All About A Levels

[micko07]

beezlebubz:

i didnt know damit lol. excuse my ignorance my social circle is miserably tiny; all my friends either live near the school, have car or have direct bus. oh damm i estimate need 1hour to and fro school again *sigh* and with the long hours idk how i'll cope so stressed. reach home should be 7 or 8 le then still need do homework and stuff.

When I was in JC, I didn't have a direct bus either - it was either bus+bus or bus+very long walk. Depending on traffic, I think it took me 30-40mins to get home normally, sometimes over an hour.

I sympathize with you because it IS tiring but you need to be practical. You can
a) Live in the school hostel (if there is one)
b) Get a car (I'm assuming you have a driving licence or someone is willing to drive you? Either way, it's a really expensive option)
c) Take taxi everyday
d) Just accept that it is what it is and commute by public transport.

To put this in perspective, I knew a girl who went to NTU and stayed in Marine Parade (ie East to West commute). She didn't have a choice because she went to NIE, but the long commute didn't stop her from becoming valedictorian. It's not impossible, and people get by all the time.

Reaching home by 7 or 8 is still okay - at any rate, I very rarely, if ever, went home that late from school (could have been my choice of CCAs though).You will not be busy throughout the day until you get home, so you should try to make use of your free time during school/ after school to study and do your homework then (I used to do my work during lunch break). Or you can take a nap if you're tired and then work when you get home. Or you can work on the bus/ MRT (I do my readings while travelling).

Long story short: It is doable. It takes getting used to be it's certainly doable.

[jedamum]

Get yourself a mp3 player. Listening to music makes the journeyseems faster. I used to walk 10min, took bus,transfer bus to poly. Journey about an hour. I usually go to the libraw for revision and homework to avoid peak hour during dismissal. .can save ten min travelling and had place to sit.

[Quintessential Mum]

Move is one option.


Nonetheless, there are JCs in the north/east/west/central. So there must be one that works for you. Of course, if you only want to go to a certain JC, then it is a choice and you have to live with it.

[beezlebubz]

I think taking taxi is more expensive than buying a car with 2 years left…lol. well yeah its kind of doable especially for the first few months, but more than that and i’ll be exhausted and more or less not motivated to finish my homework. I get super sleepy after 3.30pm which is usually sec 4’s normal release time and by the time i reach home i would have to take a nap -_- The school’s hostel only accept foreign scholars i thought?? I guess i can stay back after school to do my homework though :O…and my parents wont let me move since JC’s only 2 years hahas. Oh yeah i suppose i might need tuition in JC too… Lastly, yes i kind of just live really far away from all the schools; somewhere in the center with no direct bus routes to any of them. kind of weird huh?? == plus i live 15min away from the mrt. if i can go njc i will be happiest ofcourse since its the nearest. but i guess if my results only allows me to go to one school i’ll have to cope with it anyhow ehh i have no idea of the homework load o.o its possible to finish it at lunch? how long is lunch?

[Skyed]

beezlebubz:

I think taking taxi is more expensive than buying a car

Not with the current COE prices I think..

[beezlebubz]

one trip can cause about $10, in 2 years around $8000 excluding weekends and the 2 months holidays per year. how much is one car that has 2 year left?

[ngl2010]

beezlebubz:

one trip can cause about $10, in 2 years around $8000 excluding weekends and the 2 months holidays per year. how much is one car that has 2 year left?

Definitely more than $8000. You are still lucky if it does not breakdown often.

[Dilemmaperson]

Among the top two jcs, Hwa Chong and raffles, which is better? I got check the past few years of results in Olympiads, and raffles is dominant mainly. But, I heard from my teacher that HCI is better for science and raffles language or things of that ilk. Oh ya my favorite science is physics, and in the recent junior physics olympiad 2012, Hwa Chong scored most of the gold instead. Is this a sign that Hwa Chong is better in science or physics?

Other than science, I’m not sure which to choose overall…


I like raffles because…
The uniform is nice…and the school logo too. LOL!
The people there are quite nice as I know some of them…
Offer lots of good scholarships, reputable ones
Got raffles diploma to use for scholarships
Long history, established reputation and lots of resources (I think)
Evident results from competitions locally or internationally
Closer than Hwa Chong in location
Mostly middle income family? Or on the average equal in all income groups. Idk but I scared got discrimination later on ;( or sense of inferiority?

I like Hwa Chong because…
The school is super big, nice design.
Also got a lot of school support.
Seems like better support in terms of science
Better science scholarship? I heard, like ASTAR ones although I also heard ASTAR not very good…idk lol. Can’t confirm.
People I know there also quite nice, although I met some very arrogant ones who likes to shoot people off with their flair of language and knowledge… Also I heard there’s lots of rich people study there o.o so there goes the same question again…
And yes the school very Chinese, but I like that! And school spirit seems better when I saw their videos (and songs their students create!)
Their culture I think is the most unique among all schools, who are mostly English派…
However, it’s super far away from me…2-3 hours to and fro minimum? Compared to raffles 1.5 hour minimum. But actually their location also quite cool. I’ve been to that school long ago for competition. The school very big and fengshui, haha.

So what do you think? I need your help!!

[heutistmeintag]

For car ownership, you have to consider car depreciation (at least 5-10k yearly depending on condition and make), insurance, petrol, car servicing, parking cost etc.


Another option that you should consider is to rent a room near the school, that cuts down on your travelling time and cost but that may mean you have to consider other living costs like meals and utility charges. It is a closer cost comparison to taking taxi.

IMHO you need to be mentally prepared to bite the bullet and just do what other students do. I know of students who live in JB and study in SG, and I think they are really motivated.

[jedamum]

alternative…do u have any relatives that do not mind renting u a room for weekdays?