Singapore Kopitiam

myriadguy

wad are STEP papers?

Sixth Term Examination Paper. Earlier there were STEP for many subjects but only the maths STEP are in use now, and only Cambridge and Warwick (not sure about Imperial) use it for their conditional offers in maths (sometimes even for computer science or engineering). Its more challenging than A Levels and not quite as hard as S paper, if only because of the greater options STEP provides. Out of 14 questions in STEP (3 mechanics, 3 statistics and 8 pure maths), one will be graded on his 6 best answered questions. There are 5 grades - S, 1, 2, 3, Ungraded. Usually 4 good answers are enough to get a grade 1, though it may vary from year to year.

Reply 62

Sounds scary if you ask me. :redface:

Reply 63

Hey there guys... Just checking in on the Singapore pages...

I'll be reading Law at the University of Nottingham this year, after agonising battles with my dad, who wanted me to read Law at NUS instead...(not bloody likely!)

Yeah, well, just dropping in to say hello...

Reply 64

The NUS Law and Econs DDP is quite a good course. Have my interview for it tommorow.

Reply 65

Fa|ique

Hey there guys... Just checking in on the Singapore pages...

I'll be reading Law at the University of Nottingham this year, after agonising battles with my dad, who wanted me to read Law at NUS instead...(not bloody likely!)

Yeah, well, just dropping in to say hello...

Ah, cool. I have a friend doing law at Notts currently (she's a fresher), and she's having a blast. I'm sure you will too. :smile:

Reply 66

feanor_telamon

The NUS Law and Econs DDP is quite a good course. Have my interview for it tommorow.

Probably, but definitely not easy to receive an offer for.

Your batch is pretty lucky I have to say.

My batch only had that Econs & Law DDP to apply for. Turns out NUS introduced a couple more DDPs this year like Engine + Bizad, which I assure you is a favourite amongst many scholarship agencies.

Reply 67

Well, in my case, I don't want to have anything to do with NUS, so wasn't really interested in any of their courses. But that's just me...

Reply 68

Fa|ique

Well, in my case, I don't want to have anything to do with NUS, so wasn't really interested in any of their courses. But that's just me...

No, not just you. I just said the course is good. Wudn't want to stay here either.

Reply 69

Hehe, well, that's something we have in common then...

Reply 70

soonalvin

OP

Fa|ique

Hehe, well, that's something we have in common then...

i second that, save for NUS medicine.

Reply 71

Heh, my cousin did Med at Cambridge after being rejected by NUS Med. Graduated 11th in his class... NUS offered him Electrical Engineering instead... *shakes head*

Reply 72

soonalvin

i second that, save for NUS medicine.

How did the test/interview go, alvin? :smile:

Reply 73

Fa|ique

Heh, my cousin did Med at Cambridge after being rejected by NUS Med. Graduated 11th in his class... NUS offered him Electrical Engineering instead... *shakes head*

Well the admissions system isn't perfect. He might have been a late bloomer. Or may not just have shone through on judgement day. Such gems have occasionally been rejected, and will continue to be for a long time to come unfortunately. How do you think the admissions system can be perfected or refined?

Reply 74

Knogle

Well the admissions system isn't perfect. He might have been a late bloomer. Or may not just have shone through on judgement day. Such gems have occasionally been rejected, and will continue to be for a long time to come unfortunately. How do you think the admissions system can be perfected or refined?

Mutiple interviews by different people, submission of related essays marked by school teachers, removal of PEARLS and SL and PW components (hang on...), taking into consideration school testimonials (do they?).

Reply 75

soonalvin

OP

Knogle

How did the test/interview go, alvin? :smile:

am still preparing for the med interview. test was not very good, haven't written in a long time, but it's quite the same for most people.

Reply 76

feanor_telamon

Mutiple interviews by different people, submission of related essays marked by school teachers, removal of PEARLS and SL and PW components (hang on...), taking into consideration school testimonials (do they?).

Let's see..

1) Multiple interviews:- I can see where you're coming from but this isn't practical considering the immense number of applicatoin received, and limited resources. Not forgetting the limited time they have. Currently they already conduct 2 interviews with panels involving professors, practicing doctors, and even current medical students. It's good enough I think.

2) Submission of written coursework essays:- Hmmm I suppose this would be fine. But this would make more sense for subjects like economics where economics students will have relevant essays, and their work is very subjective. How about medicine? Essays written for biology are mostly factual anyway, so marks would suffice. They also probably rely on your GP grade to determine your writing and analytical ability, which although might be inaccurate occasionally, generally does give you a pretty good idea of where a certain candidate stands compared to his cohort. Again, not really worth the effort IMO.

3) Removal of PEARLS:- Hasn't this been done already? AFAIK they scrapped the CCA points system. I completely disagree with it though, but that's another matter.

4) Removal of PW:- PW gives you a good idea of someone's ability to work as a team, lead, and communicate. And of course get tasks done in an organised and timely fashion. I think it was a great idea for the subject to be introduced, although many consider it to be a waste of time. Anyhow, I think they don't give much attention (if any at all) to your PW grade.

5) Taking into account testimonials:- Sure they do! Medical applicants have to submit their testimonials, references, and basically a portfolio which will support their application. There's ample avenue for students to boost their application by including more quality material into their portfolio. You can write a personal essay, submit supporting documents by current doctors/professors, etc.

I honestly think the admissions system is pretty rigorous as it is.

Reply 77

soonalvin

am still preparing for the med interview. test was not very good, haven't written in a long time, but it's quite the same for most people.

Ah okay, good luck man!

Reply 78

Knogle

Let's see..

1) Multiple interviews:- I can see where you're coming from but this isn't practical considering the immense number of applicatoin received, and limited resources. Not forgetting the limited time they have. Currently they already conduct 2 interviews with panels involving professors, practicing doctors, and even current medical students. It's good enough I think.

2) Submission of written coursework essays:- Hmmm I suppose this would be fine. But this would make more sense for subjects like economics where economics students will have relevant essays, and their work is very subjective. How about medicine? Essays written for biology are mostly factual anyway, so marks would suffice. They also probably rely on your GP grade to determine your writing and analytical ability, which although might be inaccurate occasionally, generally does give you a pretty good idea of where a certain candidate stands compared to his cohort. Again, not really worth the effort IMO.

3) Removal of PEARLS:- Hasn't this been done already? AFAIK they scrapped the CCA points system. I completely disagree with it though, but that's another matter.

4) Removal of PW:- PW gives you a good idea of someone's ability to work as a team, lead, and communicate. And of course get tasks done in an organised and timely fashion. I think it was a great idea for the subject to be introduced, although many consider it to be a waste of time. Anyhow, I think they don't give much attention (if any at all) to your PW grade.

5) Taking into account testimonials:- Sure they do! Medical applicants have to submit their testimonials, references, and basically a portfolio which will support their application. There's ample avenue for students to boost their application by including more quality material into their portfolio. You can write a personal essay, submit supporting documents by current doctors/professors, etc.

I honestly think the admissions system is pretty rigorous as it is.

Well, first of all, I'm talking about admission to courses in general and not just medicine. I think the current system only accepts those who look best on paper and may miss out on a few deserving people who may have been unfortunate in some things. Maybe devoting much resources for this minority may not be sound such a good idea to most Singaporeans but I would consider it worthwhile and a definite improvement to the current system.

All these improvements would definitely be time consuming and require more work on the part of the admissions officers but it ought to "refine" the admission system.

1. So medicine has two interviews? Was it for different stuff (like general and subject interview)? Law had one, and less than 15 minutes. They asked typical interview questions that everyone expects and I suppose the interviewers would have received typical interview answers. No problems with that but its not enough to gauge a student. I would support interviews for any course for students who do not meet the academic criteria and opt to appear for the interview. Different interviews for general and subject matter would be better, and perhaps a third interview for borderline cases. Maybe a small chat session to get to know the student better or find their communication skills. And not everyone would have to appear for every interview. Candidates who have clearly proven themselves in the first two interviews, for eg. I don't see why there's such a shortage of time. University doesn't begin until what - July?? This isn't even May yet.

2. I'm not talking about medicine only. Candidates who might not meet the grades for certain courses such as Economics, Law etc... and can provide written work to show their abilities could be allowed to do so to give the admissions officers more material to make their final decisions. I agree, it would increase the workload and give them more headaches, but it will improve the system, like I said. The marks are not so important since different teachers adopt different standards but such written works would be a good indicator of the students performance during term. Promising candidates can be discovered by their school work. I don't know if the Singapore system would allow for students who appear quite promising but lack the final grades, but I would like to see this change.

3. PEARLS has been removed, yes. I support that. People with good CA records even without the neccessity to have any points will shine out in interviews. Of course, I would hope they don't make it a fixed judging criteria that everyone knows of because it would defeat the purpose. A person with better chances of becoming a maths researcher should not be displaced by one holding less promise of success in maths but with greater (say) basketball and debate skills.

I hated the PEARLS system. It defeated the purpose of CCAs. People didn't join CCAs because they enjoyed it or were interested in it or wished to succeed in it but because they were kiasu.

4. PW is too dependent on the individual ST and the groupmates one has. Well, I had a horrific experience with my groupmates. I had to contribute 3 articles to every other group member just to make sure the difference in number of articles between me and them was not so stark. And my ST told me off for not being with my group to their visit to a farm (heck, I had gone home to India in june) choosing to ignore how much I had contributed over email and MSN to the group. The difference in standards adopted by STs is a factor that makes PW less credible in my opinion as a university placement factor. I think it counts for something, not much, but still it does. I think it should be used as SAT scores are used.

5. Then I suppose only Medicine uses it. Law didn't require it of me. I suppose the best judge of a student would be his tutors from the last two years. Why choose to ignore their valuable feedback?

Well, ya, you can see I'm quite disapproving of a lot of things.

Reply 79