am planning to do too, but only if I manage to get JPA or any other scholarship. :) But I think you forgot one part after the "learn about our neighbor" and before "balik kampung for JPA" that is, "pay back $ to the MOE, then say bye-bye to Singapore"! :D

[DecentMerson]

That's what I am planning to do too, but only if I manage to get JPA or any other scholarship. But I think you forgot one part after the "learn about our neighbor" and before "balik kampung for JPA" that is, "pay back $ to the MOE, then say bye-bye to Singapore"!

not everybody who left for JPA payback the $$$... but better payback.. u will never know what they can do... barred u from entering the country? maybe? :!:

furthermore, it will tarnish the country's image...

[Hush]

I know my post here may not be relevant in this forum, but I really want to know how life in Singapore is. Most of the posts here seemed to be pointing that going to Singapore is a wrong decision, if I am not mistaken. I just got ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarship to pursue Engineering in NUS. I am almost fully geared up to start my uni life in NUS. Nevertheless, some posts here made me feel that I am gonna regret my decision of going to SG.

I know I may sound a bit naive here, but I seriously think it's not that bad in SG. At least, for this moment, I guess. Although I have not been through life in SG, I have always got positive views from people I know, including my college counsellor who was there for more than 10 years.

What is the disadvantage of being a PR in SG? Of course, I keep reminding myself of my roots wherever I go. But, if I were to have a better life somewhere, I am willing to give it a try. Leaving Malaysia for some reasons doesn't mean I am not patriotic or something.

I was in the dilemma in choosing between SG and AUS. I have made a choice, and I really don't wanna look back.

[topdog]

hi hush, i never studied in singapore nor did i get any asean scholarship, but i just thought i should point out that most of the thoughts on asean on this thread refers to the asean a-level scholarship, right asean-turned-jpa guys? so they might not be that relevant to you. maybe.

so, my view on your situation is...you should go for the deal. after all it's for a degree. just my opinion though.

[lilet]

I am sorry if all these posts in here give such a negative view of what study life is like in Singapore, just that I have to say that Singapore life is much more different and harder for me as I come from a very low-key kind of school and the kind of competitive environment here is not something that I can easily adapt to in just a few months... I am quite "slow".... :oops:

Congrats to Hush on getting the ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarship. I don't really know about NUS and how scholars there will be going through their Uni life, but I must say that the situation depends on what kind of person are you, what do you want to do and stuff like that. I can't really compare A Level with a degree program in Singapore, but I just want to share the opinions of the Singaporean guardians that I have here (my hostel guardians and school teachers). They said that A Level is the toughest part of their education life in Singapore as it is very demanding and a lot of stuff have to be done in just 2 years, or less... If you didn't realise it, most JC's in Singapore have full day school system, whereby students usually go home about 4-6 pm. :roll: Not very nice, indeed compared to the secondary school in Malaysia where we can go back at about 1-2pm... :wink:

I was in the dilemma in choosing between SG and AUS. I have made a choice, and I really don't wanna look back.

Haha.. Your situation is kind of the same like my brother's. He finally decided on Aus after lots of persuasion from my parents and friends' comments... I guess that it's just different for everyone... :D

[ElansarGelmir]

What is the disadvantage of being a PR in SG? Of course, I keep reminding myself of my roots wherever I go. But, if I were to have a better life somewhere, I am willing to give it a try. Leaving Malaysia for some reasons doesn't mean I am not patriotic or something.

Hmm... I didn't ask my PR friends while I was there, but i dun see any difference, at least not in the school level. So i can't say much on their behalf.

Well, i wanna congratulate you too for getting the scholarship. However, do bear in mind that it's a bonded scholarship, and since u're going to NUS, you'll be double bonded. Meaning u'll have 2 bonds to settle; the first is your ASEAN bond, and then the NUS bond. NUS bond is compulsory for all the students who study there, even to the Singaporeans.

Studies would be rather hard as SIngapore's marking system is rather hard, but i dun think you'll have a prob if you know how to not waste your time. Once i have to study my Biology while working out in gym at the same time because both my Bio and NAPHA tests are just around the corner. But i dun think they stress much on PE in NUS. The guys are supposed to be fit enough liao. Oh yeah, i think you'll be a year younger than your peers there......

Anyway, if you have yet to experience the life in Singapore, go for it, dude! Unless you have other better education opportunities. Experience the sensation which you'll never get in Malaysia ...

[ElansarGelmir]

i never try to cover my trail... as in I'm proud to be Malaysian.... i'll prove to the world that Malaysian is just as great as any others in the world... if not better....

This reminds me of our National day last year. I was in SIngapore for a visit, and when the clock stroke 12, and the national anthem was on the air, all Malaysian scholars gathered at the hostel's canteen and we sang our national anthem as proud as ever with several PRCs and vietnamese and Indons staring at us... Haha, we are patriotic as well... Going to Singapore doesn't mean that you dun like Malaysia anymore. You are just grabbing an opportunity which perhaps Malaysia has failed to offer you.


it is really sad to see more and more people(especially Malaysian) to decide to become Singapore citizen...
SADSADSAD

Why sad? I believe these people have their reasons to do so. If they aren't happy in Singapore, do you think they will become the PR there? Perhaps they are treated better there? I think i've never experienced equality until when i was in Singapore. Heck, we, the foreigners are even treated better than how Malaysia treats her 'second class' citizens. No quota or whatsoever. Even the women there are proven to be tough...

[weich]

hmm....i guess i should say something since i was in S'pore for 6.5 years...so alil' bit abt myself:

RI - Sec1 to 4(1996-1999)
RJ - J1-J2(2000-2001)
Worked abit - (Jan-June 2002)

ok, i guess i was lucky to be put in RI :lol: ...was sent to a sportsman class....so we're kinda slack in a sense....and all of us got along pretty well....plus the teachers are always so caring & all (one of them even bring me out for supper every Friday night so that I won't miss M'sian life too much! haha...).....so I guess my secondary sch life in S'pore wasn't too bad, ....know many of you would not belive this but it was very fun :)

so...i decided to stay in S'pore for my As....although my parents warn me that it's gonna be tough in S'pore.....after my sis's experience in Hwa Chong.....haha

But I must say JC changed my view of life alot, ....was put into a class full of scholars...where there's only 3 true S'poreans (1 guy's ranked 10th in the world for the International Chem Olympiad), 2 are S'poreans but born in China/HK.....11 PRCs (2 are among the Top 10 in the S'pore Maths Olympiad), 1 Vietnamese, 1 Indian, 2 Indonesians & 3 M'sians.....and this class was super stressful!!! Ppl just go home & study everyday!!!

:wink: Have to admit that I'm almost always bottom of my class with a rugger friend who decided not to do any work since he's gonna go US at the end of the year in J1 (not included in the stats above though...) and one of my S'porean friend who was my classmate in RI ....and one of the teachers was always coming to class & saying "Your class would have been top or among the top if not for certain individuals...." ....ironic isn't it? You can't blame S'poreans for being kiasu sometimes...even scholars themselves are so kiasu!!! (it's probably an Asian culture...haha)

sighz.... :( bad memories....but still I think I had great fun :D in JC...with my CCAs...was in ODAC, Lion Dance & Vortex, a science magazine....so that resulted in me going home every day on the average at abt 8pm!

but still in the end, managed to pass As comfortably & now I'm in the UK :D Gotta thank my parents alot for sending me here....hehe

So back to the point, just wanna say that you can choose which way you wanna go but the end result depends on you I guess...sorry it sounds so "cliched" but that was what came out from my experience...think the stress that I had to undergo did hurt my confidence but I hope I'm bouncing back now....haha

[ElansarGelmir]

RI - Sec1 to 4(1996-1999)
RJ - J1-J2(2000-2001)

Really salute you that you can cope up in RJ ...
i heard it's a tough JC, where you have lots of GEP (or something like that, forgotten liao - it's for gifted people) classes there. By the way, is it true that certain students in RI do weird stuffs so as to help them in their studies? Like i've a scholar friend who told me that these guys took off their nails for better blood circulation and stuffs... How true is this?

[Hush]

Thanks a bunch to lilet and ElansarGelmir. I was kinda lucky to get the ASEAN scholarship.

It's okay, lilet. I am always open to positive and negative comments. At least, I will have a fair judgement on what I may go through later in SG. I am always concerned with the people I am gonna meet in SG. That would be my greatest fear.

Maybe I was rather lucky to do my A-Levels in Taylor's College instead of doing it in JC (if I were offered the ASEAN Pre-U Scholarship...anyway, I failed to get it two years ago). I did Cambridge A-Level, but I daresay it is not as demanding and tough as SG-Cambridge A-Level. At least, I was not obliged to take GP. Hehe. If not, I wonder how I would survive. I am pretty bad at writing.

By the way, ElansarGelmir, ASEAN scholarship does not carry any bond. So, I am still just bonded for three years under the Tuition Grant because ASEAN pays the fees after the subsidy.

[ElansarGelmir]

By the way, ElansarGelmir, ASEAN scholarship does not carry any bond. So, I am still just bonded for three years under the Tuition Grant because ASEAN pays the fees after the subsidy.

Funny, my friends told me that way. I also read it from the Star ad that it's a bonded scholarship. Dunno .... [shrug]

[weich]

cool....the GEPs may be a bit weird to some ppl....but I've never heard of ppl pulling out their nails for better blood circulation....although I've heard of an ancient practice of making a hole in the skull for better blood circulation...but that again was not practised in RI....haha

[chenchow]

I have been in RJ for seven months in Jan to Aug 2000. I would say that I enjoy my life there too, although I think I am happy that I choose to come back and spent a year in OPP and now in the States.

I would say that the stress level is up to each individual. It depends on how much you put your load. I guess in JC, especially at RJ, the workload is not that heavy. The stress comes from your own expectation. Where you hope to stand? How good performance were considered good for you?

For me, I was involved in a lot of cca's back then in RJ, the same as my time in high school, OPP or currently. I guess those cca's like the Rafflesian Debaters that keep my time very occupied. I took those opportunities as a learning opportunity for my english. My english was horrible, so that was a good learning point for me, to debate to those college debaters. I spent 3 evenings per week (3 - 4 hours each and Saturday on debates, besides being SL for ASEAN Scholars... Ask Jiin Joo, Ying Ying and others who have been SL, it is a blast~! Imagine those countless meetings at Raffles Place MRT stations...

I would say that the experience is very worthwhile, going overseas and explore. I would say that the experience of Malaysia Night there was fantastic... You may actually get to see Malaysians singing very patriotically during Merdeka. You hardly can see that spirits back in Malaysia. One of the benefits are that Malaysians are pretty united when we get overseas. We are all Malaysians after all.

Lets get back to the decision making. I would say that the statistics given by Jiin Joo of about 250 scholars to 10 scholarships are pretty apt. I think for my batch, the figure is even lower. Not too sure, but I would think that it is about 5 scholarships only, so do the math~!

I would say that if you get JPA or other scholarships and you get a good program, jump on it~! Since, you have got to experience life in Singapore and now you get the chance to experience life in Malaysia and overseas. Life in INTEC is very memorable, I assure you. Not everything is perfect, but those are golden memories. Imagine those countless nights that we sneak out to have supper at Sunway, Subang and try to open the door at 2am and drive in... thanks to topdog for his car...

If you have gotten a not-so-desirable program (by your own criteria), then choose. If you go through this program, you will be assured of a scholarship to get the major of your choice. This is especially true for medicine and pharmacy. If you stay at ASEAN, odds are you would not get a chance to go for medicine or pharmacy in Singapore. So, either your parents pay or you get another scholarship for medicine/pharmacy (which is very very difficult), then you choose base on this basis.

I would strongly advise those who are unsure to come back and experience the life in INTEC, Mara Banting, Kolej Matrikulasi Yayasan Saad or other preparatory centers for at least a few days and decide. When you decide, choose properly. I have seen many who look at the hostel at Cemara/Akasia and they decide immediately that they want to quit. I have known of many who eventually decide to stay after much persuasions from seniors and they count their blessings that they do not make their decisions without careful thoughts.

The choice is yours. Make your choice properly. Make your considerations very well.

[lilet]

Thanks for everyone's help in this issue. Since the deadline is over, I might as well as tell about how the AJ JC1 ASEAN scholars cohort has chosen, though I can't be that specific.. :lol:

Most of us, including me, are accepting the scholarship and will be staying on until we get the results from the other scholarships that we applied for. It's a pretty good guess that we will definitely leave Singapore if we get a better offer, but if the offer is not what we want, then we will have to make other considerations... :wink: Let's say that we are unfortunate, and we don't get any other offers, then most probably we will stay on in Singapore and brave through this two years of A Level. :lol: Some who can't really cope might choose to terminate the scholarship at that point too, and pack up, leave Singapore! :D Yeah, not forgetting pay back!

Only one or two of us who accepted it are kinda confirmed staying here for two years. Guess Singapore is not really a very popular choice for A Level (for normal people, at least! :) )

I only know of two who have rejected the scholarship. Two guys, to be exact. One will be taking up A Level in Taylors, if my source is correct. :lol: The other one, I am not so sure of cause he doesn't stay in the hostel but outside with his relatives.

I guess this is all for now. Is there anyone who is going to try out for the second intake ASEAN scholarship? I know of a few who are. Wonder whether I should encourage them or not? :roll: :D

[z]

if they have the time and resources, why not?
just apply and try. it's a good learning experience (applications... interviews...)

i said earlier that i encourage ppl to take up the offer and experience Singapore. however, for 2nd intake, i'm not sure if i'll say the same thing. i want to point out that it's not an easy task adapting to a new fast-paced environment, more so when you're not starting fresh with everyone else. JC has started and people already have their own social circles.

1. evaluate one's character (social skills... adaptability...)
2. evaluate one's potential of getting other scholarships (e.g. JPA)

[ElansarGelmir]

For me, I was involved in a lot of cca's back then in RJ, the same as my time in high school, OPP or currently. I guess those cca's like the Rafflesian Debaters that keep my time very occupied. I took those opportunities as a learning opportunity for my english. My english was horrible, so that was a good learning point for me, to debate to those college debaters. I spent 3 evenings per week (3 - 4 hours each and Saturday on debates, besides being SL for ASEAN Scholars... Ask Jiin Joo, Ying Ying and others who have been SL, it is a blast~! Imagine those countless meetings at Raffles Place MRT stations...

I dunno what RJ debaters had done, but they sure spurred lots of angers into other JCs. In last year's pre-u sem, the RJ's debaters were bombed by 3 or 4 Jcs, and the most aggressive one was from SRJC. Haha, but the fact that the Rafflesians can still stand there and defend their opinions was something to be revered. Albeit I think the RJs deserve their credits, many JCs were not happy with their answers.

Well, i dun care that much, as long as no one's trying to shoot down my beloved VJC... go VJ spirit!!!

[john_doe_85]

Ai... Thanks to the relative lack of Internet access in OH, I'm left to read this post after Friday, deadline for acceptance... Oh, well... Anyway, glanced through the posts and here's my responses to some of the issues. I'm a present J2 ASEAN scholar at AJ.

I strongly agree that stress is a phantom that can only exist in the mind. It is definitely up to that particular person if he or she wants to face this tormentful "stress". Some J2 scholars I know, they take life easy and don't really think about the competition. There are plus points and minus points but it then becomes up to the person how s/he wants to balance it. Just remember that stress will follow you whereever you go but you are still the ultimate judge of how much you want to accept. Anyway, the stress gene is important because without it, humans would have had shorter life spans as they will face no stress and fear when put in a dangerous situation and thus act foolishly (ie commit suicide).

As for the mass posting of scholars in AJ and SA, it's more of to push the ranking up than anything, so I would believe. In any event, competition for the top 5 (though I'm not too sure about TJ's slip this year) is stiff with the 'O'-level results being quite good all the time, so scholars might not be able to enter the system at the top level. MoE also intends (secretly) to push the ranking of the other lower JCs to force the top 5 JC to not be complacent. Furthermore, the JCs like Raffles have this infamous Rafflesian spirit and it becomes a culture for them, something that takes time to inculcate in new students. New scholars might probably just break down under the double culture shock of Singapore and RJ, plus miss home - a cocktail that only spells misery. Better if the direct scholars are sent to neighbourhood JCs like AJ.

It's also a gimmick, this thing about helping the region by giving bond-free scholarship (Oh, btw, the ASEAN-undergrad scholarship is bond free but the Tuition Fee grant has a 3 year bond). At the end of it, they hope that you'll fall in love with the place, enjoy the Singaporeans and their way of life (which by the way is not very entertaining in general) and eventually get a PR or citizenship. There's nothing wrong in being a PR, just, do it after the NS period (ie, over 21 or 24) or else you'll be subjected to NS in both Malaysia AND Singapore, if you're unlucky and silly.

On the whole, I would believe that Singapore has its benefits. You get a better education because the 'A'-level syllabus here is more in tune with the region plus you get a nice CV at the end of the day. However, you'll have to weigh this against the cost - mainly time. In terms of time, you become ineligible for UK admission since you would miss the deadline. You'll also see people younger than you if you decide to continue abroad overseas. You spend a lot of time in your marriage with the college if you decide to partake in active CCAs and this may give you insufficient time for yourself, for you to develop yourself on your own in subjects that you are interested in. This aspect of 'Self-Directed Learning' is crucial to me because one must break out of the mould of a system that tends to produce standardized students. It gives you the X factor that others don't have. Alternatively, you could be in a slack CCA (like me) and have lots of time to play with.

However, if you have decided on a course, and you know that Singapore can give you a quality degree, than stay in Singapore. The 'A'-Levels here will prep you for the drastic culture shock and you'll fare better once you know your way in and around the geography and the system. If you do get the JPA, then I would suggest that you go back to Malaysia and continue on there since the award of the scholarship is much more worth it. But if you're dying for the taste of challenge, then Singapore would be perfect for you. Ignore what the locals say about our mysterious super-intellectual power; you are an ordinary person. They just want to place themselves in a position of lower confidence, and that is to your advantage.

Most importantly, smile always. It's always nice to be in a happy mood cos no one else gives two hoots if you're not. :D

[ElansarGelmir]

As for the mass posting of scholars in AJ and SA, it's more of to push the ranking up than anything, so I would believe.

I'm sorry, what I wanna ask you is just out of curiosity, not to mean a personal attack or what. If mass posting of scholars is to push the ranking up, then why would those whose O Levels did not achieve certain grades (for scholars) will be sent to SA? Wouldn't that degrade the school's ranking rather than helping them?

MoE also intends (secretly) to push the ranking of the other lower JCs to force the top 5 JC to not be complacent.

From what I've heard (from my teachers and other JC seniors), it's school principals that decide how many scholars intake they want, and they are the ones who select the scholars, not MOE. That's why u see HC is so packed of scholars from China... it's due to the school's policy, i guess...

[chenchow]

On stress level of ASEAN Scholars, perhaps comparing my life at RJ and currently at Cornell, I would say that the workload right now in Cornell is way beyond what I had in RJ. RJ life was pretty alright, at least I get to go to bed around 11pm every day. I would not say that the life is stress free, but I would say that it is not too overwhelming. In fact, I find the time studying for SAT1 Verbal much more stressful than the life at RJ.

[lilet]

Thanks john_doe_85, or should I call senior :wink: , for your very informative and special point of view. It's an amazing thing to be able to maintain such a happy-go-lucky mood in Singapore! :P Though i must say most of the juniors now are like that too, but the real JC life hasn't really begin yet, has it? :lol:

From what I've heard (from my teachers and other JC seniors), it's school principals that decide how many scholars intake they want, and they are the ones who select the scholars, not MOE.

Yup, I think that's true too. I kinda remember the principal himself saying that he wanted to "accept more scholars in AJ" to pull up the rankings. Ironically, scholars are deemed to be SuperBrains who are perfectly capable academically... :lol:

Now that the current decision making period is over, maybe I should change the discussions in this forum to talk about a student's life in Singapore. Maybe those seniors before me out there would like to share your interesting experiences, should it be good or bad, in Singapore, so to let us, the juniors, understand what is it like in Singapore at a much further depth.

Maybe I should start first! 8) I've got one super embarrassing story to tell (maybe not that bad from another person's point of view, but enough to make me feel like digging a hole, crawl into it and never come out again! :D ). It was kinda during my first few days in Singapore and I went out alone. It started raining suddenly so I didn't have a choice but to take a bus. Being the person who seldom had to take public buses (have to admit that I've never taken a public bus on my own before... :oops: ) and worse still, I wasn't at all familiar with the bus Ezlink Card system, I tried to go up the bus from the middle entrance. That was definitely, not permitted! I was like "huh?" 8O and then the people on the bus (to the sueh-est of luck, the bus was very full!) were staring at me as if I am an alien of some kind... :?: Finally, a girl told me, "Miss, you can't go up the bus from the back." :roll:

Not a very nice experience, though it was a slight one... Haha... :wink:

[ElansarGelmir]

No experience is better than having mass dance. In fact, in Victoria, we always have mass dancing sessions at least once a month (especially when we're running out of money for shopping)... Haha ... it's fun though. Good way to burn those fats, especially for Tribal Dance

[lilet]

Dancing huh? Yeah, seems that it is kind of a necessity in JC's and maybe other education institutions too, in Singapore. Is dancing this popular too in Malaysia's institutions?

One thing I know is that Secondary Singapore students get to have Prom Night when they graduate. Too bad not many schools have this back home. :roll:

[ElansarGelmir]

Malaysia schools having mass dance? Then you have to wait, i guess. Even for our university prom, i think the girls have to wear baju kurung .......

[z]

i remember spending more weekends with Malaysians than Singaporeans... kinda regret... a little bit lah... coz bonding with Malaysians is cool too. so definitely do balance the time you hangout with singaporeans and foreigners (like your fellow countrymen).

JC was fun for me because i had the opporunity to do things i've never done back in high school at home. i felt more involved in extra-curricular activities and i definitely did learn that in JC clubs/societies, commitment is crucial! ppl really do put in a lot of time and effort in running organizations, which probably is the case too for other malaysian students, but i don't know because back in my high school there's too much politics/cronism/nepotism going on (well... not like i didn't benefited from that hehehe). but the point is, starting fresh in a new environment, i got the chance to start a new life, do something different, and make a difference.

[DecentMerson]

There's nothing wrong in being a PR, just, do it after the NS period (ie, over 21 or 24) or else you'll be subjected to NS in both Malaysia AND Singapore, if you're unlucky and silly.

hehe... alas... the long awaited john doe is back..... or izzit ali is back....

just wanna say that the first generation of immigrants dun have to go for NS....
(reads, if u are emigrate to Singapore at the age of 23, let say.. u dun have to go for NS because u are the first generation.... ur children will have to go for NS) :P

[john_doe_85]

Ya ya, Merson... I'm back... Was just scanning the forum and so happened I bumped into this one so decided to open my mouth. 1st Generation PR last I checked is subjected to Singapore NS... =) Don't think they need to do reservice though if they didn't go through BMTC. Anyway, you can check the wording at the official Statutes of Singapore Website. Quite good. Speaking of which, YOU are also subjected to NS in Malaysia if and when they decide to enlist you. :)

Hmm... Quota for scholars set by principles... :?: That would be new to me... Oh, btw... Flow-through scholars can now choose the top 12 JCs to go to. My reference to posting of JCs was mostly for direct scholars as I believe flow-through scholars use the JAE system. For direct scholars, so far I have hypothesized that the better ones usually end up in the AJ, SA, AC though I could be wrong due to the inadequate sample size. :D

Ah, when you learn to live life, you'll learn that mistakes are integral to experience making. Don't be ashamed of them, just learn what you can from them. Who knows? Tomorrow you might just save yourself from another "embarassment" from the lessons that you have learnt. One advice from me, though. Learn your way around Singapore cos you won't know when you might want to go sailing at Sembawang SAF Yacht Club. :D

[jiinjoo]

Wah got lot so responses! Clap Clap. I'm gonna have a super busy semester ahead, this is probably my last post in a long time to come.

But what do you mean by "continue giving tuitions in singapore"? Do you mean that you started giving tuitions even though you were still at A Level? But we are not allowed to do any form of work, right?
You can cheat if you can cope! I knew some who did. I didn't, i.e. I wrote wrongly - it should have been "I started giving tuitions" instead.

Also, I am sorry but I didn't catch a point in your post - what did you do to get you overseas? Did you manage to get a scholarship from Singaporean sponsors or you are on private funding?
Yah - pardon the short form I used in my "life summary" paragraph. I'm on EDB scholarship overseas (SIS or "S'pore Inc" scheme, with partnership from ST, and my parent company is SCS). They just reminded me that I owe them half a million if I break my bond.

Globalization, i suppose...the PRC students are more abundant and have same quality (if not better)...
It's more like, I'd rather see SG turn into a state of M'sia rather than a province of China. Ok chill dude... Ignore this remark if it sounds weird :D (hint, you play civ III before? remember cultural conquest?)

err... quite true that the direct ASEANs to top JCs like RJ and HC are relatively lesser than others like SA and AJ... the reasons??? no idea... but definitely not for good...
It wasn't like that. Directs in the past were only sent to the top 6 JCs. You can dig your old newspaper collection and they promise that in the ads they put on The Star etc. Rumor has it that we don't "deserve" it, but who's there to judge a person capabilities anyway?

actually i prefer FORM6 than ASEAN, but that's another story...quite a sad one....
Tell leh...

I am sorry if all these posts in here give such a negative view of what study life is like in Singapore

Let me give a parallel to this. Consider boot camp. In a standard military training, all new recruits go through boot camp. Its where you get all those shit from your officers, teasing you, punishing you for no reason, make you and other recruits do stupid things, eat mud, take all the blame, do all sorts of physical activties to tire you out and then demand the hell out fo you, until the end of the day, your ego shattered, your pride destroyed, your hope for a bright career in the army blurred.

Then somewhere in the middle you start to ask yourself, "Why am I here? What am I doing here?" The answer is usually, "I want to be a soldier." Also, somewhere in the middle fo the training you'll start making bonds with new friends from the recruit. You'll help one another out, since there's no one to hang on to, you'll see through one another's wishes and you swear that you'll put your life on the line for one another. You start working as a team etc. you get the picture.

The person who told me this was a doctor. He felt the same way when he was going through medical school, and it was one fine day 3am in the morning while starting at a thick book and a skull that the question strucked him: "What am I doing? I want to stop this torture - why did I choose to go through medical school?" Answer? Nothing hard: "I want to save people." And so he went on studying and fighting through med school.

Yes it is "just a degree", A-levels being step 1 for some. But like I said, to "succeed", it's not sufficient to "pass" A-levels. In a competitive world, you'll probably need to be good enough to at least get in to the university.

In a way getting bad results in school has totally shattered your ego. We are all high flyers in our own schools aren't we, number 1 in Batu Pahat, Taiping and Kuantan. After that go to RJ bottom of the class. I was in a M'sia Math Olympiad team 5 months before I got my first failing grade for Math ever in life. Fortunately I wasn't that much of a top student in my high school since it has always been full of powerhouse figures, and I just went along and intensify my effort. However, some took it real hard - they stopped studying, playing games all the time, simply waiting for this 2 years to be over with, or waiting for MOE to kick them back so that they don't need to pay, and just wasted they times (except gain lots of experience in StarCraft). When a person's ego is hurt, it takes a lot of guts to rebuild them. It was a painful lesson I learnt from living with all these people.

Do you want boot camp? :wink:

so...i decided to stay in S'pore for my As....although my parents warn me that it's gonna be tough in S'pore.....after my sis's experience in Hwa Chong.....haha
Your sis had a GOOD TIME in Hwa Chong ok - we went Coffee Bean at Six Ave so the very often man... :P

"Your class would have been top or among the top if not for certain individuals...."
Man, good old days - does anyone has that short movie clip of the RJ teacher scolding the PRC kid that circulated around the net until it become a debate in sg parliment?

MoE also intends (secretly) to push the ranking of the other lower JCs to force the top 5 JC to not be complacent.
That's pretty new to me. I guess that makes sense too. But it has to go many ways. The other JCs are not as well funded as the current top 6 simply because they don't have the kind of alumni donations enjoyed by the top 6. You'll understand what I mean if you've ever toured RJ campus or Hwa Chong campus. (well they officially don't exist anymore anyway)

However, you'll have to weigh this against the cost - mainly time. ... You'll also see people younger than you if you decide to continue abroad overseas.
And what's the rush may I ask? To start work sooner? :roll:
You'll see younger students overseas anyway - if you did Form 1 to Form 5, then you're already older than most American kids.
I agree with your Self-Directed Learning philosophy, and I don't think that has much to do with whether the A-levels is long or short. It's a mentality built into a person. In fact, by forcing one to be part of some CCA, one is going in the right direction of developing oneself in the way of his or her liking, instead of waste away precious time.


And to the topic of becoming S'pore PR / citizen - to me it is slowly morphing in to some "formality" gesture, which has nothing to do with passion, dignity and love. I know a Kashmir reporter who would always answer "I'm from Kashmir" when asked of his origin. And when pointed at his Indian passport, he always smiles and say, "this is only a booklet of convenience". His heart belongs to the hills of Kashmir, and it is Kashmir that he will call home.

Wish everyone enjoys the process of choosing and walking down their own path as much as walking the planks with your graduation gowns.

:mrgreen:

[lilet]

You can cheat if you can cope! I knew some who did. I didn't, i.e. I wrote wrongly - it should have been "I started giving tuitions" instead.

Really? This kind of thing can't be kept secret for a long time, can it, at least, not among the rest of the scholars. Unless, all of them are very co-operative? :lol: But seriously, you guys actually have the free time to give tuitions? Is it during JC1 or JC2?

I'm on EDB scholarship overseas (SIS or "S'pore Inc" scheme, with partnership from ST, and my parent company is SCS). They just reminded me that I owe them half a million if I break my bond.

Since you got a scholarship from a Singapore organisation, then you should be quite well acquainted with many of the scholarship offering organisations in Singapore. Am I correct? :) If so, can you tell me more about what are the chances of scholarship open to the ASEAN scholars once we finish our A Level here?

It wasn't like that. Directs in the past were only sent to the top 6 JCs. You can dig your old newspaper collection and they promise that in the ads they put on The Star etc.
If I am not wrong, the latest advertisement on ASEAN said that we will be admitted into one of the best junior colleges in Singapore. Not top 6, if my memory is working.. :lol: But anyway, I definitely can remember that the MOE officer at the venue where I took my selection test said that we will be posted to the top "8" JC's in Singapore and even showed us the list of the JC's she mentioned.


DecentMerson wrote:
actually i prefer FORM6 than ASEAN, but that's another story...quite a sad one....

Tell leh...

Yeah, tell lah... :D

Do you want boot camp?

Nope, definitely not! :lol:

Man, good old days - does anyone has that short movie clip of the RJ teacher scolding the PRC kid that circulated around the net until it become a debate in sg parliment?

What about this? Anyone care to enlighten me about this movie clip which was once so in demand? :)

Wish everyone enjoys the process of choosing and walking down their own path as much as walking the planks with your graduation gowns.
Haha.. I was told that at my sec school's Prize Giving Ceremony last week, the students got to wear kinda like graduation gown... Missed out the fun, though one of the "models" told me that the experience was very "hot"! :D

[ElansarGelmir]

jiinjoo wrote:
Man, good old days - does anyone has that short movie clip of the RJ teacher scolding the PRC kid that circulated around the net until it become a debate in sg parliment?


What about this? Anyone care to enlighten me about this movie clip which was once so in demand?

No idea ... What's it, Jin Joo?


jiinjoo wrote:
It wasn't like that. Directs in the past were only sent to the top 6 JCs. You can dig your old newspaper collection and they promise that in the ads they put on The Star etc.

If I am not wrong, the latest advertisement on ASEAN said that we will be admitted into one of the best junior colleges in Singapore. Not top 6, if my memory is working.. But anyway, I definitely can remember that the MOE officer at the venue where I took my selection test said that we will be posted to the top "8" JC's in Singapore and even showed us the list of the JC's she mentioned.


Yeah, now scholars are posted to the top 8 JCs, where as flow throughs can be posted to the top 12. Anyway lilet, do you know what's the JC's current ranking? i mean the latest one...
First??? RJ? Or HC? how about 3rd? Hopefully still VJ, or at least it maintain the top 5

[DecentMerson]

jiinjoo wrote:

DecentMerson wrote:
actually i prefer FORM6 than ASEAN, but that's another story...quite a sad one....

Tell leh...


Yeah, tell lah...

sad story ler... u ppl are so sadistic... hehehe... i need a long weekend to write it down... and WARNING....it is going to be long... really long.....

[lilet]

Yeah, now scholars are posted to the top 8 JCs, where as flow throughs can be posted to the top 12. Anyway lilet, do you know what's the JC's current ranking? i mean the latest one...
First??? RJ? Or HC? how about 3rd? Hopefully still VJ, or at least it maintain the top 5

As far as I know, the listing goes like this:
1. Hwa Chong JC
2. Raffles JC
3. Victoria JC
4. National JC
5. Anderson JC
6. Temasek JC
7. Anglo-Chinese JC
8. Saint Andrews JC

Only the positions 5 and 6 changed, used to be the other way round... Go AJ!!!! :D

sad story ler... u ppl are so sadistic... hehehe... i need a long weekend to write it down... and WARNING....it is going to be long... really long.....

Haha.. let's all enjoy the long and traumatic story! ~Clap Clap~ :lol:

[ElansarGelmir]

Yeah lar, u didn't even tell me ...... What lar ..... Is it becoz u memang anti Singapore?

[weich]

jiinjoo wrote:
Man, good old days - does anyone has that short movie clip of the RJ teacher scolding the PRC kid that circulated around the net until it become a debate in sg parliment?

hmm....guess RJ bad press is circulating around the internet huh? haha....btw, for all those who didn't know, this RJ teacher scolded this PRC guy pretty badly...., and threw away his book or something like that....and another guy with a PDA with those video-recording function recorded it all down & posted it on the net.....so the news spread around until it reached the press....and then there was something like a national debate on whether teachers should scold their students like that...and so the boy was called up & asked to remove it from the internet...which he did....and again there was another debate....on whether he did the right thing to put it up in the 1st place....

think that's it...but it happened last year if i;m not wrong..haven't seen the video...but asked my juniors in RJ abt it...haha :D

[ElansarGelmir]

1. Hwa Chong JC
2. Raffles JC
3. Victoria JC
4. National JC
5. Anderson JC
6. Temasek JC
7. Anglo-Chinese JC
8. Saint Andrews JC

Huh? AC dropped? TJ used to be 5th, then last year AC 5th. Well, at least AJ is catching up. Haha, way to go, VJ!!!! Dun care if it's 1st or second or third, as long as she maintains her tradition and spirit!

[el_empty]

goodness, do remember that rankings have absolutely no effect on your performance and your future, unless you plan to be employed/trapped in a singapore system. when i went to acjc (class of 00) from acsi, it was then still a less-than-oustandingly ranked school. i scored enough to take me to rj or hc or any jc and any class i want, but i chose acjc. why? that's another story.

and i can say that i did fairly well in acjc. i still worked hard. i still played hard. i played sports. my choir competed in finland and won a world grand prix. i did this did that. and towards the end of my jc years, right before i was to sit for the a level mocks, i got a scholarship to study here in the states.

and the rankings had absolutely nothing to do with it.

and as for those who debate whether singapore is a good place to be or not, it's really what you make out of it. it's really just an adaptation issue. you know.. you masuk kandang kambing you menguak, you masuk kandang kerbau you moo. i personally enjoyed it because there was some real meritocracy going on and plenty of healthy competition. your only responsibility is to stay alive and sane. if you have the right attitude, i don't see how you can succumb to your environment.

congrats on being where you are! enjoy while still there. (there's only one real mamak place in singapore... and that's at the tanjong pagar train station... hah hahha... so far from malaysia, yet so close)

[weich]

hmm....i think prata house in macpherson & jln kayu also mamak what... :D

but the one in train station got all the ktm staff...so more Malaysians eh?

[john_doe_85]

Erm... I do think there's a misconception about the ranking. It's not released till August each year. And MoE no longer ranks the JCs due to various reasons. One would be that the education system esp at the JC level is diversifying and that since some do IB, some do A-levels, and some design their own tests, then the academic score is very hard to gauge.

In any point, last year's "ranking" was TJ 5th, AJ 6th, AC 7th, SA 8th...

[ElansarGelmir]

goodness, do remember that rankings have absolutely no effect on your performance and your future, unless you plan to be employed/trapped in a singapore system. when i went to acjc (class of 00) from acsi, it was then still a less-than-oustandingly ranked school. i scored enough to take me to rj or hc or any jc and any class i want, but i chose acjc. why? that's another story.


Some have their reasons to choose to go to other JCs. I have a friend who stay at Jurong East and he was accepted to VJ, but he go to JJC instead because of the travelling problem. Some choose to go back to their (i dunno what do you call that) schools with their old name - like ACSI go to ACJC and RI goes to RJ. Many people have their preferences... But one can't help feeling proud of their schools for their excellent academic performance, rite? I mean, if your school produce a large number of students getting straight As for S papers, u would have felt happy for your school, rite? So that's what's ranking all about. To show how many students in the school excel in their A'Levels

[gal_flower]

yo asean ppl!!! (or ex-asean for the matter) :D

i was from NJC...haha...din hear anything from NJC ppl so tot i shud contribute.. :)

actually i dont know much abt asean scholarship...saw it in the newspaper, applied for it coz my parents say i wont get it (haha.. did it to spite them)..went for the test the weekend of the end of our spm paper n soon, receive the fated poslaju saying i haf a place in spore.

my reaction?! burst into tears of joy!!
maybe some of u would find it hard to comprehend. i do know ppl who hate asean tad they r simply in denial that they have ever been there. me? i love the place very very much and it was devastating to leave.
let me explain...

i'm not very well off. if i had not gotten asean, i would have been stuck in form 6. i know u guys r thinking, 'hey, wads wrong wif form 6". well, where i come from (i am from kuching), form 6 is hell, esp since my school has juz started form 6 science stream n my batch will be the guinea pigs. i would never have been able to afford private college. and mind u all, i'm one of the few who never expected to get straight A1s (seriously, i suck)

i din miss my family much (or at all) when i was there. only at times like when i spent CNY alone in spore (no flight) n during the SARS break (i spent it in spore alone again) do i really really miss my family. i think i haf written abt tis in another forum. i love spore to bits and pieces. Yes, i admit, i am PROUD to be a malaysian. whereever i go, when i introduce myself, the first thing i say is that i'm from malaysia. i love the education system, contrary to some ppl. to me, they r offering something i cannot get back here. discipline n yet thinking learning. real learning. and the abundant opportunities. yes, everything was planned systemically for us, but i find it comfortable. in fact, i haf little to complain abt spore. could be the fact that i'm from NJC n life there is a little different. and my hostel is TCHBS (the chines high boarding school). ya, curfews suck and all tad...but all in all, i haf to say i enjoyed myself.

(i may b repeating this)
i tried out cheerleading, loved it, ended up in the school squad.
i was going to represent my college for track n field.
i was abt to start a research attachment wif IMCB, spore.
i was CIP rep, i was doing community service, i was doin PE n sports (my fav).
not to mention the endless activities..
i admit, they drain my energy...
but there is such a thing as satisfaction when u really sweat..
i think most athletes will agree wif me abt tad...

y i left? :?:
simple.
i don think i could haf done tad well to get another scholarship to get my degree.
my parents really cannot afford it n there was the jpa scholarship waiting for me.
free education. overseas.
poor ppl like me do not choose by heart.
painful reality.
but i haf learnt to live wif tad.
i am going to US!!!
yippee! :!:
tads comforting enuf :idea:

[el_empty]

hey congrats gal_flower! and well said too.

as you might have already guessed, i enjoyed singapore too. perhaps i was a little lucky too; being able to live in the acsi boarding school - it was so much nicer than some of the condos i've seen in kl. it took me exactly 28 seconds to walk to acsi, and i could also take a quick bus ride to clementi to chow, or head to the other direction to ghim moh market (and hang out with the rj crew).

hahhhh.. those were such good memories. *sob*

[ElansarGelmir]

i love spore to bits and pieces.

Not all scholars will say this... Yeah, some people just do not enjoy their stay there. Pity though. I really miss my stay there... Especially those mass dance sessions ...

[lilet]

Hmm.. now I see all the positive comments on Singapore coming out by the many... :D

Anyone considering doing the traditional thing? Go back to Singapore, find a job there, get married with a Singaporean and live happily ever after in Singapore? :lol:

And yeah, like ElansarGelmir said :"Not all scholars will say this... Yeah, some people just do not enjoy their stay there."
Those who get to leave Singapore usually leave with big, huge smiles on their faces.. :D

[el_empty]

Man, good old days - does anyone has that short movie clip of the RJ teacher scolding the PRC kid that circulated around the net until it become a debate in sg parliment?

hey i just realized i have the video - had it a while but it was buried somewhere in the F:/

it's quite retarded. if you think about it it's quite funny (unless it's you). so do you guys want it? if you're ready for this terror, goto
http://mlim.web.wesleyan.edu/rjc

enjoy..

[el_empty]

oh, r-click and save it so that you can blow up the size. double the fun

[topdog]

wow what a tigress. so what happened to the teacher and the student after that incident?

[wwhong]

s'pore, really bring "happiness" everyday as what is being sing in the song

[lilet]

T_T T_T T_T T_T

I downloaded the file but I couldn't open it.. The woes of having to use hostel computer... Can't install any new programs even though those available are not up to date..

s'pore, really bring "happiness" everyday as what is being sing in the song

What song do you mean?

[wwhong]

not sure about the title but i heard it in the cultural show here. something like a tourism promotion song and sing by kit chan if i m not mistaken.

[lilet]

Haha.. really? Singapore brings about happiness? :D How true do you think that is? :?: Have to admit that they (Singaporeans) seem quite happy usually.. :wink: Or at least, those students in my school does... That's good, I think...

[lilet]

One newest update on ASEAN - the second intake results are out~! Congrats to any ReCommers who got the scholarship and for those who didn't, try consoling yourself that you won't have to go through the pressure cooker~! =)

Anyway, those who got it and still are considering whether to accept it or not ( I am not very sure about the deadline to submit the acceptance/rejection form, but should be in a few days ), maybe you can go through this forum all over again or tell your friends who got it to come to ReCom too~! =) Hopefully this will help in your decision-making~! Oh yeah! Who ever is posted to Oldham Hall and wants to come here, you'll see me~! =)

[gal_flower]

lilet, r u like the only asean year 1 who knows abt tis website?

[solace]

stumbled upon this while wondering what in the world my brother does on the computer (as such this is his username). always thought of applying for ASEAN after form 5, but am now thinking twice. Olimpiad and Failing Math? *gulp* Then again, SG sounds so FUN (multiply by kuasa lapan tidur). 'tis sad, for I can't even understand the terrors of DGE and Beza Keupayaan...what more to say...SG MATHS. *dies* -_-

[jiinjoo]

Identity Theft!! Gosh! Report police!!!

:)

yee--aw--yee--aw--yee--aw--yee--aw--yee--aw--yee--aw.....

[chenchow]

solace's brother or sister, welcome to ReCom~! Register yourself here and you won't need to use it secretly from your brother...

[david_david]

When will the second intake arrive???

how many are there???

They won't kick out anyone for the first intake right??if they wanted to they would'nt have confirmed the first intake"s scholarship???

i think they have to catch up a lot

[aquila]

wow... lilet... given the amt or work in spore.. i'm surprised u have time to be on the internet... :P

[gal_flower]

ya...so active wor....last time i hardly got time to use internet...coz can only use at the schoo library n i took triple science combi so everyday class till 5....

[tracyl]

hi, i got the second intake.. i think i will b going while waiting for jpa..
oh my letter is kind of strange, it says that the scholarship is tenable in junior colleges in singapore (excluding the top 8 jcs) hmm
does that mean i'm a flow thru candidate? cuz i won't b posted to top 8 jc ma..
i dunno what's a flow thru candidate, i just read it in this forum. so, can anyone explain what's a flow thru candidate?
i think i will post again when i know which jc i will b posted to..

[ElansarGelmir]

hi, i got the second intake.. i think i will b going while waiting for jpa..
oh my letter is kind of strange, it says that the scholarship is tenable in junior colleges in singapore (excluding the top 8 jcs) hmm
does that mean i'm a flow thru candidate? cuz i won't b posted to top 8 jc ma..
i dunno what's a flow thru candidate, i just read it in this forum. so, can anyone explain what's a flow thru candidate?
i think i will post again when i know which jc i will b posted to..

LoL
flow through scholars are scholars who were there since Sec 1 or Sec 3, and they continued their scholarship in JC. For us who took SPM in malaysia and then go to Singapore for JC, we're called directs. Hmm... I heard that other JCs are also receiving scholars starting from this year. Anyway, the pressure in the not top 8 JC is not that high, so you can "live" there comfortably.

Lilet, you don't have any CCAs? I'm so packed up with my CCAs so much so that I have to use my free periods to do my assignments. Tutorials - I have to leave them blank. Hard to find time for them.

[chenchow]

I think it is nice that LiLet find time to join ReCom and share some of her free time over here~!

Tracyl, Congrats for getting ASEAN Scholarships and good luck for getting JPA Scholarships.

Tutorials in JCs do not need to be submitted right? Although it is good to work on it. aquila and gal_flower, guess you guys were very involved in activities over there...? Because for me, life over there was quite free, at least relatively much more free compared to now...

[ElansarGelmir]

I think it is nice that LiLet find time to join ReCom and share some of her free time over here~!

Tracyl, Congrats for getting ASEAN Scholarships and good luck for getting JPA Scholarships.

Tutorials in JCs do not need to be submitted right? Although it is good to work on it. aquila and gal_flower, guess you guys were very involved in activities over there...? Because for me, life over there was quite free, at least relatively much more free compared to now...

There are rumors (and wide assumption) that Raffles students need no heavy work nor pressure, coz they are smart liao. Is that true, chen chow? no wonder you are so free...

[aquila]

i was in hwa chong la woi... and then singing in the choir too... had to practice 7 hrs a week on a normal week and more than 10 hours when we had a concert coming...

was doing triple science on top of that... u heard about hwa chong's killer bio dept?

yeap so that was how i got so caught up with work... and found it extremely hard for myself to breathe..

one interesting experience that i did have in hwa chong was the malay iq quiz... we won first place! yay! haha... the finals were shown over suria tv... was quite an experience going to the studio and everything...

[gal_flower]

Me? haha...lets juz say if i had not accepted jpa, i'll haf a BIG headache trying to decide wad to drop n wad not to!

my research attachment would haf been one hell of an experience, one leading to science fairs n competitions like ISEF etc...but i never got the chance to start tad so i don noe....

triple jump...i don noe...i was juz goin to represent my college...

cheerleading....tad was real fun! practices every alternate days...long hours...tough work out...but fun! my team went on to win 3rd after i left...1st n 2nd was from ngee ann polytechnic....they r the pioneer ones...

interact club...ran for leadership posts, but had to drop coz of other obligations...crazy man....at least i was still the community involvement project representative for my class...

my studies...let's juz say i had a lot of help from seniors....n the tutors were great...my fellow NJCians n i used our lunch breaks to do our tutorials n assignments...haha...we ate peanut butter sandwiches which we snuck out from our hostel's cafeteria....kill two birds wif one stone.. can study n save money!

conclusion: IT WAS FUN!

[lilet]

lilet, r u like the only asean year 1 who knows abt tis website?

No, I am not the only one here, just that I am the only more ?active? one, I think? =)

When will the second intake arrive???

how many are there???

They won't kick out anyone for the first intake right??if they wanted to they would'nt have confirmed the first intake"s scholarship???

i think they have to catch up a lot


Second intake will most likely arrive from this Saturday to Monday. If I am not wrong, the dateline should be Monday, then Tuesday they will go for MOE briefing and start JC on Wednesday.
How many? I am not sure~! =)
Nope, they won?t kick anyone out from 1st intake lah, unless you flunk very badly in the upcoming common test.. =)
Yup, they have to catch up a lot and it?s gonna be bit difficult for those who have been slacking ever since finishing SPM 2003~! ;-)

wow... lilet... given the amt or work in spore.. i'm surprised u have time to be on the internet... :P
ya...so active wor....last time i hardly got time to use internet...coz can only use at the schoo library n i took triple science combi so everyday class till 5....
Lilet, you don't have any CCAs? I'm so packed up with my CCAs so much so that I have to use my free periods to do my assignments. Tutorials - I have to leave them blank. Hard to find time for them.
There are rumors (and wide assumption) that Raffles students need no heavy work nor pressure, coz they are smart liao. Is that true, chen chow? no wonder you are so free...
Tutorials in JCs do not need to be submitted right? Although it is good to work on it. aquila and gal_flower, guess you guys were very involved in activities over there...? Because for me, life over there was quite free, at least relatively much more free compared to now...

To aquila ? Yeah, I am also quite surprised that I can find time to go online.. I feel that the past few months is still ok but nowadays, lectures finish faster than I can finish my tutorials so I am kinda slow already~! =)

To gal_flower ? Same for me too~! I usually use my break times for Internet in the library, but have been sacrificing my internet ?minutes? for homework, CCA and PW discussions. ~sigh~ sometimes have to say goodbye to my lunch pula cos really need to come to ReCom ? I proudly admit that I am a ReCom addict~! =)

To ElansarGelmir ? I do have CCA?s, but maybe they are the low-key a bit kind one. Yeah, they ? I?ve got two of them~! Project Eureka, which is a Science CCA and Current Affairs, something like what we do in ReCom, discuss and share opinions~! =)

Tutorials in JC?s NEED to be submitted~! At least, in AJ you have to when the teachers ask you to. But normally we will discuss it over first and then only submit, but still, we have to complete all of them~! Yeah, according to Chenchow who was in RJ, he doesn?t have to submit his work. Dunno whether is it still the same there or not, but I feel that submitting and not submitting each have their pros and cons, though right now I would rather that I don?t have to~! :-)

? Hmm... I heard that other JCs are also receiving scholars starting from this year. Anyway, the pressure in the not top 8 JC is not that high, so you can "live" there comfortably.

Yup, the top 12 JC?s are getting scholars. True that the not-top-8 JC?s life is relatively easier ? this is my conclusion from observing some ?specimens? in my hostel and first intake Singaporean friends~! =)

PS : sorry for the extra long post cause my current frequency of logging into ReCom is quite low (very high compared to some others~! ^_^ ) so have to do everything at one go~! =)

[ElansarGelmir]

i was in hwa chong la woi... and then singing in the choir too... had to practice 7 hrs a week on a normal week and more than 10 hours when we had a concert coming...

was doing triple science on top of that... u heard about hwa chong's killer bio dept?

yeap so that was how i got so caught up with work... and found it extremely hard for myself to breathe..

one interesting experience that i did have in hwa chong was the malay iq quiz... we won first place! yay! haha... the finals were shown over suria tv... was quite an experience going to the studio and everything...

Not only HC choirs are like that ler... On public holidays, i heard most choir groups will be practising for 12 hours... Hehe... Never know that u're very active in HC, too.... i'm in the triple science too, and on top of that, i'm in the VJ's CT council... Almost the same as Student Council, but we handle minor stuffs like teacher's day, CNY celebrations, fun fairs, and help the student council out. That's why you can imagine me going back everyday at 9 pm (after council meeting and banner painting), do some assignments, then sleep, coz the next day would be another long day. Made me appreciate weekends and public holidays...

[jiinjoo]

Student council is extreme fun :) too bad i was absorbed in to other things at that time, kinda regret now though.

5 hours is not long lar friend, in fact i was disappointed at first when i join HC band - coz too little practise and too low standard. And that is already more than 5 hours per normal week. But later I understand why it is 5 hours and not more (school work and other commitments etc.) as compared to my high school band which practically takes at least 10 hours of my normal week, and 24*7 hours when crunch time comes :) (yup, skip class, skip meal, skip sleep, practise only... sigh i miss high school...)

[gal_flower]

tutorials for nj is like kind of 'haf to do'...i noe of ppl who don do them la, but my tutors seem to always discuss the tutorials n expect us to go up to the board to solve the questions....so 'haf to do' lo...
but bio is 'must do'...once, 16/20 of my classmates were sent out of the room to stand outside coz din do tutorial...luckily i was sitting inside (not coz i did it, coz she tot i did it, whew!)...another time, she walked out of our class...man, ganas!
i guess tads y nj is call mugger school lo...donno...but i don remember myself mugging la...my seniors definitely didnt mug....they say before their A-levels they were so sick of studying they were juz playing computer games....

[deaf-knee]

so anyway yay I got my own identity, now you can no longer call me an identitiy thief! :) haha anyway I'm solace's sister. hi to all.

[tracyl]

hi.. so i'm not a flow thru candidate~ hahaha now i know~
anyway, thanks for telling me the meaning.
i'm posted to catholic junior college hostel. Does that mean that i'm gonna b posted to catholic junior college as well?
ya, mayb i get to live comfortably there by not being in the top 8.. muahahahah!

[chenchow]

I think there is a good possibility that you will be sent to Catholic JC~!

p/s: deaf-knee, you should go to introduce yourself thread and introduce yourself and get active in ReCom~!

[gal_flower]

definitely catholic junior college! well, congrats...i donno much abt CJ, but my roommate in spore was from CJ...but i do know the principal n he's real nice...oops! i forgot his name! he's a catholic brother...n he's really nice...i went out for lunch wif him n my fren who was from CJ hostel...oh! at CJ hostel, i heard, u will haf quite a nice close-knit relationship wif the other students there....tads wad my fren liked abt CJ hostel...

[aquila]

Hey, are you the two ATU10 folks who came back from Spore A Levels? I think some faces are coming to my mind right now. I'm so incredibly bad with names and faces. So please introduce yourself. I remember one tall girl with long hair, danced for the ATUSA prom. Is that gal_flower? And who are you Elensar? please refresh my memory. BTW, ask me if you do not already know who I am?

Also, where are the two of you heading this fall?

Actually, being the master procrastinator that I am, I probably wasted most of my time chatting with my "beloved" roommate, Clarinda till 3 am in the morning. Haha, funny and yet warm experience. Sleeping on the table, twitching our eyes in the pitch dark room, lighted only by our table lamps, waking each other up on those all-nighters, cursing the matron, cleaning the bathroom, complaining about Chinese High food, watching indian movies with sia scholars... !!!

Oooo, you're going to love it here in the US. So many opportunities and yet none of that crushing pressure you face in Spore. Personally speaking at least. Clare and I were cursing HC all the way to KL. Muahahaha! Yes, that's how much we hated the place! Ya,ya start telling me how you all love Spore. (And so that's why you decided to come back to Msia right? :P)

[ElansarGelmir]

Hehe, I'm from VJ. I doubt that you know me coz I think I kept a low profile among the ASEAN scholars (but not among my JC and TJ). I think I know a few guy seniors during the prom night coz they were the first few there went I reached the ACS Barker. They were with a girl, however, but i dun remember all their names (sorry lar, bad memory wad). Was that you? Hmm... No idea. Anyway, the prom night was kinda grand, except for the food which i dun think was sufficient to feed everyone, so my friends and I resorted to eating at some nearby shops (really ex ler). And the DJ's choice of songs... Hmmm... Should I say there was a large room for improvement. He/she (dun remember either, sorry) should have alternate the slow rock, pop, and fast songs instead of playing all slow songs, then all fast songs...

Ok ok, shouldn't talked so much about the dance night since I just had a dance or 2. For your info, Aquila, DecentMerson's also from ASEAN. He's from Anderson JC. There are 2 more from NJ and one more from HC who got JPA scholarship.


Ya,ya start telling me how you all love Spore. (And so that's why you decided to come back to Msia right? :P)

The reason why i left Singapore? GP! Almost flunk my mid term exam. Got C6 for it. yeah, i SUX at GP... Even the teacher's comment (on my essay) is longer than my essay itself. But take away the stress, I think life in Singapore is superb. Can do lots of stuffs which I've never done, or dreamed of doing before... Supposed to learn kayakking, but too late liao. Got to come back to INTEC. Sigh!

I'm heading for Brandeis for Biochem. Chiun Lim's there, right? I think he's doing his Masters there, so I'm still vacilating whether i should follow him to Master in Biochem in Brandeis or do double major/degree there. What recommend you?

[aquila]

Elensar, which prom are u talking abt? I'm talking about the ATUSA prom last yr lar. We didn't have a dance party. Don't think it was allowed anyways. What's ACS Barker? we're really sorry about the shortage of food. We actually had one extra table for all the performers. Unfortunately, too many people turned up. Actually, I should say fortunately. Coz the turnout was so overwhelmingly superb! I remember we had to open three more tables. Over 200 seniors turned out for the prom. Quite a number to be proud of. I coordinated the performances, if that helps you identify me.

Anyways, Hoong Chuin is in Brandeis. Doing biochem. I didn't know he's doing his masters. That's really weird. Hmm...

You were at the INTEC orientation, no? Me, ar? Remember the stupid game in which you have to write a news report based on fake scenes. I was in one of those acts. The threesome. The wife of the datuk who had a mistress.

Other than that, don't think I saw a lot of the juniors. Anyways, can anyone describe Jaclyn to me again? Short hair, long hair? Short, tall? I'm trying so hard to recall. She bought my books and yet I can't remember how she looks like.

[ElansarGelmir]

Oops... I was talking about ASEAN dance... Hehe, thought we were hitting on the same topic [malu]. If so, then you definitely don't know me coz I wasn't there at all when you were in Malaysia. I'm a second intake (sob sob, didn't get 1st intake coz of an A2). Btw, is my senior Hoong Chuin Lim or Lim Hoong Chuin?I thought it was the former. Hehe...

[chenchow]

ElansarGelmir, guess you have to get used to the way names are written over here. First Name + Last Name.

I think Hew Mun from ATU 7 is doing Biochem (can't really remember her major) in Brandeis.

Our year(2000) ASEAN Senior's Night was at TangLing Center. Turnout was great, but again same problem, lacking of food. It seems that the lesson was not learned. But I think one of the main problems is that the organizer is trying to cut cost, as all J1s has to subsidize the cost for J2s. For our year, it was like $15, no thanks to those JC principals who block our rentals, based on forbidden from MOE, Singapore.

[tracyl]

just wanna ask, the money given $200 (by asean) enuf to cover all expenses or not? or need more money from parents??

[chenchow]

You are talking about the allowance for JC level right?

I would say it depends on how you spend it. You get free dinners on weekdays and free meals on weekends besides the $200. So, basically the $200 will be for various expenses, like transportation cost, which I think is around $30 per month (you may not need to spend this, if JC is very near to your dorm), lunch is typically about $2 per meal, so $40 per month typically. However, there is a tendency of your classmates going for McD or hawker center a few times per week during lunch break, so that would cost more. And also for phone, I am not sure how much it costs now, during my time, it was 39 cents per minute.

And it also depends on whether you go out and watch movie, play bowling etc... So, it is all variable. And also some photostating cost etc.

When I study there, I spend on average $150 per month. Some may find that $200 is barely sufficient for half a month, some may think it is sufficient for 2 months. So, it all boils down to your spending habit.

[DecentMerson]

ElansarGelmir, guess you have to get used to the way names are written over here. First Name + Last Name.

I think Hew Mun from ATU 7 is doing Biochem (can't really remember her major) in Brandeis.

Our year(2000) ASEAN Senior's Night was at TangLing Center. Turnout was great, but again same problem, lacking of food. It seems that the lesson was not learned. But I think one of the main problems is that the organizer is trying to cut cost, as all J1s has to subsidize the cost for J2s. For our year, it was like $15, no thanks to those JC principals who block our rentals, based on forbidden from MOE, Singapore.

hahaa.. worse on our year, ASEAN nite 2003.... bcoz there's only a single intake of Juniors...the 2nd intake is cancelled due to the outbroke of SARS... and i think we have to collect S$18 from each Juniors...

so... with insufficient fund, we have to cut down on everything...

the turn out is better than expected... the food...(really not enuff as the trays of food go empty in minutes) but the dance is fun... the dj and sound system is good enuff... the music is too load though... luckily ... those filthy rich ppl around ACS BARKER didn't make a police complaint....heehh

[lilet]

On the $200 that we receive every month, really depends on how you spend lah... If you think you want to go on a shopping spree, then surely not enough money, but if you spend normally, should be enough except that for the first few months your spending may be more than normal cause you will have to pay for all the miscellanous stuff like misc school fees (I am paying $18 per month), travelling (will be cheaper when you get the concession EZlink card, but without that, the travelling cost is absolutely fantastic! =) ), food, other school expenses (files, class fund, photostate n such) and the most costly one, handphone bill.

[DecentMerson]

I AGREE....

with 200 dollar a month, i can still go shopping for a shirt once a fortnight.... hehe... bcoz i dun own a hp...

i think i spend most on idd call cards and local phone cards... i do make hell lot of phone calls bcoz of the various activities i involved...
and i make a long distance calls back home like once in two days... kekeke

once u got ur student ezylink card, u will be able to save like 75% of ur travel expenditure...

so.... plan well and spend well...

[gal_flower]

Hey, are you the two ATU10 folks who came back from Spore A Levels? I think some faces are coming to my mind right now. I'm so incredibly bad with names and faces. So please introduce yourself. I remember one tall girl with long hair, danced for the ATUSA prom. Is that gal_flower? And who are you Elensar? please refresh my memory. BTW, ask me if you do not already know who I am?

Also, where are the two of you heading this fall?

Actually, being the master procrastinator that I am, I probably wasted most of my time chatting with my "beloved" roommate, Clarinda till 3 am in the morning. Haha, funny and yet warm experience. Sleeping on the table, twitching our eyes in the pitch dark room, lighted only by our table lamps, waking each other up on those all-nighters, cursing the matron, cleaning the bathroom, complaining about Chinese High food, watching indian movies with sia scholars... !!!

Oooo, you're going to love it here in the US. So many opportunities and yet none of that crushing pressure you face in Spore. Personally speaking at least. Clare and I were cursing HC all the way to KL. Muahahaha! Yes, that's how much we hated the place! Ya,ya start telling me how you all love Spore. (And so that's why you decided to come back to Msia right? :P)

ya, i'm tad tall gal who danced for ATU nite...elansar only came in second intake so the seniors wont know him...i'm bound for uni of chicago

[ElansarGelmir]

$200 is absolutely not enough for me... Not to say that I'm a spendthrift, but with such food provided in Dungeon Hostel (Dunman High school Hostel), we're bound to get our meals elsewhere. And they don't cover for our lunch. And in my JC, sometimes we have 2 lunchbreaks perday. So i tend to eat twice perday (kinda bad habit, but can't help eating those ice jellies). And during first month, transportation fee was sure expensive. Spent almost $30 a week on the transportation. Then when the student EZ link came, travelling expenses were way cheaper.
Anyway, a little tip from my senior (if u dun want to do that also it's ok). When u're supposed to interchange 2 buses (this only applies to SBS buses), when u alight the first bus, scan your EZ link card (most students don't bother to), then if the second bus comes within 15 minutes, the fare will be 35 cents instead of 45 cents. Doesn't make much difference, though.

Oh yeah, i spent most during the June hols. During the SARS outbreak, we the unlucky batch were not allowed to return home. So have to stay at Singapore. And then got to change hostel somemore. So got to buy miscellaneous stuffs like brooms, new things... Somemore got Grand Singapore Sale. Costed me about $500 that month. Luckily the past few months I saved about $30 a month. So can cover up a little the extra expenditures for June. The rest got to use parents money. Wah, dunno in US will i become this extravagant? Hope I won't burden my parents that much.

[tracyl]

thx for the information given on the money stuff!! :P
i'm going to sg tomorrow!! wish me luck k?
i think i'll find out myself if 200 is enuf .. hahah! hopefully i won't be a spendthrift!!

[ElansarGelmir]

U're going to CJC? Hmm.... Congrats then. However, do becareful. THe abortion rate is rather high there, followed by HCJC (which do not want to lose the rank to CJC). Hehe...... Ever heard of the light bulb joke?

[gal_flower]

elansar..u should not b scaring her like tad...it's not really wad ppl think lo...i;m sure she has good sense to not get herself into tad kind of stuff :wink:

[ElansarGelmir]

Hmmm... Maybe i'm too concerned that she might experience cultural shock there? anyway, it's just for safety advice... dun be daunted arr... As long as u know what u're doing, then that's fine. Enjoy your life there... Hehe.... Anyway tracyl, there's this flow through - Leu Jin, or something like that. I think he can help u around abit if u need any....

[tracyl]

i'm here already!! the hostel is like damn strict!!! n it's very stressful here lo!! ... haighz... when is the jpa thing coming out??
for cjc.. at least my clss quite friendly lo~ :) i did my SPA test today!! aiks.. didn't write anything!!
wish me luck ar!

[chenchow]

tracyl, hopefully you will get used to it. Once you get used to it, you will be fine~! Guess it is just the transition and you are getting in 4 months late. But you should be able to do the catching up. Good Luck~!

[gal_flower]

yeah....at first it may seem so difficult coz things r a bit foreign...
but no fear coz tis feeling will go away..jz do ur best! best of luck!

[ElansarGelmir]

And have fun with your CCAs. :wink: They are the things that get me looking forward to the next day...

[lilet]

Yeah, one thing important to remember - don't complain too much or you'll feel like hell in Singapore~! :-) Coming in as second intake sure has its disadvantages but do try to learn to accept the way things are... Some of the second intakers here are complaining all the way about their JC's and already thinking of going off... Not a very good attitude, I would think~! =)

[ElansarGelmir]

I thought complaining about Singapore is AJ's specialty? Coz i heard that lots of AJcians complain about ASEAN. Even during my ASEAN orientation, i was place with a bunch of AJ seniors, and they kept telling us that we had made a big mistake of accepting the scholarship and that we should go back and stuffs. I couldn't help rolling my eyes and smirked to myself "Then why are you guys still here?"

[DecentMerson]

I thought complaining about Singapore is AJ's specialty? Coz i heard that lots of AJcians complain about ASEAN. Even during my ASEAN orientation, i was place with a bunch of AJ seniors, and they kept telling us that we had made a big mistake of accepting the scholarship and that we should go back and stuffs. I couldn't help rolling my eyes and smirked to myself "Then why are you guys still here?"

kekeke...hey...u can't blame those guys for complaining...u also came back from Singapore wat... and they are not aslucky as u and me... so .. just be a good listener... not everybody has another way out....and dun make general sweeping statement...

and actually, the seniors are just thinking aloud.... there's nothing good for them if we choose to stay or not...if we go, it won't do them good... mayb they just think that the juniors should not follow their wrong path... that's what they think... and i have heard seniors from other JCs complaining as well...


and i think this year should be a much better year...bcoz there's no any SARS...still remember the days... where my parents are so afraid...and 2 of my frens were ordered by parents to leave the scholarship and Singapore AT ONCE... and we have problem going back to Malaysia during the holidays... and wat more, we need to be separated in our hostel... and ontop of that, have to pay Sg$200 for the 10 days separation... i felt that i was mugged by the hostel...

why do they have to separate us when we travel from Malaysia to Singapore...I wonder...since Singapore is more seriously affected by SARS... they should separate Singaporeans from us.....

Just my 2 cents..

[ElansarGelmir]

Hehe, i came back with a heavy heart lor... That makes the difference.

[chenchow]

I think that there is not too much that you guys should stress out being 2nd intake. Although there will be school-based exams, what matters most is your A Level exams. That will be your D-Day and the other exams are just gearing towards it, right?

So, as ElansarGelmir said, enjoy your time that. Participate actively in activities. That's what kept me going over there~! and perhaps that's what kept me going over here too...

[ElansarGelmir]

Yeah, i believe without my CCAs, my life will be very monotonous. Imagine me walking back to the hostel at 6pm everyday, take a shower, take dinner, retire to my room to study and do my tutorials, then sleep, and the cycle goes on. That makes me almost a mugger toad. CCA's the thing that sprinkle our lives with some excitement. Yeah, we do have rows and quarrels, especially when too many ppl want to be in charge, but in the end, the sense of accomplishment from a project done together as a team is more satisfying than anything else (except for getting As for your midterm and A Levels). So, for the second intake, as much as you need to cope up with your studies there, do not neglect your PE and CCA too. Join one or two, even though they are not in the "active" CCA category.

[jiinjoo]

Even during my ASEAN orientation, i was place with a bunch of AJ seniors, and they kept telling us that we had made a big mistake of accepting the scholarship and that we should go back and stuffs.
Haha :D they do that? That's interesting!
Tell them to make sure they go somewhere else to study after A-levels then.

Imagine me walking back to the hostel at 6pm everyday, take a shower, take dinner, retire to my room to study and do my tutorials, then sleep, and the cycle goes on.
Frankly speaking, that's certainly something I miss a lot after a big roller-coaster ride in the past 4 years.

Knowing that tomorrow will be fine gives you a sense of security. Imagine yourself waking up in the morning, just to realize that your overnight simulation failed in the middle of the night, your roof started leaking again, the fridge is out of food, some stray animal dirtied your porch, your housemate have a serious hangover and is irritating you as you try to check e-mail just to realize that you missed the dealine to RSVP for an important party that you promised your gf to go, and just when things couldn't get worse, your car window got bashed this morning by an stranger.

No that didn't happen to me. I'm just contrasting the scope of things that you have to deal with everyday, with the rest abstracted away either by the sg gahmen, your school, or your hostel (most of you don't even need to do laundry!). And now you can go on to better things in life like CCAs where you get yourself some problems to solve :) Sounds like a good deal to me.

[ElansarGelmir]

Knowing that tomorrow will be fine gives you a sense of security. Imagine yourself waking up in the morning, just to realize that your overnight simulation failed in the middle of the night, your roof started leaking again, the fridge is out of food, some stray animal dirtied your porch, your housemate have a serious hangover and is irritating you as you try to check e-mail just to realize that you missed the dealine to RSVP for an important party that you promised your gf to go, and just when things couldn't get worse, your car window got bashed this morning by an stranger.

Do we get lots of this in the States?

[ElansarGelmir]

Yeah, VJ's soccer team won 4 -1. i dunno vs who. Juz know they won. To those who are still in Singapore, care to update us about the rest of the SYF and sports match there? Who won softball? HC?

[jiinjoo]

Do we get lots of this in the States?

I don't know. I've got this feeling that it happens everywhere except in S'pore :D

Life's about the unexpected - that's why it's fun! But too much fun makes Jack shiver sometimes. I'm experiencing the "graduation blues" now... you know, the lots of stuff to do before leaving a place thing? Sell/give possesions, plan vacation for family, last-minute rush for all the projects, exams pending, harnessing future contacts, cleaning, and getting ready for the next phase of life etc. I'm just longing for a good night sleep that's all, and I've been tweaking the alarm clock to wake up at different times over the pass few weeks. In S'pore, I didn't change the alarm time at all for the entire 2 years. It's always the same. I just have to turn it on and off. My body got so good that I wake up 5 seconds before the alarm rings so that I can turn it off. ...

Yes. I should be doing work... going off now, probably won't be back till 21 June or so :)

[lilet]

Hiya all~! Finally finished my Common Test and got a bit time to go online. =) Really missed hanging around in Recom~! Luckily, holidays are around the corner so I get to rest more, hopefully so~! =)

Anyway, just to tell if anyone's interested, 3 of the 13 second intakers here in Oldham Hall went back already after two weeks. 2 girls and 1 guy, Malaysians, 2 from KL and 1 from Kuching if I am not wrong. Why? Cause they got sent to Nanyang JC and they complain that NYJC is too slack... ;-) They went down to MOE to request for a change of JC but not surprisingly, their appeal was rejected. So, they decided to pack up their bags and left since they couldn't get the 'high quality' education that they want.

[ElansarGelmir]

Hmmm... Perhaps they were hoping for the old top 8 JCs. Do you think that there's a possibility they are being brain washed by the people around them, like "NYJC is not a top school, blah blah." Hmm... How would you feel if you're in NY? But i don't think they have ever wanted a taste of HC/VJ's life. Like what Jin Joo said, the routine's pretty much the same everyday. And there's no spices to it, except for CCAs.

[gal_flower]

i guess there IS a diff between the 'top 8' n the rest in a way...my roommate was not from the top 8 where as the other 2 roommates r...its juz a little diff...not only tad...the not 'top 8' jcs probaby haf no experience dealing wif asean scholars...i think tads really important...the top 8 jcs haf had asean scholars since ages...so the tutors noe wad to expect n how to deal wif them n their expectations...i mean, seriously, i would want no other jc than my jc if i was given a choice...NJC ROCKS!!!

[ElansarGelmir]

Hmmm... Can we recruit more Malaysian ASEAN scholars here?

[Zeroth]

Asean scholarship gave me a nice experience. I was sent to SAJC for six months, and i had the time of my life! hehe! well, the studies sure are tougher, and i realised that back here in malaysia, the A levels aren't that tough like there.

My opinion, just opinion, if you got JPA or anything, come back. Its quite difficult to score another scholarship to continue your studies. Plus, there isn't much road to take if you're finiancialy unstable. If u can't make it to NUS or NTU, its somewhat gone case. If you're aiming for medicine, done stay, its nearly impossible. The places are very limited, i think its only 10 places, and you'll need to pay it. ASEAN undergraduate scholarship does not support medicine.

My opinion again, take the scholarship, try it for the first 3 months, its free. After that, come back for form 6 or something. If u can get scholarship, its good. If not, there's still IPTA to fight for.

[ElansarGelmir]

Zeroth, you're from SAJC? Which year? Hmm... do you by any chance know this guy called Koh Way Siong?

[Zeroth]

haha! I AM Koh Way Siong! Who are u then?

[ElansarGelmir]

Sher MErn lar! how did you get to know this forum?

No wonder ur nick satu macam... sounds very familiar lar... Zeroth from Darkwing Zero? Ermmm..... u like Zero?

[lilet]

Hmmm... Can we recruit more Malaysian ASEAN scholars here?

There are quite a number of Malaysian ASEAN scholars here. Among them who are from AJ JC1 are me myself, 10 Joules, BenLo, DramaQueen, axewhy, Alson and a handful more lah. Just that there are few posts doesn't mean that we aren't there. I bet more will come after this mess with JPA~! =)

[ElansarGelmir]

Any ASEAN scholars got the JPA scholarship?

[david_david]

from Ajc 7-8 got it

[gal_flower]

wow...tads a lot..wad abt other jcs?

[chenchow]

7-8 from 1 JC is a lot~! Usually about 7-8 for all JCs for the recent year.

[ElansarGelmir]

yeah lor.... last year, the total ASEAN scholars who got JPA is about 8-10 only...

[chenchow]

ElansarGelmir, I guess your number include those from 2nd intake right?

[ElansarGelmir]

ElansarGelmir, I guess your number include those from 2nd intake right?

should be kua... let me calculate

since there were no RJ directs that year
1 from HC
2 from VJ (1 girl rejected)
3 from NJ
1 from TJ
about 3-4 from AJ
and about 2-3 from SA

that's what i know lar... if there's any correction in the figure, please point out...

[chenchow]

how many of those are 2nd intakers...

[ElansarGelmir]

as far as i know, me and decentmerson are the second intakers... The rest should be from the first intake...

[lilet]

I dunno bout the rest of the JC's but 7-8 in AJ among about 24 students who applied for it is quite a large ratio, I suppose. =) Unfortunately, I am not one of the lucky ones. So, hopefully I'll be as lucky as ElansarGelmir and DecentMerson in my appeal. =)

[BenLo]

lol then again we do have a group of brilliant outgoing scholars in aj :) im gonna miss them...wish they wouldnt leave me here, stranded for another 1.5 tortuous years looking at the bloody phallic symbol and eating the same economy rice... blah.

best of luck to pei xin, shan khiun, ten, clem, yilie, whiny girl, grace and all the others...was a great 6 months. you'll be sorely missed.

[chenchow]

BenLo, LiLet, put in your best efforts in appealing. If there is anything that we all can help, we will definitely do so!!! Ask your other friends that didn't get to appeal too!!!

Congrats to your friends that get... Keep in touch with them. May be can ask them to join ReCom too!!!

[weich]

hehe....just a question?:

what made you guys apply for the ASEAN scholarship?

=)

Good to hear that there are lots of talented individuals being given scholarships from our govt =)

[ElansarGelmir]

lol then again we do have a group of brilliant outgoing scholars in aj :) im gonna miss them...wish they wouldnt leave me here, stranded for another 1.5 tortuous years looking at the bloody phallic symbol and eating the same economy rice... blah.

Hey, if you look at it from a non-AJC angle, i think you will sure enjoy your time in Singapore... In fact, life there is great... Most scholars from there miss the life there very much... Well, most, except for most scholars from AJ. Dunno why... It's been a tradition kua. Coz the AJs in UiTM also complained a lot when i first met them... No doubt that you guys would be left no wide option after your A Levels, but most scholars made it to ASEAN pre-U scholarships or other scholarships like A star and stuffs. So, it won't be that bad after all... And let me reiterate... 2 ppl from VJ (one senior and one from my batch) rejected the JPA scholarship to continue their studies in Singapore.

[vinkei]

I'm from SA, first intake year 2004
2 comments
SA doesn't really seem that bad after these 6+ months, though initially i've got a not-so-good impression of it. Although the academic quality may not be top notch, it's got good pastoral care. That could be one of the reason why MOE sends large batches of ppl there.

As for JPA results, as far as i know of very few of the SA ppl got selected for interviews. About 4 out of 20 plus went, if I'm not mistaken. So far 2 got it; myself and another who opted to leave SA after the first 3 months.
One NJ second intaker got it also.

[chenchow]

So, I guess about 20 ASEAN Scholars get JPA...10 AJ, 7 TJ, 2 SAJC, 1NJ...should be more right?

[ElansarGelmir]

I'm from SA, first intake year 2004
2 comments
SA doesn't really seem that bad after these 6+ months, though initially i've got a not-so-good impression of it. Although the academic quality may not be top notch, it's got good pastoral care. That could be one of the reason why MOE sends large batches of ppl there.

As for JPA results, as far as i know of very few of the SA ppl got selected for interviews. About 4 out of 20 plus went, if I'm not mistaken. So far 2 got it; myself and another who opted to leave SA after the first 3 months.
One NJ second intaker got it also.

Huh? DecentMerson told me the whole SA bunch got the scholarship? Hmmm... got to check with him again.

Anyway, i haven't heard any news from the VJ scholars yet. Got to update myself with my old pals...

[gal_flower]

ElansarGelmir, I guess your number include those from 2nd intake right?

should be kua... let me calculate

since there were no RJ directs that year
1 from HC
2 from VJ (1 girl rejected)
3 from NJ
1 from TJ
about 3-4 from AJ
and about 2-3 from SA

that's what i know lar... if there's any correction in the figure, please point out...

RJ got la...tis one gal from kuching....but she left straight after she saw cemara-akasia i heard....went back to RJ...

[ElansarGelmir]

Oh, ok. But i reckon that there is no direct scholars in RJ for our batch? Maybe my sources are wrong again. sorry

[chenchow]

They have been sending fewer and fewer students to RJ. During my time, we have 96 ASEAN scholars (J1 + J2, each 48 students), of which about 80+ are Malaysians

[david_david]

mebbe they think the PRC's are better :(

[DecentMerson]

They have been sending fewer and fewer students to RJ. During my time, we have 96 ASEAN scholars (J1 + J2, each 48 students), of which about 80+ are Malaysians


for our year(SPM 2002/ASEAN 2003), only 2 RJ direct ....

[ElansarGelmir]

I heard from Miss Tan Ai Hua's assistant that both the RJ scholars did not turn up?

[DecentMerson]

I heard from Miss Tan Ai Hua's assistant that both the RJ scholars did not turn up?

i think u heard it wrongly.... i think it should be only 2 of them turn up....

coz, one guy and one girl turn up... the guy was my exschoolmate... he is still there...

[DecentMerson]

hehe....just a question?:

what made you guys apply for the ASEAN scholarship?

=)

Good to hear that there are lots of talented individuals being given scholarships from our govt =)

what made me apply for ASEAN....
my parents asked me to apply, just want to see my standard.... where do i stand compared to Singapore's benchmark...

then, the next thing i know, i got the scholarship, got persuaded to pack my stuffs, apply for passport... and off i go... on Christmas Night itself.... ouch.....

[vinkei]

Guess that's one down thing initially about Asean.
Final results come in rather late, and there's not really much time to prepare before you get back there.
I guess one plus about the program there is that the quality of education is relatively higher than those offered locally. For all it's downs, I think the program there is okay in preparing one for the next level. Its a big world out there, and its prep-ground here.

[DecentMerson]

i dun see the program there has a higher quality in my 8 months of experience...

it is just more spoon feeding, longer hours of classes, more competitive environment... i think ppl are confused between (learning and seeking wisdom) and preparing for test...

i think the program across the crossway has a "higher quality" becoz it is a better prepatory course - for A-levels examination.... The teachers just want to see A's and A's is wat they want to see...

[chenchow]

Agree with decentmerson. It is very spoon-feeding the education at JC in Singapore is done.

In terms of teaching students on how to do very well academically, JCs have definitely done a good job. RJ has more than 50% students getting straight As last year in A Level. But is it what a wholesome education called?

While there are some students who participate in activities because of their interests, a good % join, because they count for their application to universities.

[gal_flower]

Oh, ok. But i reckon that there is no direct scholars in RJ for our batch? Maybe my sources are wrong again. sorry

there r 2 direct scholars la...remember? we met them during our first meeting at moe...when vj, nj hcjc n rj meet together

[ElansarGelmir]

Oh, ok. But i reckon that there is no direct scholars in RJ for our batch? Maybe my sources are wrong again. sorry

there r 2 direct scholars la...remember? we met them during our first meeting at moe...when vj, nj hcjc n rj meet together

Yeah, and i remembered kyle said, "None from RJ turned up arr?" and that guy, what's his name? said, "Yeah, unfortunately." maybe he meant turn up for that day's appointment. mistake again.

[ElansarGelmir]

i dun see the program there has a higher quality in my 8 months of experience...

it is just more spoon feeding, longer hours of classes, more competitive environment... i think ppl are confused between (learning and seeking wisdom) and preparing for test...

i think the program across the crossway has a "higher quality" becoz it is a better prepatory course - for A-levels examination.... The teachers just want to see A's and A's is wat they want to see...

But u have to agree that in the end, we learn more than what we would have learnt in Malaysia, rite? When i first did my Bio test, i was horrified looking at my marks - 10/35!!! and i looked at other directs. their marks were just about the same as mine. Later, we learnt that we could not afford to miss out a single point, even though the marks allocated is low, because the marking system is based on substracting marks on points which we dun have, instead of adding marks for every points u have. That forced us to know our facts in our finger tips. And yeah, though they spoon feed us, but they really drilled the facts into my head. every mark counts. That's why until today, i still have some concepts remain firm in my head...

[DecentMerson]

i dun see the program there has a higher quality in my 8 months of experience...

it is just more spoon feeding, longer hours of classes, more competitive environment... i think ppl are confused between (learning and seeking wisdom) and preparing for test...

i think the program across the crossway has a "higher quality" becoz it is a better prepatory course - for A-levels examination.... The teachers just want to see A's and A's is wat they want to see...

But u have to agree that in the end, we learn more than what we would have learnt in Malaysia, rite? When i first did my Bio test, i was horrified looking at my marks - 10/35!!! and i looked at other directs. their marks were just about the same as mine. Later, we learnt that we could not afford to miss out a single point, even though the marks allocated is low, because the marking system is based on substracting marks on points which we dun have, instead of adding marks for every points u have. That forced us to know our facts in our finger tips. And yeah, though they spoon feed us, but they really drilled the facts into my head. every mark counts. That's why until today, i still have some concepts remain firm in my head...

thanx for proving my point... see...
u said that becoz the marking system is based on subtracting marks on points which we dun have...

u are shaped to answer questions according to the marking scheme.... kekeke....

Sorry ,Sherm

[chenchow]

Why drill the facts, when you can answer exams with open books? Education in US is about open book....so stop your memorizing power from functioning if you are stepping to US...

[ElansarGelmir]

Hmmm... no prob, DM... i dun really mind spoon feeding either... in fact, i dun mind any method of studying as long as i dun have to read a lot on my own...

[DecentMerson]

i'm posting this msg so that this thread will re-emerge on the top of the pile...

those who want to read about these ASEAN info can find this 'buried' thread....

[el_empty]

maybe this thread can be made stick to stay on top with the scholarships info and others?

i loved my education in singapore man. just try not to miss home so much and not "piah" (work like crazy) too much.

[flibbertigibbet]

Hmm...gone is the chance for me to study in Singapore for free, forever I guess. I have been hoping to study there since form 1 but chances kept slipping me by (like finding out about the application too late). And now when I finally got the pre-U scholarship offer, I rejected it for fear of not securing myself a place in NUS for medicine after 2 years. If I were to go there earlier, say after form 3, I will have more time to adapt in the competitive environment. But to fight for a place in NUS in 2 years' time is just not going to work out for me.

Luck seems not to be on my side when it comes to education. However, will not wallow in regrets or self-pity and blinding myself from the other open doors ahead of me.

Thanks for the reply, DecentMerson and ChenChow.

[el_empty]

don't be silly. how do you know if you can't adapt? who knows you might even outshine the droney singaporeans. and with a levels you can always do medicine elsewhere besides NUS.

sigh... :(

[chenchow]

On performing well in Junior College, I think, if you work decently hard, you should be able to outshine most Singaporeans, after the initial first few months, when you take the time to adapt to the language.

On applying for medicine in NUS, you not only have to be on par with Singaporeans, but you have to be better than them. They do give Singaporeans priority. And one thing, there is no scholarship from Singapore to study medicine. So, if you plan to study in A Level and then get a scholarship from Singapore to study medicine abroad, I don't think I hear of any.

If you are looking at studying abroad after doing A Level, the chance is there, although not that many would get scholarship to study abroad in US, UK etc. On an average year, out of 100+ Malaysian ASEAN scholars that take A Level, only around 5-8 will manage to get scholarships to study abroad. Of course, this is more like observation type of number and not like some quota. Chances of getting into NUS/NTU for general courses, other than medicine, perhaps law and pharmacy as well, is pretty high.

[jiinjoo]

after the initial first few months, when you take the time to adapt to the language.
Huh? I thought they changed the requirement such that people who can't do English can't even get the scholarship anymore...

[el_empty]

in either case you have to work really hard, be it catching up in material or in language.

as for scholarship to do medicine in NUS, that's not entirely true. they have ASEAN scholarship for the university level as well, and it applies to the medicine faculty as well. just work hard.

this is what meritocracy is all about :wink:

[wawa]

For ASEAN scholarship for medicine in NUS, its very rare....about one or two per year only.

[mutterfricken]

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