All About A Levels

[MdmKS]

Eldest Daughter:

My view is that yllsom may choose to have students who have a good grasp of chinese, so I am just worried that my C5 this time round would place me in a disadvantage (when I apply to yllsom as this C5 would be reflected as a D) since an A would be preferred.

If that is true then why MOE gives exemption to take H1 Chinese in jc years for all who attain just a pass in o level higher Chinese?

[pirated]

MdmKS:

Eldest Daughter:

My view is that yllsom may choose to have students who have a good grasp of chinese, so I am just worried that my C5 this time round would place me in a disadvantage (when I apply to yllsom as this C5 would be reflected as a D) since an A would be preferred.

If that is true then why MOE gives exemption to take H1 Chinese in jc years for all who attain just a pass in o level higher Chinese?

Right!

In fact as long as u get D7 for O level HMT you are exempted from H1 MT in JC.

[pslemum]

We are at AMK - anyone studying at VJC currently? Can send my ds to Bishan MRT for circle line -> Paya Lebar -> Eunos -> bus to VJC

Anyone already travelling from Ang Mo Kio to VJC - can pls share experience?

[dreamerz718]

pirated:

dreamerz718


Pls browse the thread on IB versus A Level

One principal put it succinctly this way : A level is more in depth for the chosen subject while IB is less in depth but wider scope or perspective.

Traditional unis like those in SG, oz and uk favors the A level. I think this is the colonial legacy system.

Continental Europe accepts IB very well, esp France

US unis rely on SAT & AP

Hi!
I did read the thread but couldn't relate to it unfortunately

[dreamerz718]

pirated:

dreamerz718


Pls browse the thread on IB versus A Level

One principal put it succinctly this way : A level is more in depth for the chosen subject while IB is less in depth but wider scope or perspective.

Traditional unis like those in SG, oz and uk favors the A level. I think this is the colonial legacy system.

Continental Europe accepts IB very well, esp France

US unis rely on SAT & AP

Hi!
I did read the thread but couldn't relate to it unfortunately

[Skyed]

pslemum:

We are at AMK - anyone studying at VJC currently? Can send my ds to Bishan MRT for circle line -> Paya Lebar -> Eunos -> bus to VJC

Anyone already travelling from Ang Mo Kio to VJC - can pls share experience?

Was from VJ. There are buses from paya lebar mrt to VJ. Don't need go to eunos. Forgot which buses though.

[dreamerz718]

lesleer:

mama of 2:

Thanks. what are the chances for top 5% get into RI?

Im guessing top 5% have l1r5 of around 3 and below. If 2 points then you have a very, very good chance. If 3 points then it depends. A score of 6-3 is better than a score of 7-4 (source is from moe website). my sister had a score of 7-4, 5 A1s and 5 A2s, good CCA record and competitions etc but she didn't get into RI via JAE. she appealed but still didnt get in. ended up going acjc. i also got 7-4 for o levels this year, and im pretty sure i wont get in either

I am offered ESIP but i have 8-2=6 because i failed HMT..what a pity. Is there 0 chance for me to appeal into vjc sci?

[lesleer]

dreamerz718:

lesleer:

[quote=\"mama of 2\"]

Thanks. what are the chances for top 5% get into RI?

Im guessing top 5% have l1r5 of around 3 and below. If 2 points then you have a very, very good chance. If 3 points then it depends. A score of 6-3 is better than a score of 7-4 (source is from moe website). my sister had a score of 7-4, 5 A1s and 5 A2s, good CCA record and competitions etc but she didn't get into RI via JAE. she appealed but still didnt get in. ended up going acjc. i also got 7-4 for o levels this year, and im pretty sure i wont get in either

I am offered ESIP but i have 8-2=6 because i failed HMT..what a pity. Is there 0 chance for me to appeal into vjc sci?[/quote]i wouldn't say its impossible, but every year there are so many appeals and only a few get in. you shouldn't be daunted by this though. just try and see how it goes

[Skyed]

ETM:

Sorry for asking for help at such a late hour but I really need it and really hope informed and experienced people in the forums can help me out here..


I did badly for 2014 Os,missing my expected target of 8 (by my school and leself),getting 10 for L1R5 , minus 3 cus CCA -1, HMT pass B3

Here is a breakdown of my results

Eng-B3 , looks bad but actually my written english isn't , at worst it is average person standard (wrt to my school , tanjong katong sec ) , flunk cus I was left with 30 min to write compo

Combined Humanities - A2 (the bell curve is honestly very low my class avg during prelims was fail, me included and I barely studied,only the day before full force )

Geography - A1

E-math - A1

Amath - A2 (dissapointing cus I never got below 84 in school before , common test and smaller test always full marks )

Physics - A1

Chem - A2 ( pajiao and read 5 questions wrongly , wasting 15 marks )

HMT - B3 , i believe the bell curve is low cus i didnt get above C5 in school before, maybe its the lucky situational writing topic

My comments about my results aren't to show off (after all my o lvl marks are fixed ) its rather to give you all an idea of my academic performance in school with respect to the individual topics .

I generally like studying almost everything except for bio and am prejudiced against lit and would prefer not to take it. Like most people, I like reading history and watching history related things but dislike the notion of having to memorise the entire subject, on the other hand I like analysing statistics and political cartoons and offering my opinion on them.

Here are some of the schools I am considering , the top being most desireable

1. National JC Sciences 5 - kinda try hard , yolo -1 hr trip

2. National JC Arts - 7 , not sure if this is what i should pursue ? What are some negatives to taking arts ? Because i like the school,but im more of the standard math and science person, except im ok with humanities

3.Temasek JC Sciences / Meridian JC Sciences

TJ Pros:

Temasek because it has been in top 5 for quite some time and is more prestigious-ish , also the 100% admission to local university is enticing
I also like a study-centric atmostphere because i'm rather anti-social.
Worries for TJ :



Enter the worst class in TJ due to cut-off point
Tj is deproving,and is the furthest from my house with a travel time of 1hr 8min.
Tj focuses more on IP programme people because the teachers have already build rapport with those students




Meridian pros :

6th in SG , 95% into local uni is acceptable
Will enter the better classes of meridian and receive better education-better teachers assigned to the 101 classes
Very near my house , 20 plus mins bus to meridian doorstep
Meridian cons:
Excessively stressful- too much rigour, excessive workloads, not sure if its a decent amount for a jc , please enlighten me here
High l1r5 people might be too slack- affect competitive atmostphere? cut off point is 9
Retain rate is extremely high , scared that I am vulnerable
Exam paper - is it the right standards ? My senior says its very easy , but he still fails , so I'm at a lost here
Too hyper and too much social interaction ?
4. Anderson JC
Pros:
Better academically than nanyang , for my points thats the only other choice I guess.Academically ok-ish
Decently near - 30/40 mins
Cons:
Read in forums math paper is overkill and demoralising - I like challenges but setting papers which are not reflective of A level standards are a sign that their methods of teaching may be ineffective

5. Nanyang JC
Pros:
late start , decent school in terms of facilities , results so so 90% admission into local univeristy , very near like Meridian -20mins by mrt
Cons:
Very lenient ,leading to students being way to lax and not being pushed enough to study extremely hard ( like MJ)
Affiliated schools mean that more of higher l1r5 people can get into nanyang jc-again slack ?

The above comments are not intended to criticise or mock anyone, i dont think i did well so i most definitely dont deserve to do so . No offence to the individual jcs, Im just thinking i need to express all of my concerns clearly so that they can be properly addressed . Thank you

Additional concerns :
I am interested in architecture - so any specific subject combi i should take note of ?
Is there a need to take geography ?
Distance- Is it really that important ? Ofc im human and it is tiring and annoying having to go home late and wake up early , but i have done it for 4 years going to TK-and though i dont like it, it was the best school i could enter with my mediocre psle results
Thank you for reading this extremely lengthy writing and I express my sincere gratitude to those who can help me address my concerns , all inputs are greatly appreciated ! shade.png

Hi. Don't waste your first choice on NJ science because it is extremely unlikely you'll get in (unless you have great cca achievements/olympiad winner etc that you can appeal with). Please consider what is more important to you - the course (sci/arts) or the school. If you do arts you will have very limited uni choices, pretty much all the sci related courses are out. And since I see your phy and chem seems good, are you sure you want to close off those options? (also there aren't really such things as 'worst' classes in JC, you're grouped based on your combi). Neither are there 'best' classes (except maybe special programme classes like smtp in hwachong). Also, do consider that if you enter a 'lower tier' school, you may have more opportunities in research etc as you'll be one of the students with better results. It may be easier to get internal school scholarships/special programmes etc in that JC as compared to being in another JC where you're a small fish.

Also, just because a school has 100% get into local U for one year doesn't mean that will apply for your year, eg. even if a subject has 98% dist rate, there is always the possibility of being in the 2%. Also, for your claim that TJ focuses more on their IP students, where did you get that from? I find it highly unlikely since the school would want the entire cohort to do well, not just their IP kids.

For JC, you should definitely consider distance, esp if you plan on joining sports/performing arts CCAs. Trainings can end as late as 9pm, and imagine taking 1h+ to reach home, followed by dinner and bathing AND THEN having to do your tutorials. You have to be ready to sacrifice sleep, a lot of it.

And lastly, for NUS archi, the requirements are a H1/H2 pass in math, chem or phy OR O level pass in A math. Since you've already got that covered, if you do plan on going into arts stream and taking math as your contrasting subject (as do most arts fac students), then that course is still open to you.

Pretty lengthy post, hope it helps. You can PM me if you have further questions

[Skyed]

dreamerz718:

lesleer:

[quote=\"mama of 2\"]

Thanks. what are the chances for top 5% get into RI?

Im guessing top 5% have l1r5 of around 3 and below. If 2 points then you have a very, very good chance. If 3 points then it depends. A score of 6-3 is better than a score of 7-4 (source is from moe website). my sister had a score of 7-4, 5 A1s and 5 A2s, good CCA record and competitions etc but she didn't get into RI via JAE. she appealed but still didnt get in. ended up going acjc. i also got 7-4 for o levels this year, and im pretty sure i wont get in either

I am offered ESIP but i have 8-2=6 because i failed HMT..what a pity. Is there 0 chance for me to appeal into vjc sci?[/quote]Can try appeal. Esp if you appeal with dance, hockey, choir, wushu, soccer and a few others. Those are some of VJ's niche ccas.