slmkhoo:

That's very fine distinctions! It sounds like it's going against the trend now? Is the difference only because of the class of degree or are there any other differences in experience, other skills etc between the 3?

All 3 are fresh graduates and have done internship with the organisation. The civil service tends to give a starting salary based on the class of degree, not by skills and job experience.

It is very important to do internships during undergrad years. My daughter and most of her friends received job offers from the organisations that they had interned with, a year before they graduate.

ngl2010:

Last time, first class honours fresh graduate will get higher starting salary. Is it still true now?


How about local graduate vs overseas graduate (Ivy League university)? Which one will get higher starting salary?

TIA

My daughter's friend who will be starting work in a govt organisation soon, he has a 2nd Class upper honours and his pay is about $100 less than one with first class honours but $500 more than one with 2nd Class lower honours.

My daughter will be graduating from NTU soon, and will be joining an investment company (doing Tech), her starting pay is the same as her future colleague who is graduating from Cambridge, doing the same job.

pinky:

mjl that's so brave of you. I have problem letting go. But from reading the messages you people posted here, I know there are lots of things I need to learn.

To be fair to you, I have it easier than you since I have 2 other kids with me

Try to focus on the positive changes e.g. he is embarking on an exciting new journey, you can visit uk soon, and it is really much easier nowadays compared with the past since you can message using whatsapp anytime, and video call using FB/Google hangouts/whatsapp etc. (how lucky!).

Are there 3 breaks a year, and how long is each break? If each break is long enough, for the initial 1-2 years, I would encourage that he returns home or you fly to uk to visit him during each break.

slmkhoo:

Doesn't that disrupt his other plans? When I studied overseas, back in the 80s, flying back once a year was already considered quite frequent as airfares were relatively high. Some students didn't return to Singapore until graduation. We mostly had other activities, travels and studying to do, and flying back would have taken a big chunk of time. I only flew back each vacation when I was doing my MA and already married, and on full-pay.

He will have lots of opportunities to travel in the future. As this is his first year, he prefers to return every break.

He just flew off last week, and he will be flying back again for Summer break in June.

Perhaps he may choose to fly back less often in subsequent years? I will leave it to him to decide.

pinky:

Hi mijl how long will yr son be in UK ?

He will be there for 4 years. This is only his first year.
Most likely he will pursue PhD in US for another 4-5 years.
We just have to get used to our kids not being with us most of the time.

pinky:

I try to distract myself by doing other things or going out with friends but at the back of my head it's always

OMG My son is leaving !!!!
Anyone has similiar problem and how do you resolve it?

Your son can fly back more often, and you can look forward to him returning home (think OMY my son is returning!!!!). Nowadays the flights are quite affordable, Norwegian budget airline will be flying direct to London, each way costs only about $200+.

My son studies in the uk, and he flies back every 2 1/2 months.

EthanEthan:

mjl:

[quote=\"mellory\"]Hi hi I don't mean to join the discussion, just want to talk about the simple maths: 14% increase of 31 IS 35, not 45! (31x0.14)+31

If we are talking about a number not a %, yes 14% increase of 31 is 4.34%. However, if one is saying there is a 14% increase over the previous year's 31%, it makes more sense to add them.

Er....you need to revise percentages.......[/quote]My mistake is, I should have said 14% increase of 31 is 4.34 (not 4.34%).

I still think it makes more sense to add them, as increase of 14% over 31% is 45%. (It is more of English?)

Refer to below:
\"Indian students showed the most improvement over the last 10 years, with 98 per cent being eligible for these courses at secondary schools. This is an increase of 2.1 percentage points compared with the 95.9 per cent in 2006.\"
Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/students-faring-better-at-psle-o-levels-and-a-levels-over-last-decade-moe-study

mellory:

Hi hi I don't mean to join the discussion, just want to talk about the simple maths: 14% increase of 31 IS 35, not 45! (31x0.14)+31

If we are talking about a number not a %, yes 14% increase of 31 is 4.34%. However, if one is saying there is a 14% increase over the previous year's 31%, it makes more sense to add them.

KTKS:

zbear:

[quote=\"UBKmom\"]

I am quite puzzle...NYJC is one of the top JC and they already said they have performed well...why their reluctance to release even one bit of info...

I didn't know NYJC is one of the top JCs. I only know NYJC is a popular JC based on O level COP.

Agree with zbear.

Someone claimed NYJC improved by 14% this year. It's vague so I shall infer it to be the % of pupils who scored at least 3 H2 distinctions has improved by 14%.
Based on NYJC parent info, it was 31% in 2015. Hence 2016 batch should have 35% of pupils with at least 3 H2 distinctions.
VJC achieved 53% for 2016 batch.

In terms of COP:
VJC - 5(sci) / 7(arts)
NYJC - 6(sci) / 7(arts) - very close COP

In terms of % of pupils with at least 3 H2 distinctions:
VJC - 53%
NYJC - 35% - very different results

Hence it's not a top JC but simply a popular one.[/quote]Even if the inference is correct, surely 31+14 is 45 not 35.
Hope all the nitpicking and bashing will stop.
When top JCs admit mostly top students, it is natural they will produce top notch results. It would never be a fair comparison for all JCs. We should applaud all students with good results, whether they come from top JCs or not.

I do not have any kid with NYJC, but I think we should really respect the NYJC school management for their decision to release or not to release their A level results, or how much to release.


You know, a certain JC gives description like "close to 8 out of 10" score distinctions for some H2 subjects, clearly to their advantage. How do you know, the "close to 8" may be 7.5? And these top JCs tend to publish only subjects/statistics which they did well, not those they fared not so well. For fair comparison, every JC should follow a standard template. Else, you really should just take these with a pinch of salt.

Do respect any JC’s choice whether to publish any results, or how much to publish. And don’t compare them.