Practical advice for STPM students to get scholarship

[happyspider1000]

I started this thread because the question concerning STPM school leavers and scholarship had become tooooooo long. (NOTE: this thread is written for the case of a STPM leaver who got accepted into a local university)

anyway some practical advices;

It is very hard to get scholarship in UK and US for undergraduates especially international students ( that includes malaysian). If you you are the " genius" type with straight A's with great extra-curricular activities participation, then you should have less problem getting a scholarship both from Malaysia government and abroad. For the rest of us not-so genius type, with As and Bs and maybe a few Cs, with only so-so Extra-curicular participations, chances extremely low to get a scholarship at undergraduate level, you have to remember there are students from other countries to compete with.

my advice; even if you get a lousy course in a local university (after appealing), TAKE IT. There are several reason for this.

1) It is actually possible to change your course after you get into the university, but it depends on your eloquence. the important thing is to get in first. It may take some time to change it, you may also lose one academic year ( you might have to start from the beginning after changing faculty or course) but it is POSSIBLE.

2) If you really aim to go to oversea (especially US and Japan), you stand a higher chance of getting admission plus some financial assistance ( note =not necessary a full scholarship) if you enter as a Graduate student i.e a Master course applicant. There are less competition and you getting a "higher" degree. Two birds with one stone. Draw back is that your total tertiary education would exceed 5 years ( for most arts student) and 6-7 years ( science students).

3) In reality, most employers ( except for professional e.g doctors, accountants etc) look at the applicant's confidence, possitiveness, eloquence, knowledge of what is happening around the world today etc during the interview. what you study is sometimes secondary. For example, an economic graduate who doesn't know about the latest world technological events are less favourable than a literature graduate who can tell you about the trend in mobile technology when applying for a job for Maxis Communication. READ READ READ ...no matter what course you are offered. I will give you a real example: i used to do part time in a major sporting outlet during form five, there were 3 store managers ( same gender, about the same age, and even graduate from the same university). one was a Business Management graduate ( very popluar course), one was Communication graduate ( also popular), the third was English Literature ( another man's poison is another man's meat). Anyway, who do you think is the most successful of the three? after a few years in the company the Comm grad eventually manages three outlets, the English Lit manages two and the Biz Ad gradute only manages one. That's something to think about huh?

Good Luck! (I guess after all the hard work, LUCK is the most important....but remember..."HE who labors (smart) shalt be rewarded"

[chenchow]

Thanks happyspider1000 for posting. But we have exactly a thread for scholarships after STPM.

http://recom.homelinux.org:8000/~rec...&p=24985#24985

So, this thread will be locked. Please post there. Thank you for posting in ReCom.org ~! I agree with what you write.