General Observation about DSA

[lizawa]

Hi,


My impression is that girls are less successful in DSA than boys. Do you observe the same ?

[wonderm]

Many top schools are single sex schools. There is no reason for this?


Unless you are talking about the co-ed schools, I am not sure about that.

[lizawa]

I observe that among my son’s classmates, majority of the boys who applied for DSA (specifically the top schools for RI, HCI, ACS high or NUS High) were successful in one school or other. However most of the girls were not successful for RGS / NYGH or NUS high.


This happened last year when my son was in P6. I am wondering if this is still the same this year.

Some people are telling me that RGS and NYGS do not take in as many DSA students as RI and HCI based on academic, unless you have special talent. They know that the girls will generally do well in PSLE, and will be able to enter through their PSLE score.

[mathsparks]

My 2cts. DSA process seems to favour the GEPers and as there’re more boys in GEP, it is likely then that more boys are accepted thru dsa.

[MdmKS]

mathsparks:

My 2cts. DSA process seems to favour the GEPers and as there're more boys in GEP, it is likely then that more boys are accepted thru dsa.

Between RGS n NYGH, I feel RGS seem to only accept GEPers and sport talents. That is also why percent is low, Majority go thru PSLE.

[kiasuson]

MdmKS:

mathsparks:

My 2cts. DSA process seems to favour the GEPers and as there're more boys in GEP, it is likely then that more boys are accepted thru dsa.

Between RGS n NYGH, I feel RGS seem to only accept GEPers and sport talents. That is also why percent is low, Majority go thru PSLE.

I remember from a DSA talk @ a Co-ed IP school last year stating that they will take in more boys to balance the ratio between the girls and boys. If you observe, there are more girls than boy in the IP co-ed or normal SAP schools. It is about 1:2. One of the reason is that the girls normally performed better in PSLE than the boys.

[lizawa]

kiasuson:

I remember from a DSA talk @ a Co-ed IP school last year stating that they will take in more boys to balance the ratio between the girls and boys. If you observe, there are more girls than boy in the IP co-ed or normal SAP schools. It is about 1:2. One of the reason is that the girls normally performed better in PSLE than the boys.

I am weighing the pros and cons of DSA for my daughter next year. She is not outstanding academically, no special sports talent. So I was thinking perhaps we should not stress ourselves with DSA application and with all the tests and interviews.

[turquoise]

lizawa:

kiasuson:

I remember from a DSA talk @ a Co-ed IP school last year stating that they will take in more boys to balance the ratio between the girls and boys. If you observe, there are more girls than boy in the IP co-ed or normal SAP schools. It is about 1:2. One of the reason is that the girls normally performed better in PSLE than the boys.

I am weighing the pros and cons of DSA for my daughter next year. She is not outstanding academically, no special sports talent. So I was thinking perhaps we should not stress ourselves with DSA application and with all the tests and interviews.

Hi Lizawa,

How about selecting just one school which your dd is keen on to try for DSA? The process isn't taxing if it's just for one school. There's no harm trying. Aside from preparing her portfolio and the online application, you really only need to go through a test and interview, depending on the school you apply for.

[luckystar]

Not all the school has a test for dsa, some even no need to pay.

[mumoftwo]

lizawa:

kiasuson:

I remember from a DSA talk @ a Co-ed IP school last year stating that they will take in more boys to balance the ratio between the girls and boys. If you observe, there are more girls than boy in the IP co-ed or normal SAP schools. It is about 1:2. One of the reason is that the girls normally performed better in PSLE than the boys.

I am weighing the pros and cons of DSA for my daughter next year. She is not outstanding academically, no special sports talent. So I was thinking perhaps we should not stress ourselves with DSA application and with all the tests and interviews.

Hi Lizawa,

I would like to share with you my experience. My daughter is not an outstanding student, just above average and has no special sports talent. Inconsistent results during exam too. She just loves to read and does not want any tuition except for MT. However she was very keen to try DSA for a certain institution after the principal went for a talk / presentation. She went for the GAT test and I was extremely surprised when she was offered a place. Now I am a firm believer that doing well academically does not necessarily provide an edge in these GAT tests. Some of her friends from the best class & have done better than her academically did not make it to the 2nd round. My daughter said there is no harm trying DSA, at least it is a backup. She said many unforeseen circumstances can happen during PSLE so it is better to have backup. So, do think about it.