can the lousiest express class student go to JC?

last SG · 2009-11-06T23:31:59+00:00

Speaking of which, I have heard that the H1 Maths syllabus in JC is almost the same as the Secondary School Amaths syllabus. Is that true?Hi Dejomel,You may...

eagle SG

Just wonderin, I've been hearing that engineerin course is hard, tough, etc. So my question is, if u were to mug and mug hard throughout your uni life, is it possible to like get into the Dean's List and obtain FCH?

I know that that can work in JC, sec sch etc, but im wonderin whether it applies to uni as well. Do we have to do lots of independent learnin and look for info outside of what is taught?

Work hard and independent learning, etc, is definitely a must.

In addition, u need to understand concepts very clearly, something which is trained a little little bit in JCs.

Dean's List would be much much harder... much more competitive for engineering faculty... I only managed to get it twice our of 6 possible semesters... :(

Wheref SG

Heh was it because of all our foreigner friends that made it super tough to get in the list? Heard that they learnt some of those stuff back in their China schools already..Anyway what's the top percentage to get into the list?

Btw, is the engineering course in NUS only meant for the first year? Like maybe you are expected to branch into another more specialised course in the second year like Electrical Engineering, Chemical, etc.?

Prophecy_Master SG

my subject combination is like this

3D Subject Combination:

(1)      English Language
(2)      Mother Tongue/ HMT
(3)      Elementary Mathematics
(4)      Science (Bio / Chem)
(5)      Principles of Accounts
(6)      Art
(7)      Social Studies + Literature in CL

cos dunno why my sch oni offering 2 classes for a math

and the 1st is got thriple sci

2nd is double sci ,but my sci fail - 47

my math oso not say very good - 64

I don't know if I go for an appeal to 3B which has combinations like this

:3B Subject Combination:

(1)     English Language
(2)     Mother Tongue/ HMT
(3)     Elementary Mathematics
(4)     Additional Mathematics
(5)     Pure Chemistry
(6)     Pure Physics
(7)     Social Studies + Literature in CL

but then the case is If I stay in 3D

the subjects i take cant even count to L1R5

oni can L1R4

then die die must go poly ....

sian..vjc bye

know your limits, and deal with it.

dkcx SG

Just some minor disagreements with many of the arguements but too many things to quote.

Eagle, our 'generation' belongs more to the age where everyone who can go to JC will go to JC while its the poorer students that choose to go to poly. You graduated before me and even during my batch, poly was still considered a place that only ppl who cannot go JC choose to go. However nowadays, the trends are increasing for top studens who reject JCs and go to poly so its no longer able to use poly/jc grads of our time to compare to now.

There are JC students that get the FCH i won't deny esp at your time last year however are u certain that all the bottom students are poly students or are there still a large number of JC students at the bottom as well? Rather than paint a very positive picture and only talking about the top, we should consider the whole picture and see the whole cohort for discussion. Furthermore, how many peoeple can really dream about getting that FCH?

For salary comarisions, its unfair to compare poly with uni because they are of different standard. If a poly student can ever earn more than a uni grad, there is no reason to go uni already. If you compare JC to poly, a poly can earn 1-2k salary, a JC student pathetic amount.

Furthermore, alot of poly students choose to go overseas to study as do many JC students. Overseas, poly students can get 1.5-2yrs exemption for almost any course which makes a poly grad graduate even earlier than a JC grad who goes to the same overseas uni. In fact for my poly course, about half or so of the top scorers all chose to go overseas uni to study rather than local uni so its not fair to just judge those who go from poly to local uni as really the best from poly.

Dejomel SG

I'm interested in the answer too o.0

TrueHeart SG

Hi Wheref,

To get into the Dean list, one must be within the top 5% of his/her cohort for that particular semester. Depending on the faculty, there are other requirements as well, which usually includes a certain minimum Semester Average Point and a minimum amount of modules to be done in that particular semester.

Cheers.

limywv SG

yiha093 SG

you are a guy who's just angry...about something you feel is unfair

unfair regarding ?

jc is ultimately better then poly ?

eagle SG

Just some minor disagreements with many of the arguements but too many things to quote.

Ahh... that's quite insightful on the part where they prefer to go to overseas uni.

Let me just add on that previous 'top' schools with 'top' students are all in the IP stream, so many would go on to complete JC. I'm not sure about engineering, but I know it's very tough to get into Mass Comm course in Poly.

Nice one as well. But if we were to compare top scorers from poly vs top scorers from JC entering into Uni? What's the percentage of FCH from top scorers coming from poly and JC?

My main take is that poly grads face a steeper slope to scoring better in uni based on mathematical calculations and probability. It's not about which course is better or not ;) Pure hard work will still ensure a good score.

Regarding the salary part, I'm just stating the current mkt conditions, wasn't comparing ;)
Of course, A level grads would earn much much less.

eagle SG

yep they did learn most back in China. But for my batch, quite a number who got Dean's List are locals like me... So

Requirements are at least 4.5 in semester average plus within top 5% of cohort. Usually, the top 5% semester average is about 4.8.

For engineering in NUS, you can now branch into specialised discipline immediately in the first year. This started in year 2004.

dkcx SG

Nice one as well. But if we were to compare top scorers from poly vs top scorers from JC entering into Uni? What's the percentage of FCH from top scorers coming from poly and JC?

Actually i feel alot is still base on their initial academic ability. There are still more 6 pointers in JC than poly and these people are expected to still maintain their 'lead'. The number of people who catch up are there but are rarely in signficant enough numbers to kick all the top scorers off FCH.

However i won't deny that JC students have an edge in the theoretical aspect while poly students have an edge in the practical aspect. What i feel is if the person intends to continue on doing research etc, a theoretical background would be beneficial but for field related work, i feel the poly hands on experience would be a large edge over JC students cos poly has more hands on than uni from what i experience.

eagle SG

It's true that hands on experience, poly would have a larger edge.

However, it depends on the industry you would work in. For example, for my job scope, I do test programs, implement test methodologies, giving presentations on theoretical aspects and reasons why certain things were done, as well as coordinate between product engineers and test floors. Hands on engineering is useless here ;)

HyperionDCZ SG

if you're VJ material, you shouldnt even be thinking about poly. The jc/poly debate applies only to the middle or low range student who actually has to decide between a mediocre JC and the poly alternative. Once you get into a top JC, your path is set (unless you're a lazy prick) and entry into a good uni is a virtual guarantee

Wheref SG

Is the degree in Engineering just all about physics and maths? Does it make use of chem?

Hmm.. Then what if you decided not to specialise and decided to continue in your degree in engineering, does that mean that you're sort of learning bits and bits of other specialised courses? Sort of like jack of all trade, master of none?

Oh also, if you were to specialise in the second year, would you lose out to those who are already in that course for a year?

Hehe another point to add on, sorry for the troubles :x I've read that engineering grads are able to take on jobs in the banking and finance sector. How true is that and how so? Is it because that they have read mathematics in their course thus employers are willing to hire them?

Thanks for the replies guys, need some enlightenment on what courses I should take after my A's. :)

dkcx SG

It's true that hands on experience, poly would have a larger edge.

I would say that really depends on the job you apply for i guess. For my line, a chemist is more on hands on and analysis skills and much less theory required unless we are trying to do some research or something happens which disrupt the usual results that requires investigation.

dkcx SG

Is the degree in Engineering just all about physics and maths? Does it make use of chem?

Oh also, if you were to specialise in the second year, would you lose out to those who are already in that course for a year?

Thanks for the replies guys, need some enlightenment on what courses I should take after my A's. :)

Not sure about NUS but NTU's engineering grads most of them will have to go through a basic chemistry module but only chemical engineers and material engineers will do abit more chemistry.

There is no general engineering course in NTU and i really doubt NUS would have it since a general engineering degree seems quite useless compared to all the specialised degrees.

Many engineering grads get work in the banking and finance industry for their anlytical skills etc. Its quite common i would say and i've known at least 1 or 2 engineer grads who works in the banking and finance industry.

What course you should take i would feel should depend more on ur interest and abit less on its future prospect since the market is ever changing. I feel that a course you have no interest in is a torture to study through regardless how much it might pay in future.

Wheref SG

There's no general engineering course in NTU or NUS? Crap lol, then how come the Cut-Off-Points that they released have?

dkcx SG

There's no general engineering course in NTU or NUS? Crap lol, then how come the Cut-Off-Points that they released have?

There is a common engine phase which is the 1st yr for electrical, mechanical, civl and environmental engineering for NTU. Those students that do not choose which engineering to specialist in will choose their specialisation in their 2nd yr subjected to the number of available places.

NUS i do not know.

Wheref SG

NUS i do not know.

Haha whew that's good to hear then, thanks :D

So in the end all the engineering students will have to specialise right?

coldzero SG

Dont worry. I was in the lousiest express class in my secondary school 6-8 years back too. My subject combi is like this:

(1)      English Language
(2)      Mother Tongue
(3)      Elementary Mathematics
(4)      Combined Science (Phy / Chem)
(5)      Principles of Accounts
(6)      Art
(7)      Social Studies + History

Take note, there is not A math or pure sciences. In the beginning I was like you, scared that my basics are so bad that I can't catch up in JC and worry if I could get a place in uni. And I studied hard and played hard (hugely involved in a sports CCA) too. I didn't really study that hard, just consistent doing of tutorials and homeworks and pay attention during lectures. No extra work done. I still got into a science class in JC (H2 phy, chem and math) and with the same amount of effort, I scored 3 As, enough for me to secure a place in a reputable course in NTU.

The bottomline is, it can be done. Your effort matters the most. (:

All the best!

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