DSA 2022

[AHsDad]

For DSA, the 2 considerations are only Domain and School. Good that Domain is settled for ur kid. Ask yourself if receive CO from third school, would u accept or possibly turn it down and fallback on psle? If latter, best just apply for 2 schools. My daughter did DSA last yr. Upfront we had an idea of the 3-4 school options but for DSA only applied to 1


I read before that there were COs from top schools to students who were good at math but no Olympiads experience. Who knows, RI may still be a possibility, although very competitive. If for non-Chinese, HCI may not be ideal cos arrangements for 2nd language may be inconvenient.

ainunnajib\" post_id=\"2067207\" time=\"1652288156\" user_id=\"166513:

Seeking advice/suggestions for DSA Math. Our first choice is NUS High, and then Raffles Institution. We're not sure which school to aim for the third choice.

My son is strong in Math (but not topmost, he has Silver in NMOS & SMOPS and 97 percentile in RIPMWC, didn't make it to Round 2). He loves coding and aspires to be an informatics olympian.

Weighing between HCI - Hwa Chong International, SST - School of Science & Technology or NJC - National Junior College (Secondary) for the last slot. How & what should we consider?

Thank you in advance 🙏

PS: I made a google sheet template to help prepare for filling the DSA online form. I put in max 50 characters & max 300 characters check too. Hopefully useful: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VuXcKe0SPeuA4n9DHoEfySTSGHlJLQ5zDBMs4g3lGuk/copy

[libran269]

AHsDad\" post_id=\"2067224\" time=\"1652315235\" user_id=\"172457:

For DSA, the 2 considerations are only Domain and School. Good that Domain is settled for ur kid. Ask yourself if receive CO from third school, would u accept or possibly turn it down and fallback on psle? If latter, best just apply for 2 schools. My daughter did DSA last yr. Upfront we had an idea of the 3-4 school options but for DSA only applied to 1

I read before that there were COs from top schools to students who were good at math but no Olympiads experience. Who knows, RI may still be a possibility, although very competitive. If for non-Chinese, HCI may not be ideal cos arrangements for 2nd language may be inconvenient.

Which DSA did your opt for? Maths? What certs did she have?

[ainunnajib]

Hi! Thank you for your kind advice & detailed response!


I do been wondering if \"less than Gold/Platinum/top\" in NMOS, SMOPS, and RIPMWC stands any chance for DSA Math into RI/HCI. There's probably higher chance for NUSH due to their 100% DSA policy with cohort size of ~180 students. So your \"prima facie\" reply nailed it.

I guess I'll go for full transparency here as we need as much advice as we can get, and we do not have any friends who'd been in this similar DSA Math journey. We do have friends who gotten into NUSH but via SIE (after PSLE), and into RI via Sec 1 posting. But we're not confident with PSLE either due to mother tongue & English.

So here's my son's full DSA awards/activities list, would love to have suggestions & comments please 🙏 to maximize his chance getting into NUSH or RI or HCI or SST or NJC via DSA Math/STEM/Infocomm route: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CGLhSDwH0ejd13owa1B3ulMcCcsonQz-tTSp29xxOaQ/edit?usp=sharing

floppy\" post_id=\"2067211\" time=\"1652293718\" user_id=\"97579:

I think the important question you should consider is what you hope to achieve out of this DSA.
For experience? Aim for only the dream school(s), failing which, fall back on PSLE AL score? Schools that you think best fit?

Unless there are other information that you have not included, prima facie, your son is not likely to make the DSA final cut for NUSH and RI.

If the approach is to go for all the top school(s) and hope for the best, you can consider HCI (Hwa Chong Institution; Hwa Chong International is an International school) or NJC. However, the most likely outcome for HCI is going to be the same as above. Unless the 3 schools (NUSH, RI and HCI) decide to broaden their base and include as many people as possible for their tests / interviews, your son may not even clear the first cut and gain any experience out of this exercise.

Realistically, your best chance lies with SST. If the approach is to ensure that he secures a school that satisfies his interest and strength in this DSA exercise, you would probably have to include it as one of your 3 options. Furthermore, like NUSH, SST intake is by DSA and supplementary intake only. If you miss the boat now, opportunities from supplementary intake may be limited.

Therefore, my suggestion would be to pick the following:
1. NUSH
2. SST
3. Anything

[AHsDad]

libran269\" post_id=\"2067225\" time=\"1652317221\" user_id=\"46563:

Which DSA did your opt for? Maths? What certs did she have?

Applied for leadership and Visual Art. Interviewed for leadership only. Got WL converted. For maths, although her academics were good, she only managed bronze certs so we didn’t even consider.

My key point is it’s ok to not utilise all 3 DSA. Since my girl was keen on the school, we knew we would unlikely accepted other CO if offered so didn’t waste time to apply DSA other school.

From KsP, it appears maths as DSA is highly competitive

[bbcxd]

ainunnajib\" post_id=\"2067232\" time=\"1652320823\" user_id=\"166513:

Hi! Thank you for your kind advice & detailed response!

I do been wondering if \"less than Gold/Platinum/top\" in NMOS, SMOPS, and RIPMWC stands any chance for DSA Math into RI/HCI. There's probably higher chance for NUSH due to their 100% DSA policy with cohort size of ~180 students. So your \"prima facie\" reply nailed it.

I guess I'll go for full transparency here as we need as much advice as we can get, and we do not have any friends who'd been in this similar DSA Math journey. We do have friends who gotten into NUSH but via SIE (after PSLE), and into RI via Sec 1 posting. But we're not confident with PSLE either due to mother tongue & English.

So here's my son's full DSA awards/activities list, would love to have suggestions & comments please 🙏 to maximize his chance getting into NUSH or RI or HCI or SST or NJC via DSA Math/STEM/Infocomm route: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CGLhSDwH0ejd13owa1B3ulMcCcsonQz-tTSp29xxOaQ/edit?usp=sharing

Higher chance to NUSH. Good luck!:D

[Susanna0_0]

Your son is very brilliant 🤩. Given that NUSH has selection test for all applicants, he stand very good chance to go to second round.


Not sure about RI though, I believe they select based on applicants portfolio. My questions is how do RI select students for interview? If a student only join school organised math Olympiad and get platinum award, while another join lots of math Olympiad competition and get lots gold awards. How RI will choose?

ainunnajib\" post_id=\"2067232\" time=\"1652320823\" user_id=\"166513:

Hi! Thank you for your kind advice & detailed response!

I do been wondering if \"less than Gold/Platinum/top\" in NMOS, SMOPS, and RIPMWC stands any chance for DSA Math into RI/HCI. There's probably higher chance for NUSH due to their 100% DSA policy with cohort size of ~180 students. So your \"prima facie\" reply nailed it.

I guess I'll go for full transparency here as we need as much advice as we can get, and we do not have any friends who'd been in this similar DSA Math journey. We do have friends who gotten into NUSH but via SIE (after PSLE), and into RI via Sec 1 posting. But we're not confident with PSLE either due to mother tongue & English.

So here's my son's full DSA awards/activities list, would love to have suggestions & comments please 🙏 to maximize his chance getting into NUSH or RI or HCI or SST or NJC via DSA Math/STEM/Infocomm route: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CGLhSDwH0ejd13owa1B3ulMcCcsonQz-tTSp29xxOaQ/edit?usp=sharing

[mystique_j]

bbbay\" post_id=\"2067091\" time=\"1652239330\" user_id=\"175278:

Does it mean below average main stream schools would
have no DSA applicants even for student likely to qualify for N streams?

I’ve seen kids applied and got in via DSA for mainstream schools with PSLE score range of 11-17, 13-19.

[Shortribs]

ainunnajib\" post_id=\"2067232\" time=\"1652320823\" user_id=\"166513:

Hi! Thank you for your kind advice & detailed response!

I do been wondering if \"less than Gold/Platinum/top\" in NMOS, SMOPS, and RIPMWC stands any chance for DSA Math into RI/HCI. There's probably higher chance for NUSH due to their 100% DSA policy with cohort size of ~180 students. So your \"prima facie\" reply nailed it.

I guess I'll go for full transparency here as we need as much advice as we can get, and we do not have any friends who'd been in this similar DSA Math journey. We do have friends who gotten into NUSH but via SIE (after PSLE), and into RI via Sec 1 posting. But we're not confident with PSLE either due to mother tongue & English.

So here's my son's full DSA awards/activities list, would love to have suggestions & comments please 🙏 to maximize his chance getting into NUSH or RI or HCI or SST or NJC via DSA Math/STEM/Infocomm route: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CGLhSDwH0ejd13owa1B3ulMcCcsonQz-tTSp29xxOaQ/edit?usp=sharing

I would say in your 3 DSA choices, to put a top-tier school, a mid-tier school and one which is a sure-win. TBH, I think RI is a long shot as I understand the school has already reached out to a pool of target DSA candidates. Same goes for NUSH which typically invites NMOS gold medallists to attend their special classes in P6. They will probably select from this small pool first. The goal of DSA for most parents is to secure a confirmed offer at a good sch presumably so PSLE will be less of a worry later, so I think it might be best to include some slightly less competitive schs in the mix.

Your son has a strong portfolio and clearly you have been very diligent in exposing him to many math competitions. Would you consider ACS (Indep) as an option? I think your son has a good chance of DSA success there. NJC and Victoria School might also be good options. My 2 cents.

[phtthp]

bbbay\" post_id=\"2067091\" time=\"1652239330\" user_id=\"175278:

Does it mean below average main stream schools would
have no DSA applicants even for student likely to qualify for N streams?

\"below\" average mainstream schools sure have DSA applicants.

Every year, how many P6 students take PSLE ?
Not 1000, but
Several thousands of P6 students. Of course, \"below\" average (O-level and N-level) track schools will also have applicants.

Just that they keep low profile even when offered COs, won't share much here because

do u realise that
for so many past DSA batches, the questions posed are very skewed, always focussed on IP schools like (R*, H*, NUS High, etc. ) family ?
Year in, year out, you always see anxious parents always asking same old thing :-

Example (FAQ)
============


A)
Any experienced parent can share what are the DSA interview questions like, for (R * / H* / NUS High) interview or selection tests ?

B)
can share the profile of successful applicants for DSA (Maths / Science / English / Bilingualism), in (R* / H*) family, or what certificate(s) they possess ?

==========================

So,
maybe it is high time to create different thread for different clear segregation, then those Non-IP applicants will be more willing, to share more, that is :-

1) create one thread for
\"Apply DSA, into IP schools\"

And

2) create another separate thread for
\"Apply DSA, into O-level & N-level\" Mainstream schools

[floppy]

ainunnajib\" post_id=\"2067232\" time=\"1652320823\" user_id=\"166513:

Hi! Thank you for your kind advice & detailed response!

I do been wondering if \"less than Gold/Platinum/top\" in NMOS, SMOPS, and RIPMWC stands any chance for DSA Math into RI/HCI. There's probably higher chance for NUSH due to their 100% DSA policy with cohort size of ~180 students. So your \"prima facie\" reply nailed it.

I guess I'll go for full transparency here as we need as much advice as we can get, and we do not have any friends who'd been in this similar DSA Math journey. We do have friends who gotten into NUSH but via SIE (after PSLE), and into RI via Sec 1 posting. But we're not confident with PSLE either due to mother tongue & English.

So here's my son's full DSA awards/activities list, would love to have suggestions & comments please 🙏 to maximize his chance getting into NUSH or RI or HCI or SST or NJC via DSA Math/STEM/Infocomm route: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CGLhSDwH0ejd13owa1B3ulMcCcsonQz-tTSp29xxOaQ/edit?usp=sharing

Interesting list of awards / activities.

However, the ones that probably carry the most weight for DSA considerations in the first round are row 2 and row 4. The rest are nice to have, but matter very little, apart from giving the impression that this person likes math / science. A number of these activities and awards are external comps / activities which most schools don't take part (i.e. no basis for comparison), do not restrict participation (i.e. unable to assess level of participants / difficulty) and have a somewhat commercial angle (i.e. generally favour the well-off).

IMHO, the disclosure doesn't change the calculus:
1. Your best chance lies with SST.

2. NUSH is somewhat of a low probability iffy. Nevertheless, it should be included as one of the choices since DSA and SIE are the only options of entering the school.

3. You will probably struggle to stand out as an applicant in any of the IP schools, be it RI, HCI, NJC etc. Most, if not all applicants, will have a somewhat similar or better profile (especially, if you only compare row 2 and row 4). Hence, I will go with the \"die-die cannot let go otherwise you cannot forgive yourself\" option, whichever that may be. Do be realistic about your chances and don't be disappointed if you don't get a call up.