Posted in A-Level, Educational Advice, Personal, Schools

Between JC and Poly …

Should a O-Level grad choose to go to a JC or a Polytechnic?

Since many students and parents ask me this question every year, here is my opinion on the matter.

The answer is: It depends on several factors:

(a) Your method of learning;

(b) How sure you are about what you want to do as a career;

(c) Your strength in English and Mother Tongue;

(d) Which university you want to go to;

(e) Your level of self-discipline.

Let’s examine each one in detail:

(a) Your method of learning:

In general, if you learn more by reading, go to JC. If you learn more through hands-on activities and projects, go to Poly. If you learn well via both methods equally, go to part (b).

(b) How sure you are about what you want to do as a career:

In general, if you are undecided, go to JC. If you know what you want, go to
the Poly offering your course. For example, if you are sure you want to be a
physiotherapist, go to Nanyang Poly.

(c) Your strength in English and Mother Tongue:

In JC, you must take General Paper and Mother Tongue. If you are weak in English especially, you will suffer terribly in JC. In general, if you are not confident of vastly improving your English in a short time, go to Poly. Of course the Poly also expects you to write English well, but not at the level GP demands.

(d) Which university you want to go to:

If you insist on going to NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD or SUSS, please go to JC and work hard. If you go to Poly, you have to work extra hard to be the top 5 or 10% of your cohort or course, then you can be admitted to a local public university. However, SIT is a university that takes in lots of Poly grads. More than 70% of JC students make it to the local universities every year, so the chances of getting into the local universities are higher through JC than through Poly. If you go to Poly and don’t do well enough, be prepared to go to an overseas university (which is not a bad idea; don’t worry, money can be borrowed).

(e) Your level of self-discipline:

In JC, you are more supervised. Poly environment is like that of a university; you have to be more independent and responsible. I have ex-students from both sides regretting their choice, because they didn’t think about this issue.

There’s one more route that people often overlook: doing a three-year pre-university course at the Millenia Institute (MI). Bear in mind that only MI offers Management of Business and Principles of Accounting as A-level courses.

Lastly, please bear in mind that the above are just guidelines. Central to all forms of academic success is pure hard work and a thinking disposition.

I wish all O-Level graduates great success in their future endeavours.

Best Rgds,

Ilyasa

_______________________________________

TUITION CLASSES:

jcbutton          secbutton

ipbutton                    pributton

_______________________________________________________________

EDUCATIONAL SERVICES:

hwsupervbutton                   intensivebutton

alevelprepbutton                   olevelprepbutton

______________________________________________________________

By EX-MOE TEACHERS & EXPERIENCED TUTORS

@ BLK 644, BUKIT BATOK CENTRAL, #01-68. S(650644).

CALL 65694897 OR SMS 98530744 OR 97860411.

 

 

 

 

_________________________________________________________

Singapore Learner provides Group Tuition, Individual Tuition, Intensive Revision, Enrichment Workshops, Headstart Classes, Holiday Classes and Crash Courses at the Primary, Secondary and Junior College levels in the areas of Math, Pure Physics, Pure Chemistry, Science, Economics, and General Paper for the Singapore A-Levels, O-Levels and PSLE.

 

Posted in A-Level, IB

Which one to choose? The IB or the A-levels?

SCIENCE PRACTICAL TRAINING

H2 PHYSICS PRACTICAL

H2 CHEMISTRY PRACTICAL

H2 BIOLOGY PRACTICAL


 

I’ve had the privilege of teaching and tutoring students Math and Physics in both the A-level and IB programmes, so here I’m sharing with you my sincere thoughts on the two programmes.

Whether you choose to do the IB progamme or the A-levels depends on several factors:

(1) Your method of studying.

If you are the lazy type and you prefer to just study VERY intensively for three months prior to a high-stakes exam, then do the A-levels. If you can continually work hard and can cope with the pressure of being constantly assessed, then do the IB Diploma programme. This is serious. I have a student who dropped out of IB to do the the A-levels, precisely because he was not able to cope with being continually FORMALLY assessed.

(2) The university you want to go to:

If you are Singaporean and you intend to go to a local university such as NUS or NTU, it’s better for you to do the A-Levels. This is because you will be compared only with local students performing the same exam in your country, as far as I have been informed. At the moment, a lot of local students doing the IB are from ACS (I), who only take in students who obtained a minimum score of 247 at the PSLE or those who obtained an L1R5 of 5 (incl. bonus points) at the O-Levels. So not surprisingly, the average score at ACS (I) for the IB exams last year was a whopping 41.65! Do you know that a score of 36 and above in the IB diploma exams is considered excellent by educators?

Imagine that you have obtained a score of 40 in the IB exam. In the world, you will be considered a top student. But at ACS (I), you are below average! Thus you may find yourself rejected by NUS but accepted by Oxford or Cambridge University! This weird situation was first highlighted to me by a parent of my tutee a few years ago. She regretted sending her daughter to ACS (I) because although the latter obtained a score of 38 and thus a top student for the rest of the world, she was rejected by a local university (reason being she was below average for her IB cohort) and finally applied to do teaching at the NIE as she did not want to go overseas.

Thus if you are a local student and you intend to study overseas for your degree, then by all means do the IB programme.

(3) The breadth or depth of the subjects you want to learn:

Generally, the IB programme is broader in academic scope while the A-Levels is deeper. For example, when I was covering an IB Physics class, I was surprised to discover that they also learn Astrophysics and the Carnot Cycle, topics not covered in Singapore’s A-Level H2 Physics. Thus I feel that if you want a more holistic programme, do the IB diploma as you’ll be exposed to the Theory of Knowledge as well as doing a community service project.

The above are just my personal albeit informed views. What is clear and certain is that if you DON’T have a thinking disposition, you’ll do badly in either course. Good luck. : )

Rgds,

Ilyasa, M.Ed, PGDE, ex-MOE Teacher.

 

TUITION CLASSES:

Please click on one of the following:

TUITION FOR INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) MATH OR PHYSICS

jcbutton

ipbutton

 

Posted in Polytechnics

List of ‘Top’ Courses of Polytechnics (2012) in Singapore by net Cut-Off ELR2B2 aggregate

SCIENCE PRACTICAL TRAINING

O-LEVEL PHYSICS PRACTICAL

O-LEVEL CHEMISTRY PRACTICAL

O-LEVEL BIOLOGY PRACTICAL


O-LEVEL SCIENCE (PHYSICS) PRACTICAL

O-LEVEL SCIENCE (CHEMISTRY) PRACTICAL

O-LEVEL SCIENCE (BIOLOGY) PRACTICAL


The table below shows the list of top or popular courses of Polytechnics in Singapore by net cut-off ELR2B2 aggregate. The net ELR2B2 aggregate score includes CCA Bonus Points.

Course Course Code Polytechnics 2012 JAE COP
International   Business N85 Ngee Ann 6
International   Business S36 Singapore 7
Biomedical   Science S98 Singapore 8
Biomedical   Science N59 Ngee Ann 9
Veterinary   Bioscience N90 Ngee Ann 9
Arts Business   Management N91 Ngee Ann 9
Banking &   Financial Services N53 Ngee Ann 9
Engineering   Science N93 Ngee Ann 9
Psychology   Studies N77 Ngee Ann 9
Psychology   Studies T48 Temasek 9
Molecular   Biotechnology N49 Ngee Ann 10
Tourism &   Resort Management N72 Ngee Ann 10
Mass   Communication N67 Ngee Ann 10
Biotechnology S72 Singapore 10
Pharmacy   Science N73 Ngee Ann 11
Accountancy N51 Ngee Ann 11
Business   Studies N45 Ngee Ann 11
Animation   & 3D Arts N92 Ngee Ann 11
Film, Sound   & Video N82 Ngee Ann 11
Banking &   Financial S76 Singapore 11
Business   Innovation and Design S34 Singapore 11
Creative   Writing for Television and New Media S41 Singapore 11
Biomedical   Science T27 Temasek 11
Veterinary   Technology T45 Temasek 11
Business &   Social Enterprise N79 Ngee Ann 12
Child   Psychology & Early Education N86 Ngee Ann 12
Advertising   & Public Relations N87 Ngee Ann 12
Chinese Media   & Communication N88 Ngee Ann 12
Applied   Chemistry with Pharmaceutical Science S64 Singapore 12
Accountancy S75 Singapore 12
Business   Administration S71 Singapore 12
Human resource   Management with Psychology S48 Singapore 12
Tourism &   Resort Management S55 Singapore 12
Aeromautical   Engineering S88 Singapore 12
Applied Drama   and Psychology S43 Singapore 12
Music &   Audio Technology S97 Singapore 12
Accounting   & Finance T02 Temasek 12
Aviation   Management Services T04 Temasek 12
Accountancy   & Finance C98 Nanyang 13
Chemical &   Biomolecular Engineering N56 Ngee Ann 13
Hotel &   Leisure Facilities Management N40 Ngee Ann 13
Business   Information Technology N61 Ngee Ann 13
Aerospace   Technology N65 Ngee Ann 13
Optometry N83 Ngee Ann 13
Chinese   Studies N70 Ngee Ann 13
Chemical   Engineering S70 Singapore 13
Perfumery and   Cosmetic Science S38 Singapore 13
Nutrition,   Health & Wellness S44 Singapore 13
Financial   Informatics S46 Singapore 13
Optometry S67 Singapore 13
Media and   Communication S86 Singapore 13
Biotechnology T31 Temasek 13
Communications   & Media Management T40 Temasek 13
Law &   Management T09 Temasek 13
Early   Childhood Studies T54 Temasek 13
Digital   Forensics T55 Temasek 13
Banking &   Financial Services C96 Nanyang 14
Dental Hygiene   & Therapy C72 Nanyang 14
Social   Sciences (Social Work) C47 Nanyang 14
Early   Childhood Education N66 Ngee Ann 14
Multimedia   & Animation N55 Ngee Ann 14
Food, Science   & Technology S47 Singapore 14
Architecture S66 Singapore 14
Hotel &   Leisure Facilities Management S95 Singapore 14
Integrated   Events & Projects Management S50 Singapore 14
Aerospace   Electronics S90 Singapore 14
Bioengineering S58 Singapore 14
Infocomm   Security Management S54 Singapore 14
Visual   Communication and Media Design S93 Singapore 14
Pharmaceutical   Science T25 Temasek 14
Aerospace   Engineering T51 Temasek 14
Business   Intelligience & Analytics T57 Temasek 14
Visual   Communication T24 Temasek 14
Medicinal   Chemistry C45 Nanyang 15
Pharmaceutical   Sciences C65 Nanyang 15
Mass Media   Management C93 Nanyang 15
Real Estate   Business N48 Ngee Ann 15
Sustainable   Urban Design & Engineering N89 Ngee Ann 15
Aerospace   Electronics N75 Ngee Ann 15
Audio-visual   Technology N76 Ngee Ann 15
Biomedical   Engineering N60 Ngee Ann 15
Financial   Information N81 Ngee Ann 15
Materials   Science S37 Singapore 15
Environmental   Management & Water Technology S52 Singapore 15
Engineering   with Business S42 Singapore 15
Business   Information Technology S82 Singapore 15
Digital   Animation S35 Singapore 15
Business/Logistics   & Operations Management/ Marketing T01 Temasek 15
Hospitality   & Tourism Management T08 Temasek 15
Apparel Design   & Merchandising T20 Temasek 15

Related Links:

(1) List of ‘Top’ Secondary Schools (2012) in Singapore by median PSLE aggregate score (2011)

(2) List of ‘Top’ Primary Schools (2012) based on GEP classes and Awards achieved.

(3) List of ‘Top’ Secondary School (2012) in Singapore by Cut-Off PSLE aggregate score (2011)

(4) List of Junior Colleges (JC) (2012) in Singapore by Cut-Off L1R5 aggregate score (including bonus points)

Ilyasa, M.Ed., PGDE, full-time tutor of Math & Physics (h/p: 97860411)

_______________________________________

TUITION CLASSES:

jcbutton          secbutton

ipbutton                    pributton

_______________________________________________________________

EDUCATIONAL SERVICES:

hwsupervbutton                   intensivebutton

alevelprepbutton                   olevelprepbutton

______________________________________________________________

By EX-MOE TEACHERS & EXPERIENCED TUTORS

@ BLK 644, BUKIT BATOK CENTRAL, #01-68. S(650644).

CALL 65694897 OR SMS 98530744 OR 97860411.

Posted in Administrative, Educational Advice, Universities

List of recognised or approved universities and educational institutes in Singapore

It’s heartbreaking to enrol in a degree or diploma course and to find out later that your degree or diploma is not recognised or cannot be used to be registered as a practicising professional in Singapore. So use the following links before you decide to apply to a particular university, college or institute:

1. List of recognised Universities and Post-secondary Institutes with campuses in Singapore

2. List of Approved Universities for Admission to the Singapore Bar

3. List of Registrable Basic Medical Qualifications for practice in Singapore

Fyi, if you spend at least 3 years studying in the campus of an overseas university that is recognised by the government of that country, the degree is also valid in Singapore for the purpose of recognising you as a degree holder. For example, if you had spent 3 or 4 years doing a degree in the University of Malaya (which is recognised by the Malaysian government), you are also considered a degree-holder if you apply to work in the Singapore Civil Service. However, restrictions apply to professional courses such as Law, Medicine and Accountancy.

 

Related articles:

(a) Between JC and Poly.

(b) What subject combination to choose in JC.

(c) What to do if your A Level results are bad.

_______________________________________

TUITION CLASSES:

jcbutton          secbutton

ipbutton                    pributton

_______________________________________________________________

EDUCATIONAL SERVICES:

hwsupervbutton                   intensivebutton

alevelprepbutton                   olevelprepbutton

______________________________________________________________

By EX-MOE TEACHERS & EXPERIENCED TUTORS

@ BLK 644, BUKIT BATOK CENTRAL, #01-68. S(650644).

CALL 65694897 OR SMS 98530744 OR 97860411.