Admission into Local Unis

Confusedstudent93 SG

Hi guys, looking for some advice here!

I am a A level's Cert holder, won't go into specifics but i got 65/90 rank points....my O' levels L1R5 was 9. I applied to NTU/NUS this year but did not get into anyone of them...I'm currently serving my National Service...will ORD in dec next year.

Now i'm in a dilemma, i do not have the money to go overseas and desperately want to study in a instituition with quality education....it's my priority to get into NTU/NUS engineering.

From what i've been deciding here are some of my options:

1) Re-take my A levels next year, well i did not work hard in JC but now after all this i will give it my all. Realistically though, A levels is already not easy, then giving as a private candidate is going to be that much tougher...

2) Do a part-time diploma in SP/TP, (Mechanical/Aerospace eng)....that is the field i definitely want to work in and i feel that a part-time diploma will atleast not waste my time....i will learn something new and gain relevant practical exp to make my time in uni easier....plus if i do well (aiming for a very high GPA) i can get into NTU/NUS right?

3) Go overseas, well that i have no idea how i'm gonna do......my family's income is not enough to get large amounts of loans and i'm not a outstanding student who can get any sort of scholarship soooo any ideas?

4) Go to a private school in singapore (Kaplan, MDIS, etc etc)....honestly this is what i do not want at all. No discrimination but it is not a preference at all and i will leave it as a last resort...for many reasons....firstly i have checked them out and do not like their teaching methods, secondly they are not excatly very cheap either, thirdly my family will not help me pay a single penny if i go to a private sch in singapore :( i have friends who graduated from there and have high paying jobs in the private sector. For me after speanding 2 freaking years in JC and going through all the bullshit and then settling for a private uni will feel like shit....pls don't flame me for it, just being honest :(

Need your opinions! HELP!

troublemaker2005 SG

really unless you into some chemical engineering, else based some physics from your A level difficult to get into negineering lah. usually the diploma holders will have an edge getting into engineering.

MyPillowTalks SG

I have not been through A levels so i can't comment much.
I will retake A levels if i were you, if i did not lose the study motivation after serving NS. It seems easier to pick up what you have learnt before than studying new things.

A part time diploma will take 5 years right? It really depend if you are willing to spend 5 years to get into uni.

As for diploma, I did EEE with aerospace major in one of the very well known poly. I got into NTU EEE without a high GPA.

NTU Aeronautical engineering is very hard to get in, due to the small intake. Some of my friends who took aeronautical engineering diploma find it hard to get a high GPA as well, meaning lesser chance to get into uni.
However, they are not from JC, maybe with a JC standard, you will find aeronautical engineering easy, putting aside the fact that you may not like the teaching style of some lecturers - eg not teaching you how to do the maths part, and asks you to ask your maths teacher, requires word for word answer, giving wrong answer/inaccurate answers, can't solve the questions and ask you ask another lecturer.

As for practical experience, it depends on poly to poly, as well as lecturers taking you on that module(subjects). I have met lecturers who don't have heart to teach, or don't know how to operate/unwilling to demo certain aircraft instrument.

You have to understand some lecturers don't have much practical experience in the module they teach, sometimes they are just happen to be taking that module. They are just teaching for the sake of teaching.

troublemaker2005 SG

aiya no need s high educated lah - see my ex company boss - primary 6 only can be manager. in the working life to get on top and tsay there or move further - you have to be 'high - handed' and have no remosre executing those high handed tatcics. another homo claiims just cum back from failed busines in shaghai - the way he tok is tipical ceena rot - and when he boost -0 his eyes won;t blink1. like real

Shootme SG

Don't bullsh*t. Ya true, never study can become manager/millionaire, but the question is how many?? Not everyone can be Bill gates or Steve Jobs, so get your fact right.

Just retake your A level since you are going to serve your 2 year NS anyway. Don’t waste your 2 years in JC for nothing, don’t even think about going poly/private schools. You got 9 points for your O level, undoubtedly you have the calibers to do well. Just focus on your studies and manage your time well, surely you can achieve your goal eventually.

Speaking from NTU aerospace year 1 student

Darkness_hacker99 SG

Retake A Level. Apply for Uni again. Don't go through the poly route, because poly prepare you for the workforce. If you want to have a higher starting pay in future, best is go through the degree route.

troublemaker2005 SG

Don't bullsh*t. Ya true, never study can become manager/millionaire, but the question is how many?? Not everyone can be Bill gates or Steve Jobs, so get your fact right.

Speaking from NTU aerospace year 1 student

hey i never bullsheet read my post carrefully. my manager primary 6 only. and i wrote clearly how he survive in the concrete jungle - very high handed. study is good, go study longer and get better grades, better cert better life

killtheink SG

don't retake your A's again unless you have the absolute resolve to do so, and you know deep down that you're not going to give up halfway or 3/4 way. It's tiring, you'll be miserable because everything is on repeat, you will feel so fked up, and knowing this society now, people will look at you different. they will, even though they don't say it to your face or show it, they will. just saying. and since you're being realistic about the possibility of not being able to afford going overseas to study, then fine, scrape that idea. it's not a lost cause just because you can't go overseas. it's not that easy to just hop to another country. if it was, everyone would be doing just that. if its one thing to be HOPING that pastures are greener out there, it's another thing to be taking crazy bank loans to fuel that hope. don't do that. NEVER, ever take up a bank loan if you can help it. because once you start taking one up, you'll be paying that shit back through your nose and mouth for years to come. if you're going to carry on being realistic, then option 2 is probably the most practical at this point. you still have years ahead, you can finish this diploma, and if you can get into a local uni, GREAT. if you can't? go out and work, gain all the experience, trust me, after several years you'll realize you don't need to go back to school anymore. and then if you feel you want to go back and study, then do that. all that experience is something you can't ever get from the lecture theatre. right now it's so easy to ask for advice, you'll hear hundreds of voices telling you which option you should go for, most importantly, you go with your gut instinct and listen to YOURSELF.

(side: a lot of people just get this whole idea of getting a high salary wrong, because if you don't even enjoy what you're doing, getting a high salary gets you nowhere on the happiness index. if you're just going through the motion just to get a higher pay, you've gotta change the mindset. i don't get how people can go for 40-50 years working their ass off at a job they hate, JUST to get more moo-lah. i hope you never get stuck in that situation. all the best!)

troublemaker2005 SG

cannot lah - some pepople have to because once they get married the whole family traditiona )chinese call 'face'_ and carry on the blood line and feed family mainatanin house car - money -is the essential. that's why pay and pay is very important to some.

but i think ythis thread should be in AA lah.