Singapore Kopitiam

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Reply 440

soonalvin

Knogle

And what does that book happen to be? :biggrin:

PlayBoy? ^o)

What?

What's Red and Small. And you need to furnish it everytime you wanna leave the rock.

Reply 441

feanor

Knogle

And finally, let me say this: If you can afford to go without a scholarship (for whatever subject/course, DO IT. A scholarship just isn't worth it, and not forgetting to mention the moral reasons of preventing someone else equally deserving yet financially incapable from receiving the scholarship. Even if you're 100% certain that you want to work with the organisation... why? Because I put it to you that you won't as soon as you head to the UK. Opportunities there are vast, and incredible. What you've heard of here is just the tip of the iceberg.

Gosh, let me tell you a little story of an HC student.

Many years ago, a bright young lad named Bright Y Ladde (name changed) studied in HCJC. As was expected of him, Bright received his 4 As and 2 distinctions with relative ease. And not just that, he even held an offer from Girton College, Cambridge. Now, Bright was so bright that even Singapore's MOE had their eyes on him. They gave him, no don't guess, they gave him - the one and only, MOE TEACHING SCHOLARSHIP! You can imagine how happy young Bright was. He could go to Cambridge and make his dreams come true... You think?

Well, Bright did indeed go to Cambridge, where he was imparted the great wisdom of the sages of Mathematics. The sages even prepared him for a greater journey, to the land of the brave and the free, to... Harvard. Bright's happiness knew no bounds. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined he would actually get the much desired 'best of both worlds'. Cambridge and Harvard. What more could you want?

Actually, yes, you could want one more thing. And that is the absence of a Singapore scholarship bond. For Bright has spent the last 4 years (maybe a bit more) teaching further maths to students in AJC.

THE END

Sorry, I'm a bit high at the moemnt.

Reply 442

soonalvin

And that's really sad.

Really really sad.

It's like taking drugs then put on Cold Turkey.

Reply 443

Nutter

Knogle

I advise most people to make an open application first, unless they're absolutely in love with a specific college already. Most aren't since they haven't stepped afoot on the grounds of Oxbridge. If you fail to get in the first time around with an open app (because you got screwed by being pooled into a competitive college, for example), reapply directly to a college the following application cycle.

That'll never happen. Open applications are assigned to colleges that have the lowest number of direct applicants/place across the board. Therefore, every college would end up having a similar number of applicants (open+direct included)/seat when considering their decisions.

Reply 444

Nutter

feanor_telamon

However, if you have time then a little bit of research will show you the differences in colleges and which one is more suited to you (one of my friends is researching into which college has the best choir. incidentally that's the guy who got into trinity for maths but has been asked to reapply after ns.)

Incidentally, I have a good friend who was given an offer for Law at Oxford (Girton, I believe, but can't be too sure), but was unfortunately asked to reapply the following year because they refused to defer offers for 2 years. He reapplied the following year (directly to the same college), and was rejected. The importance of applying directly to colleges that allow 2-year deferments due to NS cannot be over-emphasised - do your research!

soonalvin

And talk to the tutor during the interview. Best if you can go to UK for it, if not the Singapore Interviews would do just fine.

The interviewer in Singapore can't do anything about it. You should be doing your research before hand, then applying directly to the College. There's absolutely no need for you to go to Oxbridge for your interview, unless you're applying for Medicine. I wouldn't recommend it the slightest bit. Truth be told, interviews there can be considered more intensive because they almost always have more than 1 interview.

jspuz

Cambridge medicine has a quota of seven a year from Singapore if I'm not wrong. Your odds depend on how many people apply a year, because there was an inordinate amount of people applying for Cambridge medicine this year. Imperial medicine depends on the interview, so I'm hazarding a guess that if you actually do go over to the UK for interview, you may have a better chance.

You're wrong there I'm afraid. There's no such quota which is imposed on individual countries - just on international students in general. I also don't know where you plucked that '7' figure from. I'm also keen to know how you've deduced that your chances are bbtter if you actually go over to Imperial for your interview?

Reply 445

Knogle

Like it or not, but pure student application ratios/numbers do not indicate the competitiveness of a college.

Reply 446

jspuz

I got that '7' figure from the teacher counsellor; I guess it's some kind of implicit quota. Or maybe he was just trying to put people off - wouldn't be unexpected from him. :rolleyes:

Perhaps I may be wrong about the Imperial thing; it's just that as a general thing, most people I know who went over to the UK for the Imperial/UCL interviews received offers, while the rest were flatly rejected despite getting offers from Cambridge/Oxford medicine. That's of course, assuming you interview better than you look on paper! :biggrin:

Reply 447

Nutter

Knogle

Like it or not, but pure student application ratios/numbers do not indicate the competitiveness of a college.

It is one of the many indicators of competitiveness. If at all, you'd be pooled to a less competitive college since there is a general notion that the better-qualified candidates tend to make direct applications to the top colleges, while the less-confident ones tend to apply for those lower in the league tables. It is virtually impossible to be assigned to Merton/Balliol at Oxford for example, if you make an open application. Now that's competitive.

Reply 448

Knogle

Nutter

You could be pooled into the more competitive ones amongst the less competitive ones. Like you said, the application statistic/ratio is just one of the many indicators of competitiveness. No one's talking about the uberleet colleges like Merton/St. John's/Balliol/whatever. :wink:

Reply 449

Knogle

jspuz

I got that '7' figure from the teacher counsellor; I guess it's some kind of implicit quota. Or maybe he was just trying to put people off - wouldn't be unexpected from him. :rolleyes:

How many people get called up for an interview though? A friend wasn't even invited for one, heh. Yes, he had the grades... more than enough of 'em.

Reply 450

Nutter

Knogle

You could be pooled into the more competitive ones amongst the less competitive ones. Like you said, the application statistic/ratio is just one of the many indicators of competitiveness.

Exactly... :rolleyes:

Reply 451

Knogle

Nutter

Exactly... :rolleyes:

Pfft, I could very well be referring to a middle-ranked college like Keble vis-a-vis a crappy one (comparatively) like St. Peter's. Quite a stark difference there. My point stands that you may be pooled into a competitive college. It's all relative! AND you could be pooled into the statistically easiest college to get into, but you don't know what other factors go into the decision making process. You may have higher chances at being admitted at one college over another despite having the exact same application.

Reply 452

jspuz

Knogle

How many people get called up for an interview though? A friend wasn't even invited for one, heh. Yes, he had the grades... more than enough of 'em.

No idea, though I have the feeling medicine tends to be more arbitrary than other courses.

I have a friend who was rejected everywhere she applied for in the UK for medicine when she got AAAA DDD for prelims ("screwed" up her A levels though and ended up with AAAA DDM A1 :wink:

). She didn't go over to the UK for interviews.

Reply 453

Nutter

Knogle

Please re-read that to yourself multiple tims. The number of logical fallacies and contradictions so overwhelming that I will cease to comment any further.

Also, watch where you're going with labelling College as "crappy" please, even comparatively. Don't take low blows. I now know why you often get into such heated arguments in the MUN. :smile:

Reply 454

Knogle

jspuz

). She didn't go over to the UK for interviews.

What a horrible muck up. tsk tsk. :p:

Reply 455

Knogle

Nutter

Please re-read that to yourself multiple tims. The number of logical fallacies and contradictions so overwhelming that I will cease to comment any further.

None at all. Perhaps you might be able to relate to the the logic I was communicating across if you were more receptive. :rolleyes:

Reply 456

Nutter

Knogle

None at all. Perhaps you might be able to relate to the the logic I was communicating across if you were more receptive. :rolleyes:

Like, case in point! :yy:

No more low blows, incidentally?

Reply 457

Knogle

Nutter

Like, case in point! :yy:

No more low blows, incidentally?

Heh, we could continue launching incisive and spiteful ripostes at each other without getting anywhere. But nope, I'm not up for that game.

I'll be the one man enough to walk away with my dignity in tact. :smile:

Reply 458

Nutter

Knogle

I knew that one was coming. You're so predictable.

P.S. Don't bother using flagrant words for the sake of it; it doesn't make you look cool. :rolleyes:

Reply 459

acezhiquan

Hi..

*Looks at the above* haha.. does this happen often?.. lol

Hm. was just wondering.. if you go overseas to do medicine.. do you have a bond with that country, as in if you do med in U.K, do you have a mandatory period with the National healthcare group or something?