Dropping out of JC

Depressed Alex SG

Hi guys,

I'm new around here. Just wanted to seek your opinions on my dropping out of JC.

Basically, I'm a JC1 student this year. I have a mental illness that involves mild psychosis and moderate depression. But I am not clinically depressed. I have been seeing a psychiatrist since last April, and have been taking antidepressants and antipsychotics since then, but I haven't really seen much of an improvement. This illness really impacted my functioning, and it caused my results to drop from being one of the tops in my school in Sec3 to having a L1R5 of 16-4=12.

So anyway, I entered a JC. Currently, I think I have totally lost interest in school to continue school (probably because of my illness), which makes me want to drop out. In addition, I dislike or don't care about half of the subjects I'm taking, which adds to my will to leave school. Academically-wise, my performance in school varies from top in class for GP and PW, average in Math and Hist, below average for CLL (slightly) and Econs. However, I am not motivated to continue school. In other words, I still want to drop out. I have already 100% decided to drop out.

However, I think that by dropping out, my future becomes bleak. So my question is: What alternative routes are there for me to take?

Perhaps, I can go to poly, but then I can only think of one suitable course for me: Diploma in Chinese Studies. I don't know if I should take it. Besides, what are my job prospects for this diploma? I am also interested in Psychology, however, the polys here ban psychiatric patients from taking Psychology. So it's a no-no for me.

My friends suggested I take A Levels as a private candidate. But then would I still be bounded by the subject requirements? Are there compulsory subjects I have to take or subjects I am forced to take because of requirements like contrasting subject? I honestly don't about this option. Do I have to be homeschooled or study in a private school?

Another option is to take IB at a private college, namely United World College SEA. However, there are subject requirements. As far as I know, there are 6 subject groups where u have to choose from one at least 5 of these groups each, including Math and Sciences (which I dislike). So I don't think that this is a viable option for me.

I know that as long as my condition does not improve, chances are there will be a repeat of the incident of dropping out of school. However, I am pessimistic that I will recover to a highly functional level. Which is why I have to look for viable alternative options. Which option do you think is the most suitable for me? Or do you have other routes to propose? Will these routes end up in a dead-end for me?

Thanks in advance for replying :)

Djmeowmeow SG

Hi mate. I was a JC dropout as well from the one at pasir ris. Of course it is defintely not an easy decision to make back then and it took quite some courage to do that. I went on to Temasek Poly and recently graudated with an Diploma in Merit. So i guess things arent that bleak for me.

For your depression, I guess besides medication, a suitable lifestyle and environment is very beneficial for you and I believe that for your case, if you think that you condition is rather unstable in JC, might as well as go poly.

Nevertheless, you are at an age where you may not be able to see whats ahead. Its better to talk to your parents to see what plans they have for you.

Should you choose to go to poly and you dont feel like wasting time, there is an October intake for polys as well, just that it has a limited amount of courses. So you have to do your homework first to see which courses take people for October. You can also wait till next year april and work in the mean time.

Of course, there are other options as well. Private institutions like SIM and Kaplan do offer diploma+degree programs. Maybe your parents have plans to send you aboard; some uni overseas will allow you to enter with O levels but you need to do a foundation year first.

The choice is up to you thou. Just make sure to consider all available options first if you think JC is not for you.

remixZ_89 SG

Bro

DUN GIVE UP!

Depressed Alex SG

Hi Djmeowmeow,

Thanks for replying :) Since your name contains two "meow", may I ask if you like cats?

First of all, it's good that things weren't that bleak for you. And it's great to have a person who has gone through the same experience as me to reply.

Well, you are right that "a suitable lifestyle and environment is very beneficial for (me)". Which is one of the reasons why I am dropping out of JC because I felt that its environment is not suitable for me.

Moving on, I googled about the october intake for poly and find that only some polys (like TP) have october intake for limited courses. These courses don't interest me, so I suppose this option is out. Anyway, I would be okay waiting for a year to pass for the April Poly intake next year. I suppose I have quite some things to do, like writing a novel, learning chinese, etc. So I don't suppose this is a problem.

I also checked the websites of SIM University and Kaplan, but I just can't find the pages that show the diplomas that these educational institutes offer. But I shall leave this option open while I find out more. For overseas universities, it is an interesting option and I'm tempted to take it. However, I'm worried about the exorbitant costs of going to overseas universities. But I suppose this can be solved by taking a job.

Whichever route I choose, I suppose a lot depends on my condition. If my condition does not allow me to take these courses, it would all end up as nothing. Which is why I'm pretty pessimistic about my ability to survive the courses. But anyway, thanks for replying :)

Have a good day ahead :)

Depressed Alex SG

Hi remixZ_89,

Thanks for replying :) What do you mean by not giving up? :o

Cedr1c SG

Hello TS,

Polytechnic is definitely more manageable than doing A Levels.

Perhaps you wish to take a look at different courses offered by polytechnics and consider which is the one that interest you :)

Lokey SG

@Depressed Alex, My cousin has mild psychosis, and indirectly depression. He had also finished JC normally and move on to NS. He get downgraded lately because of this problem.

So you can also do it. JC is a piece of cake. Aim to get the score, enough for your uni course would be sufficient. There is no need to aim for all As.

Chemguide7 SG

Hi, pls take care. You may want to see your psychiatrist and check with him/her whether you could change medication. I have been scanning through medical books for the last few years and I learned that there are quite a few medications available.

Moderate exercise may help with depression from what I checked with newspapers and websites.

You may not like to go to IB as the IB environment could be more competitive than the JC environment.

Poly has a less structured environment. If you do Chinese studies in poly, you may proceed to uni with GPA > 3.??? (check uni websites), only if you are in the top 10-15% of the poly cohort. The prospects are not exactly fabulous for Chinese studies, you may work in companies with Chinese literature publishing, work in wanbao or magazines, or work in China or Taiwan. You need to check with poly counselors. But you could still excel in a smaller cohort of Chinese graduates in Sg competing in a smaller Chinese literary market. Or you could go into business.

I learned that Australia education system may be less stressful, but uni is tough in Australia too. As what a previous forum person has answered, there are private diplomas available too, but they are more expensive than a poly route.

So plan carefully, dun stress yourself out. JC is not meant for everybody. Take care.

remixZ_89 SG

In whatever u do, dun think of giving. Up

Depressed Alex SG

@Depressed Alex, My cousin has mild psychosis, and indirectly depression. He had also finished JC normally and move on to NS. He get downgraded lately because of this problem.

So you can also do it. JC is a piece of cake. Aim to get the score, enough for your uni course would be sufficient. There is no need to aim for all As.

Hi Lokey,

I hope your cousin is alright. When you say "mild psychosis, and indirectly depression", do you mean that the depression is caused by the mild psychosis? Mine is different though. My depressive symptoms are not caused by mild psychosis, but rather as a seperate arm under psychosis. That's why my illness is called "Psychosis Not Otherwise Specified (NOS meaning not one of the specified type in the diagnostic manual) with depressive features".

Well, I highly doubt that I can cope with JC life, even if I don't aim for all As. I had a mental breakdown during Sec 4. Since JC life is worse, I'll probably suffer even more and my results will be even worse than last year.

But anyway, thanks for your encouragement :)

Depressed Alex SG

Hello TS,

Polytechnic is definitely more manageable than doing A Levels.

Perhaps you wish to take a look at different courses offered by polytechnics and consider which is the one that interest you :)

Hi Cedr1c,

Thanks for your advice. I'm considering alternative routes like poly now :)

Depressed Alex SG

Moderate exercise may help with depression from what I checked with newspapers and websites.

You may not like to go to IB as the IB environment could be more competitive than the JC environment.

So plan carefully, dun stress yourself out. JC is not meant for everybody. Take care.

Hi Chemguide7,

Ya, I think I should change my antidepressant. Been on it for nearly a year (being at maximum dose for quite a few months) and have not seen much improvement from taking it. Earlier on took another depressant but that didn't work as well.

Ok, I think I shall eliminate the IB option :/

I checked alr. The GPA for entry into uni is usually at least 3.5-3.8, which is quite high. I highly doubt that I can enter local universities through the poly route.

Ya, the job prospects are something that I have been worrying about. Perhaps, you are right that I should consult the poly counsellors.

Regarding your opinions on the Australian education system and private diplomas, I shall bear them in mind when I plan.

Thanks for your well wishes :)

Depressed Alex SG

In whatever u do, dun think of giving. Up

Thanks remixZ_89 for your encouragement. At the very least, I will not give up living :)

syncopation_music SG

Hi guys,

I'm new around here. Just wanted to seek your opinions on my dropping out of JC.

However, I think that by dropping out, my future becomes bleak. So my question is: What alternative routes are there for me to take?

Thanks in advance for replying :)

sorry to hear ur situation .maybe you might want to go for a long holiday to recuperate first ?

i know its a weird suggestion but i hope it helps you

another way is watch some inspiring movie like SHINE to inspire you on ,in the meantime ,take a break before enrolling into another school .

hope this helps

syncopation_music

Chemguide7 SG

Hi Alex, to add to syncopation, I read that Beethoven, the famous composer, when he was composing Pastoral Symphony (No. 6), took a break at the countryside where there was serene scenery. This symphony sounded so peaceful. A rural area may be good for recuperation.

But it depends on your situation. Plus you need to adjust to a new place and doctor support may not be easy to find. My friend went to Tioman to escape from his work situation and for a break.

Poly has a lot of group work too, and also seems hectic from my fren's fb posts. But it seems so fun compared to JC! Can some poly students comment?

remixZ_89 SG

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