2012 SPM students - interested in medicine

[WhitePhoenix]

I don't know much about the Sciences but I can tell you a thing or two about SAM. But before I go any further allow me to stress that perhaps A-Levels would be a safer bet as what you learn would be a lot more in depth than what you do in SAM. SAM students are more coursework inclined so there's a lot of research. You're hit with quizzes, assignments, presentations, assessments, coursework and/or tests every week for multiple subjects. You would be assessed throughout the entire duration so if you cannot afford to slack off. Everything accumulates to the final score and lecturers sometimes have multiple rounds to pick the best overall score for submission to the SACE board. It's a lot of pressure and my friends left SAM for A-Levels (but honestly I think A-Level students suffer A LOT more than us haha) Really depends on you and your study preferences/methods. If you prefer to be consistently accessed bit by bit SAM is a good choice, unlike A-Levels where you would be slightly more relaxed compared to SAM students before exams but once exam period comes you'll be a walking zombie. Good SAM students won't worry too much for their finals because the ratio is 70:30, meaning to say the 70% reflects on what you've done throughout the program (Coursework, assignments, presentations...refer above) So you'd more or less know your standing when you sit for your exams. For A-Levels you have 3 or 4 subjects and a 100% exam based assessment and those few days will dictate your 18 months of hard work. In SAM it is compulsory to take up 5. What you learn is not in depth as you are expected to do your own research, learning and growing individually and with your friends. The study load of an A-Level student is a lot heavier but worth it.

If you need to know anything about SAM feel free to ask me, but like the others have said above, I think it's your son himself who should be doing his own research. Others have been through SPM and did the same thing too - researching their respective future pathways, so there really isn't any excuse to at least try and gather up some basic information by himself. Spoon feeding gets us nowhere, we need to learn to reach out by ourselves so we can grow. Judging by the abundance of information, opinions and feedback provided by fellow recommers I guess he just needs to make an effort to get information about the courses from unis and start planning.

Ok now that you know more about SAM, I'd just like to remind you that SAM is mostly targeted at students aiming to continue in Australia, NZ, UK or Malaysia. If you are looking at US DON'T TAKE SAM as unis that accept SAM as an entry requirement are scarce. Better safe than sorry. I was a SAM humanities student and no one from my batch in my uni is doing medic. The closest is Pharmacy. For a SAM student to be considered good you would need an ATAR of 90 and above. Outstanding would be 99.95. My friend who's currently doing Pharmacy has an ATAR of 86 so yeah, you could probably gauge the ATAR you'd need to achieve to do Med. Good luck and I wish him well.

[frostbyte13]

Originally Posted by WhitePhoenix

If you prefer to be consistently accessed bit by bit SAM is a good choice, unlike A-Levels where you would be slightly more relaxed compared to SAM students before exams but once exam period comes you'll be a walking zombie.

Here's the catchy phrase that most students from the average SPM background may be interested to hear. No more gruelling tests on just one period of the year and no huge weightage on one exam. It got me really thinking about joining something like SAM/AUSMAT. That's before I noticed that for some of us who have been well grounded in techniques to study for SPM exams, we will find it difficult to have the paradigm shift. That's why I mentioned earlier that coursework is not all fun and exciting as it sounds ; because for the main fact that SPM lacks the preparation for these kinds of studying methods.

[WhitePhoenix]

Shoot. Just noticed a typo. Assessed not accessed, sorry!

Yeah it really depends on his individual preference but it's never too late to try something new. SAM students were once SPM students too so if they can adapt to the change I guess it's doable For me it was a welcome change. It wasn't that bad, you still get time for yourself. We somewhat touched on coursework during SPM level back then. PMR even. I recall these carry a small percentage of our grades. Remember PEKA for Science and Math? We had to do folios and presentations for Geog, Sejarah and Moral as well. Research and creativity are keys that impact your score. At SPM level it was folios for the stream subjects. We were essentially exposed back then and given a basic outlook on what to expect in uni. If he enjoys doing that and has no problems with dividing his time between those and studies then he should have no problem if he joins SAM. Well...It was at least interesting even though it was pretty tedious. Don't worry, I believe he should be able to adapt and adjust. Perhaps you may even develop a new study pattern that works better for you? Change is constant. You'll definitely need those so it's only a matter of time before you face the transition. The research skills acquired will definitely give you an edge to cope with uni. But like I said before, ponder upon the other valid and compelling factors mentioned by the others and choose wisely!

[kai_xxx]

hi buttercup!! since u've got lots of answers at here i will straight go to my point

malaysia has loads of medical graduates and the number is increasing every year. since the government doesn't have a policy to regulate the number of medical schools, medical students are churned out like no way before. 4000 fresh graduates in 2011. i've forgotten whether this figure includes those jpa scholars and overseas students, but it is surely going to increase in the next few years as some med schools haven't got their first batch graduated yet.

nowadays the quality of med schools and chances of getting into them are not the most worried concerns. the prospect of finding a job is. imagine housemanships is not guaranteed and u have to sign a contract for it! what to do then? spending rm200-300k for the tuition fees in private med schools and wind up fail to work as a houseman? do ponder on this issue before u make the decision =)

as for which pre-u programme is more suitable, i would go for a level and stpm. both are courses with wide scope of syllabus that normally covers what we learn in the first sem in uni (of course not in med school).
in my opinion i don't advise to take MUFY. why bother spend that money if u cant do housemanship in australia? i would leave that explanation to this thread http://pagalavan.com/2012/08/17/for-...soon-malaysia/

it is better to go overseas to do medicine nowadays, given the ever deteriorating quality in m'sia med schools. uk, australia, singapore are good choices if u have the $$. personally i would not suggest russia as i heard international classes are opened merely to earn $$. taiwan is a good choice also if u know mandarin.

no offense, the future of doing medicine in m'sia is not really bright. nevertheless, go for it if ur son has considered very well!! and good luck~~
u can read this blog for ur research, i found it very useful and informative about healthcare issues in m'sia http://pagalavan.com/

[buttercup]

Hi, guys. We went to the Star Education Fair yesterday. What do you say about Quest International University , Perak? They claim that they are recognised. Anybody studying medical at Quest?

[dttkwan]

Merry X'mas everybody! I have one question. My daughter registered for A-levels at Sunway UC just before the closing date last week but yesterday she received an offer letter from UPM for Asasi Sains Pertanian-laluan pantas. She applied via her school before SPM with her trial results. It's an 8 mth program (starting Jan 2013) and if results are good she will enter UPM for degree course in the same year. Her 1st and 2nd choices were Mathematics and Medicine respectively. Her worry is that if she is not given her choices at UPM later and also missing out on A-levels and the chance to further overseas. Your inputs is much appreciated. Thanks.

Kwan

[buttercup]

Hi, i think if you do Asasi Sains Pertanian at UPM you won't be able to do medicine. If you want to do medicine you had to do Asasi hayat .

[dttkwan]

Hi Buttercup, she didn't take up the offer at UPM. She was worried whether she would be given the disciplines of her choice upon completion of the program. As parents, we were also anxious about the environment at the campus and the hostel. She likes Mathematics more. She is now at Sunway doing A-levels. We feel that she made the right choice because she is happy there as the environment and lecturers there are good.

[fadz777]

May I ask which is better for meds career, Asasi/Matriks/STPM if I am targetting IPTA?

[Milo123]

Heard matriks is better but dunno bout asasi though..