Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Singapore Kopitiam

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I'm curious to know which uni you are in, and what you're studying. Cheers

Forget about me. Credit should also go to Narev. he has been dispensing excellent advice on this forum for as long as I can remember.

for me personally, I do what I do without expecting anything in return. As a Singaporean, I have a duty to share what I know with all of you. What you do with the acquired info is open to your own interpretation.

oh don't get me wrong. I am not trying to turn euphemism into an art-form. Neither am I here to wage a war on semantics. We simply don't have a proper system in place, i.e curriculum, table of contents with regards to the ABCs of studying overseas.

everything is in bits and pieces. the Suntec City sessions have been nothing more than a parade. in fact, its actually a field day for businesses; mobile companies, travel agencies and so on. the top brass at the center of these events merely adopt the touch-and-go format when spearheading these talks. the output lacks concreteness and its not fit for purpose especially since the location is the auditorium!!!!!!!

Pause momentarily and put yourself in the shoes of us consumers; prospective students and our accompanying parents. advertisements on these carnivals are placed in newspapers wayyyyyyyyyy in advance. awareness on the event is spread through the various modes of communication. hype is then built up. expectations ensue. the wait is killing.

finally the day comes. but with every passing hour, you realise you just wasted the entire Saturday! every speaker that goes up on stage looks unprepared. John Searle once said, 'if you can't say it clearly, it means you don't understand it yourself'. How true Sir, how true!!!! and to the select few, the realization sinks in even further; 'I shld have stayed at home and played scrabble with Joe'.

INTERESTING SNIPPET!!!!

moving along, when you guys come here, you mite wanna check out Three Mobile. its one of the many mobile service providers in the UK. Their current offer for the iPhone has created quite a buzz. You pay 69 pounds upfront for a iPhone 4 16GB White/Black. Internet usage is appealing! 2000 free talktime mins to any network, any time of the day. if you call a fellow Three Mobile subscriber, you get additional mins free which runs into the thousands(mins). the contract is a standard 2 year one. im unsure if you can see the link cos sometimes, pple from outside the UK can't gain access.
http://threestore.three.co.uk/priceplans.aspx?phonecode=IP416GBB3D

oh come on! don't pretend you don't know that once you finish your UK studies and return to SG, all you gotta do is to go to a shop and unlock the phone. and it will be compatible with the local providers.

so yeah. in a bit!!

Reply 2721

Narev

Original post by Chad Storm

Boss, im ok. all is fine and well.

i find it weird that even after attending all the seminars, conventions, talks and dialogue sessions for UK bound students, alot of our peeps still have doubts on so many areas i.e Visa, bank, accommodation et cetera..

personally, several of the things i know by heart, were picked up along the way from various reliable sources & trial by error.

what is the pressing issue(s)? why this disconnect? Are those chairing these events simply going thru the motion? Are they even knowledgeable on aspects concerning students?

the authorities have to get a grip on the situation. the inefficiencies are indeed glaring.

Your thoughts?

Hopefully I don't go out of point here... but I think at these events, the representatives from banks / British Council etc are there to give presentations and they have a lot of information to give, *but*, the correct questions aren't asked by the students.

Even at events at Suntec where Universities have stands and you can talk to representatives from University, the correct questions aren't being asked by incoming students.

Or to rephrase - we know a lot. We don't know what you don't know and what you need to know.

Example (from SAF): I have seen A level people becoming clerks in the SAF, and because they are in a new environment, they lose all common sense. Eg, printer run out of ink. Then they ask: "Encik, what to do?"

Example (from math): Suppose you have x+3 = 5. The answer is x = 2, but you are unsure. You ask: "How do I know if this is correct?"

Most of the questions asked here: "How long does it take ----", "Should I call them?", "What should I do in ----" - to me, I feel that they shouldn't be asked. Because it's basically common sense.

If your accom is faulty, of course you report it. Don't report in SG, later landlord charge you. Don't report in SAF, later sign 1206 for missing stuff. Etc. But suddenly you go to the UK, and then everything you are unsure of what to do.

If you want to know about the public facilities / shopping centres - yes, asking people would be a wise choice. But hey, what happens if you want to take a holiday to Romania / France / etc? You will google right?

*And embarrassingly enough, I was like that when I was in the SAF for first few days - different environment, scared if I do something wrong, later get ****ed by CSM and OC. But then you realize.. we are all human. Just because new environment doesn't mean there's no common sense.

It's definitely frightening - what if I miss the deadline for XXX? What if I'm stuck with no money? You will ask and ask. Nothing wrong with that. But there comes a point where say, the information is clear: "Replace the bloody printer ink / substitute x = 2 and check lah / If the deadline is wrong online, then not only you will miss it, but everyone else will".

Don't get me wrong - there's some stuff which should be told to incoming Year 1s, which are important - but they are in the same vein as the: "Don't go to Orchard Towers at night", "Don't jaywalk, etc", but for everything else - it's pretty much similar to what you would expect in SG, or in just everyday life, whether it's in UK, US, or any other country....

Your advice would pretty much fit everywhere, if taken to generic terms - but of course there is the UK element inside. It can even fit for Singapore: it would be the equivalent of: Check everything, turn up early, make sure you have all supporting documents, bring lots of money. Not saying it shouldn't be given - in fact, I think it's a very good summary for all students planning to enter the UK, but I guess..in the end, it's all about having common sense :smile:

Reply 2722

tarallox

Original post by jinx29

I'm from SP and I manage to get into UCL! :colondollar:

Wow that's awesome, that's a first I've heard actually. Was your GPA 4.0 with a ton of testimonials to boot? haha are you doing a similar undergrade course as your poly course? i.e. business admin to business management.

Reply 2723

Chad Storm

Original post by Narev

Even at events at Suntec where Universities have stands and you can talk to representatives from University, the correct questions aren't being asked by incoming students.

Most of the questions asked here: "How long does it take ----", "Should I call them?", "What should I do in ----" - to me, I feel that they shouldn't be asked. Because it's basically common sense.

Your post, as usual, is without flaws.

i wld like to share my experiences I had durin the Suntec City conventions. as you all know, most of the universities will have their students manning those booths and taking questions. but the thing is, they can't answer questions posed to them. all the students seem to do is to talk about how good the uni is, how nice the people are, how there are so many shopping centres in and ard town, etc.

Hello!! im asking you about how long the bank takes to process an application and you tellin me how many Zara stores there are in the city centre. cartoon man! there was one uni, which is consistently ranked the top 20 for law, that did a video presentation for prospective students and parents. the entire content was about shopping, hanging out at cafes, going to nail and hair saloons, etc. it was a joke. i wonder if the uni rep vetted the clip before they showed it to us. it was an embarrassment.

anyways, the best thing to do is formulate a booklet that contains thorough info, written by Singaporeans aimed at fellow countrymen in mind. the Kissenger question then, is if there's anyone interested in doing so? well, i did. and when i presented it to my institution, they have yet to get back to me. it seems they're still deliberating on whether to endorse and subsequently publish it. 3 months already man. I think P.H.D dissertation would have been marked and handed back to students in this time frame. comedy, seriously!

the china rich kids & U.A.E and nigerian government scholars here are the least bothered and affected with/by inefficiencies arising from the administrative side of things cos they have the cash. so all they do is to drop out of the institution when they have too many inconsistencies with the institution and simply get their agents to find another suitable one that has an accelerated course. and presto! they're in a new setting, new environment with new pple. its like a fresh start.

when its time to pay fees or make payment for books, the entire staff is out in full-force clad in their coats, ties and stockings. but when you need help, they direct you to Person A, and then A tells you to see Person F and then F says go back to reception and then reception says, 'come back next week'. by then, the problem would have escalated and the consequences will indefinitely have a huge bearing in the near future.

so in short, open your eyes and ears. question the admin staff immediately when you're unsure of something or sense things are wrong or heading towards that direction. disregard verbal assurances. get them to put their lovey-doveys in writing.

yeah???? yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Reply 2724

Narev

Original post by Chad Storm

i wld like to share my experiences I had durin the Suntec City conventions. as you all know, most of the universities will have their students manning those booths and taking questions. but the thing is, they can't answer questions posed to them. all the students seem to do is to talk about how good the uni is, how nice the people are, how there are so many shopping centres in and ard town, etc.

Hmm. These universities probably made a bad choice then...

Reply 2725

vladricketts

hey guys i'm in ns currently and planning to apply for deferred entry for med in 2013. Since most unis require you to fly over to uk for interview, lets say if i apply 3 unis that require and (if i am fortunate) give me an interview, will i have to fly to uk 3 separate times or can i schedule the dates together so that i can just fly there once. And for guys, cos im still in ns, how many days of leave will i need to take to fly there for interview? thanks!

Reply 2726

Narev

Original post by vladricketts

No telephone / Skype interview?

Reply 2727

vladricketts

for medicine, mostly nope. planning to apply to the london unis

Reply 2728

Metastasis

Original post by vladricketts

for medicine, mostly nope. planning to apply to the london unis

hello

i'm sure some unis do hold interviews in Singapore/Malaysia, such as Newcastle, Aberdeen etc. do check their website or email the international contacts of the schools personally because i'm sure that will save a lot of time and money if you can have your interview locally.

if not, the unis will make exceptions for international students and allow more flexibility in scheduling interview dates. guess you can email them directly once you have been shortlisted for interviews :smile:

i know of my schoolmate who arranged all 4 of her interviews in a week and went around touring the university campuses around the UK :smile:

hope that helps!

Reply 2729

Metastasis

Original post by vladricketts

for medicine, mostly nope. planning to apply to the london unis

oh ya i am super kaypoh. which unis are you applying to? :biggrin:

haha

Reply 2730

vladricketts

Original post by Metastasis

oh ya i am super kaypoh. which unis are you applying to? :biggrin:

haha

imperial ucl and kings probably haha

Reply 2731

Metastasis

Original post by vladricketts

imperial ucl and kings probably haha

wow 3 bmat unis! how's your bmat? are you gonna to any ukcat unis? :smile:

Reply 2732

vladricketts

Original post by Metastasis

wow 3 bmat unis! how's your bmat? are you gonna to any ukcat unis? :smile:

not decided yet though... are u applying too?

Reply 2733

Metastasis

Original post by vladricketts

not decided yet though... are u applying too?

omg i just read my previous post and i sounded weird. 'are you gonna to any ukcat unis' LOL. yup i am. i'm actually on gap year (rejected by yllsom, sighhhhhhh) and applying to aberdeen leicester newcastle and nottingham :smile:

Reply 2734

Nicholasng925

Hello people! all are applying for Medicine for next year intake?

Reply 2735

Metastasis

Original post by Nicholasng925

Hello people! all are applying for Medicine for next year intake?

yup i am. for 2012 entry :smile:

Reply 2736

Nicholasng925

Original post by Metastasis

yup i am. for 2012 entry :smile:

yeay! but I'm not applying for Medicine though! :tongue:

I'm applying for Actuarial Science, MMORSE (Warwick) and Maths instead. :biggrin:

Reply 2737

Metastasis

Original post by Nicholasng925

yeay! but I'm not applying for Medicine though! :tongue:

I'm applying for Actuarial Science, MMORSE (Warwick) and Maths instead. :biggrin:

haha i see :smile:

i'm curious but what's actuarial science?

Reply 2738

Nicholasng925

Original post by Metastasis

haha i see :smile:

i'm curious but what's actuarial science?

Actuarial Science is a profession which involves heavily on Statistics, Finance and Economics. A lot of people have wrong impression in mind that Actuarial Science is all about Maths when it's actually not. Actuarial students need to pass a series of professional examinations conducted by one of the actuarial societies around, such as Society of Actuaries (US) and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries UK (just to name a few). Generally the main job of actuaries is to calculate risk involved in projects or primarily, in calculating insurance premiums namely pricing. Actuaries are required to build various models to calculate risk based on different number of parameters involved. Well, it's one of the hardest courses around, but if you could make it to the end, it's extremely rewarding. :smile:

Reply 2739

puttysan

hey guys,

i am also interested in applying for medicine for the 2012 intake..

have you guys sat for the ukcat yet?

im wondering if the cutoff will be higher or lower as compared for the home (local) intake.

:smile: