Dear
students,
Some of you
will be collecting your O-level results today and an important
decision awaits you about which progression pathway you should
choose.
There are
many options, including the junior colleges (JCs), polytechnics
(polys), the Institute of Technical Education and the arts
institutions.
You may
wonder about the key differences between the JC and poly routes and
I hope to provide you with some information to help you make an
informed choice.
A key
consideration would be your preferred learning style: Do you prefer
a more academic mode of learning or a more applied, hands-on type
of learning?
When you were in
secondary school, did you enjoy hands-on learning activities like
laboratory sessions and project work?
One key
difference is the mode of learning. In JCs, there is more emphasis
on understanding theoretical concepts while in polys, the emphasis
is on building industry-relevant skills through applied
learning.
As such, poly
courses are oriented towards specific careers while JC ones tend to
be more broad-based and academic.
JC students
take a few core subjects and go deep into the subjects over two
years; poly students take more "bite-sized" modules that build on
one another over three years.
On average, a
poly student takes about five to seven modules per semester, and
there are two semesters in an academic year.
The
assessment approach is also different. I think most of you are
aware that JC students take the A-level exams at one sitting at the
end of two years. In the polys, students' results for every module
that they take over the three years count towards the cumulative
grade point average.
So what does
this all mean?
A key
consideration would be your preferred learning style: Do you prefer
a more academic mode of learning or a more applied, hands-on type
of learning?
When you were
in secondary school, did you enjoy hands-on learning activities
like laboratory sessions and project work?
Another key
consideration would be whether you currently have a clear passion
and inclination for specific careers.
For example,
you might be drawn to the caring profession and you have the
disposition and passion to pursue a career in nursing. In such a
case, the poly route would be a good choice.
If you have
no specific career inclinations now and would like to keep your
options open, you may want to consider the JC route.
If you should
choose to join a poly, you need to decide on a course. The five
polys offer close to 250 diploma courses in total, so you do need a
strategy to pick the right one.
My advice is
to start by picking the clusters of courses that you might be
interested in.
There are
nine main clusters: engineering, built environment, maritime
studies, health sciences, applied sciences, information and digital
technologies, media and design, business management, and
humanities.
Try to get a
sense of the broad clusters you are interested in based on your
passion and strengths. Think about which subjects you are
passionate about and tend to do well in. For example, if you are
very strong in mathematics and physics and you like making or
fixing things, you may want to look at the engineering and built
environment clusters. If you have a strong flair for creative work,
you may want to look at the media and design cluster.
After
identifying the relevant clusters, shortlist the courses of
interest within the cluster.
At this
point, it is important to read up on the course curriculum and
career prospects of the different courses. You can typically get
this information from the polys' prospectus or from their
websites.
You can also
visit the polys during the Joint Admissions Exercise to speak to
the course counsellors.
Another point
to note is that unlike the JCs, which follow a broad curriculum
framework set by the Ministry of Education, the polys have the
autonomy to design their own course curricula.
Hence, even
diplomas in the same broad areas may have different emphasis and
coverage when offered by different polys. The key is to find a
course that fits your interest and strengths.
Your choice
of courses should precede your choice of polys.
Let me
explain this a little more. Say you are extremely interested in
aerospace engineering and decide to choose aerospace engineering at
Poly A as your first choice.
The logical
second and third choices would be aerospace engineering in Poly B
and Poly C, respectively, so that you maximise your chances of
getting into your preferred course.
For some
students, their priority is to get into a particular poly and they
would rather choose courses that they are less interested in, to
get into their poly of choice.
This may
result in sub-optimal outcomes. Go for what you are interested in
and good at. In any case, I do honestly believe that all five polys
offer excellent learning experiences, so getting into the course of
your choice should be a priority.
I hope I have
offered you some help in making this very important decision. Do
take some time to ponder over it and discuss it with your parents,
teachers, and education and career guidance counsellors.
It leaves me
to wish you all the very best, whichever route you may choose to
take.
Remember that
the future is what you make of it!
With best
regards,
Ms Jeanne
Liew
Principal
& CEO
Nanyang
Polytechnic
