Retain Jc1 or enroll as 10mth fulltime private candidate

Jan3 SG

Hi, I am new here. Apologise if I post on the wrong forum.I wrote a similar post but it didnt get posted.

I need advice.

I did badly for my jc1 promo exams and I am not allowed to retest. I felt that if given a chance to retest I will be able to meet the promo criteria but its too late and that's past.

I am thinking of enrolling as a fulltime student at MDIS College and sit for next year A level (first attempt) as a private candidate pathway while my friends will be also sitting same exams via JC pathway. MDIS has laboratory for Science subjects such as biology, chemistry and physics. As a private candidate I would need to take practical for my H2 science subjects. If I choose to retain I will have to redo all my jc1 SPA components.

I felt that to retain is to waste one year of my time. That's the reason I thought of MDIS college. I need to enroll as a full time student in a private school 'cos of NS liability.

I would like to hear from people who has similar experiences or friends who have experienced it. In fact I am totally lost of what to do. Retain or private candidate? I am not interested in poly 'cos at this juncture I do not know what I want to be.

Pls advice. Thank you.

UltimaOnline SG

Wise choice to take as a private candidate, provided you have the discipline and resources (eg. private tuition, in addition to MDIS) to pull this off.

Quite frankly, the majority of students waste the majority of their time in JC. Almost no one pays attention during lectures, and many often copy classmates' tutorial work just for the sake of the tutorial.

Worst of all, almost all JC students and teachers are perpetually sleep deprived, which (being sleep deprived) damages your brain and lowers your IQ and hence your 'A' level performance.

So I'm a big fan of private candidacy, especially for my BedokFunland JC H2 Chemistry tuition students, where I don't have to put up with the frustration of their JCs teaching them wrongly (or at least inadequately; this occurs far more commonly than you might think).

UltimaOnline SG

Oh, just to add : there's one last factor that you need to consider : Project Work. Obviously this isn't available to you as a private candidate, so you may need to check with the relevant University admissions department (that you're intending to apply into) on how this would affect your Uni Admissions Score (UAS).

IIRC, ChemGuide (ie. Mr Chong) once mentioned that you could substitute PW with an additional H1 subject. Perhaps you can use this in lieu of your PW?

Or if you already have your PW grade, check with the Uni admissions department on whether you can use it in your UAS.

Jan3 SG

Hi, thanks for your info. Yes I will be having my oral presentation for PW next week. I will also check with Uni regading if I can use the PW grade together with my private candidate A level grades for Uni admission. Really appreciate you for supporting my idea of enrolling as a private candidate which I know is tough and needs tons of self-discipline and motivation. As right now, I am lack of self-confidence and motivation.

I hope to hear from more people who can share their experiences with me. Thank you.

a mugger SG

Discipline and resources are issues to look into. Do you look through your past mistakes and make sure you do not repeat conceptual mistakes? I suggest you let your teacher in school review your common mistakes first.

So,from what i read,you are considering to take A levels next year. Alright,I suggest after PW at the start of november,find a tuition centre/private tutor to go through the syllabus concepts(J1 topics instead of J2 headstart) You will really need to build up your foundation by next year,be it in private candidate or not. Rest assured and follow your tutors,believe in them and yourself,take time to clarify your doubts if you do not understand.

Do develop a passion for the subjects and not blindly study>>It will be easy for you to do well in that subject. Perhaps,take time to find out which subject influences your future ambition or uni course.Everything will fall in place on that subject.

Why did I mentioned all the above?

A friend of mine,who studied hard,retained.You need to study smart and analyse the concept behind the question.Take your time to analyse instead of jumping to complete your revision. Read as many times,practise as many times,ASK as many times till you finally understand it. If you are doing this,you are on the right track.

UltimaOnline SG

Really appreciate you for supporting my idea of enrolling as a private candidate which I know is tough and needs tons of self-discipline and motivation. As right now, I am lack of self-confidence and motivation.

To help you with self-confidence and motivation, do make use of SgForum here, to ask your subject questions (eg. H2 Chem, H2 Phys, H2 Maths).

Pple often say, "you should be studying instead of going online."

I disagree. I say, "you should be making use of online forums to help you with your studies."

Jan3 SG

Mugger and Ultimaonline: Thks for your advice. I do understand. But the motivation and the drive to move on are the most difficult part for me.

Some people tell me that its very tough to do A level the first time under private candidate pathway. Chances are I wont do well as this 10mth full time preparatory A level programme is more suitable for people who had done A levels before and its kind of revision and the pace is much faster which I would have problem. Anyone care to comment or share their experience? Thank you.

a mugger SG

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
― Winston Churchill

You seem to doubt your capabilities and now feel like retaining? You may need to research on what suits your interest the most~Expose yourself to different forms of education?Are you science-based or humanities-based?What are the most important aspects you want to achieve in life? If you have no compass,you are basiclly living life at a lost.You may want to rank your interests first,http://www.careerpath.com/>helps

I will do well.I will do well.I will thrive. Remember repeating these words in mind. You need to be idealistic to be optimistic.Just gotta start work after school. Alright,maybe you will want to consider this first:Do you have confidence in your jc teachers on improving your results,if not,you may want to explore a more viable option

UltimaOnline SG

Speaking only for H2 Chemistry, I'm confident that private candidates (even those who have not sat for A levels exams previously) will do better under my BedokFunland JC banner, than if they were under the banner of a Singapore JC (ie. if they were to remain as a school candidate).

Eg. if a particular candidate would score a 'C' grade under a Singapore JC, I'm confident he/she would score at least a 'B' grade under my BedokFunland JC.

Simply because this private candidate would not have to waste valuable time blindly copying or memorizing school notes, and would instead have more time to actually understand and really learn about Chemistry.

Call it a problem with the Singapore education system if you like, but it is an undeniable fact that most students don't actually learn much within Singapore schools (and instead, merely attend lectures for the sake of attending, copy tutorials for the sake of handing up, and blindly memorize notes for the sake of regurgitating during exams).

eagle SG

Extremely poor results in J1 Promos may be a reflection of poor understanding of concepts, practically zilch especially since you don't meet the promos criteria.

If you go for private candidature like you said, you need to work doubly hard, to catch up on ALL your J1 concepts as well as learn the J2 topics. All these in one year, whereas your peers have prepared and done well in J1, and repeat the same preparation in J2, all over 2 years. Do you think you can overtake them on the bell curve? If so, then go ahead.

However, guided private candidature can be quite cost-prohitibitve to most. You will need to consider this.

IMO, JC students really need a lot of support. Which is why I offer free consultation to my group tuition students this month as their A level approaches. I want everyone to score well!

Jan3 SG

Maugger, eagle, & ultimaonline: Thks for your advice. It seems not many people have gone through what I am going through or these people do not wish to share or talk about it, I hope I can make a deicision before Dec. Meanwhile I will have to start pulling myself together and start building up my jc1 fundamentals.

Lee012lee SG

Wise choice to take as a private candidate, provided you have the discipline and resources (eg. private tuition, in addition to MDIS) to pull this off.

Worst of all, almost all JC students and teachers are perpetually sleep deprived, which (being sleep deprived) damages your brain and lowers your IQ and hence your 'A' level performance.

Though private school students do not take Project Work, these candidates will not be disadvantaged ie they will not get a zero score for PW.

NUS will compute UAS based on the results of their 3H2 and 1H1 and GP and regrossed it ie their initial UAS will be multiplied by 9/8 to get the regrossed UAS.

Lee012lee SG

MTL for local students only are included in the computation of NUS UAS only if it gives an advantage in the outcome of the candidate's application.

NUS will compute UAS based on 3H2, 1H1, GP, PW and MTL and regrossed it ie their initial UAS will be mutliplied by 9/10 to get their regrossed UAS for JC students.

NUS will only use their regrossed UAS if these scores are higher than their UAS for 3H2, 1H1, GPand PW.

UltimaOnline SG

Though private school students do not take Project Work, these candidates will not be disadvantaged ie they will not get a zero score for PW.

NUS will compute UAS based on the results of their 3H2 and 1H1 and GP and regrossed it ie their initial UAS will be multiplied by 9/8 to get the regrossed UAS.

Thank you very much for the helpful info, Lee012lee!

Jan3 SG

Lee012lee: Thanks for your valuable info. At least I know I wont be disadvantaged if i chose private candidate pathway. Btw, I am currently doing my PW this year. Will I be able to use it to combined with my A level results (2014 private candidate sitting)? Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks!

Lee012lee SG

Thank you very much for the helpful info, Lee012lee!

Glad to hear that you find the information useful.

Let us continue to share more in this forum.

Lee012lee SG

To share another lesser known way of computing NUS UAS,

For computation of the University Admission score, grades for GP/KI and 3 H2 subjects attained at 1 sitting of the A-level examination will be used. Only the H1 content-based subject, H1 Project Work (PW) and H1 Mother-Tongue Language (MTL) subject can be of a different sitting (if this is presented, the grades of these 3 H1 subjects attained at the earlier A-level examination will be used). However, if to retake one or all of the H1 content-based subjects, H1 PW and H1 MTL, the best H1 content-based subject, H1 PW and H1 MTL grade will be used for the computation of UAS.

Lee012lee SG

Yes, you can combine your PW grade with 2014 private candidate result BUT I suggest you do your calculation first before you submit your PW grade in your application for NUS admission.

If your PW grade is C, your UAS will be 76.5 points assuming all Bs for the 3 H2 subjects, C for H1 subject and C for GP.

If your PW grade is A, your UAS will be 79 points assuming all Bs for the 3 H2 subjects, C for H1 subject and C for GP.

If you exclude your PW grade and just submit your 2014 private candidate result, your UAS will be 77.625 points.

A word of advice. Make sure you work very hard and practise strict discipline in your studies as many private candidates do not do well due to lack of strong determination and sustained motivation to last them through the "A" level studies and exam.