Update 14 Jan 09
TakChek wrote (paraphrased) "some students, even if they can
make the JC cut-off point, may be better off if they went the Poly
route".
My reply : Yes, that's true of course, in exactly the same vein
how many students who end up in Poly, would have done better in
life if they had instead attended JC.
In other words, sometimes (no, oftentimes) decisions that we
make based on myopic, limited perspective, understanding, or access
to relevant information, at that point of time, may not be the
'correct' one that would serve us the best, in retrospect.
But nonetheless, we have to make the best decision available to
us at any given point; and I maintain that unless you're sure you
know what you want as a future career and it involves particular
Poly courses, otherwise go to JC (or even MI, if you have no
choice) instead. It's keeping your options open.
Once you enter a Poly course, unless you're gonna waste time to
drop out and switch course halfway (I've many students who did this
because they regretted their initial choice of Poly course, and
some who up till now, suffer in the same regretted choice of Poly
course coz their parents won't give them permission to drop out and
switch course halfway), otherwise it means your life career is more
or less limited to your field/profession as specified by your Poly
diploma.
Which is a good thing, if you know that field/profession is what
you want to do in life. But if not, do yourself a favour and keep
your options open, go to JC (or even MI).
TakChek replied :
>>> Yes, I edited out the earlier part as I figured it
wasn't consistent with my viewpoint that options should be kept as
wide as possible. That said, not everyone is cut out for a JC
course - they might be better off learning a vocational skill.
<<<
I replied :
Yes, this is up to each student to decide for himself, and to
decide by this Friday (deadline for JAE applications).
We need the entire spectrum of professions for a society to
function. Each person will have to decide for him/herself what
he/she wants to do in life.
Ultimately, trust that whatever path you've chose and/or you're
lead to take, there's always a unique pro (pros vs cons) and unique
advantage to that path in life.
(end of update)
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I've explained the pros and cons regarding JC vs Poly, and how
you have to decide which is best for you, in
this thread here (have a read).
Excerpts of my posts :
Pros and Cons.
There's the general JC vs Poly debate which everyone is familiar
with (for some JC turned out to be better choice, for others Poly
turned out to be better choice). In particular, look very carefully
at the course of interest to you in NUS, NTU, SMU, that would help
you reach your planned profession most directly, then from there,
taking into consideration any and all other relevant factors (eg.
family financial status, preference for JC vs Poly culture,
industrial relevance, current trends, etc), decide whether JC or
Poly is a more helpful choice for your life path.
But whichever path you choose, enjoy it and go all out and perform
your best with passion. Don't ever regret your choices. But that is
not to say that you shouldn't be open to the possibility of
changing courses midway, if necessary. If after a semester or two
in your course, if you decide it's better to switch courses, do so
wisely without regret or feeling that "I wasted my time!" because
nothing is ever wasted. There's a reason for everything, you just
have to make the best of it.
Even more specific advice :
If you want to do medicine, then JC would be a better choice.
If you want to be a school teacher in the future, then JC would be
a better choice.
If you want to do industrial based professions (eg. engineering),
Polys would be a better choice.
For Chemical Engineering and Life Sciences, both JC and Poly are
comparable alternate pathways to getting a Degree in these
specialties in the local Universities. So for such courses, you
still have to decide which feels more appropriate, comfortable and
helpful for your life path. And opt for them accordingly (which
path gets 1st choice and which path gets 2nd choice, etc).
I'm glad to see more students interested in
Science/Research/Engineering/Technology rather than
Commerce/Economics/Finance/Banking/Investments. The future of this
world needs more of the former and less of the latter.
and
As DeRong87 accurately said, in uni everyone is equal. (never
mind some employers which reportedly prefer poly grads over JC
grads even after both go Uni... coz one counter-balancing side of
the coin is that the fact remains a larger proportion of JC grads
go on to Uni)
Which means that regardless of whether you choose JC or Poly (both
are really viable alternative routes to the same goal -
University), just make sure you give it your all, your 120% effort
so to speak, if you're serious and committed to getting a
University education. If you're not (sure you want to continue on
to Uni), however, then Poly is clearly the better choice, in terms
of employability. As everyone knows, JC is useless if you're gonna
stop at 'A' levels.
Mystory, yes there are risks in any Uni degree you get, in that you
might not end up in a career you thought (or you wished) you would
get. If sales is not your interest, then simply avoid it. With your
Science degree, there are certainly alternative relevant
professions other than in sales - for instance, R&D industry,
and (like myself) in the Education profession.
In other words, if you're interested in Science, go ahead and
pursue your studies (JC, Poly, Uni) in Science, don't let a fear of
"I doewan to kena salesman!" frighten you away from fulfilling your
passion and limiting your potential in the disciplines/subjects
that you've natural inclination and talent for. If for 'pragmatic'
reasons you choose to take commerce/economics/finance/business when
you've no interest in this (eg. if your interest is really in
Science), then how do you expect to perform competitively against
your coursemates who do (ie. are naturally business pple rather
than Science)? And you definitely need to be the top % in your
course (whether JC or Poly) to get into Uni.
Zen13, the difficulty with taking Triple Science in the JC, is that
the average JC student takes three H2 subjects and one H1 subject,
of which one (of these four) must be a contrasting subject. And if
as you say, the planned "chemical and biomolecular engineering"
(though it does make sense, from a technology point of view, why
they would want to do this) requires 'A' levels Physics &
Chemistry & Biology, and as everyone knows, Mathematics is
essential for almost everything (whether science or commerce... ok,
maybe humanities doesn't require it as much), particularly
engineering.
Which is to say, that this "chemical and biomolecular engineering"
is slated to be an elite course, exactly like Medicine, in which
you do require 'A' levels Physics & Chemistry & Biology
& Mathematics, then only the top few % of JC students can
possibly study the abovementioned 4 subjects *and* a contrasting
non-science subject (contrasting subjects are required in today's
JC curriculum).
Naturally, the Polytechnic courses will likely be revising their
curriculum as well to better prepare their students for the future
planned University engineering courses.
All in all, don't worry too much about all of these right now.
Meaning, if you love Science, don't worry that the new "chemical
and biomolecular engineering" will seemingly or apparently require
you to study Triple Science & Maths (something that most JCs
will not allow anyway). There are still many other relevant courses
in the University that you can capitalize on your innate strengths,
talents and passions for Science. You could still be a chemical
and/or biomolecular engineer with bridging courses in the Uni, or
you could discover your inclination for other relevant professions
(eg. education).
Grace_enying, to some extent, yes. A greater proportion of JC
students go on to Uni. However, the flip-side of the coin is that
if you fail to go Uni, your 'A' level cert is relatively useless
(mostly to 'use' it and use your $$$ to apply for private Uni
courses), while Poly diplomas are more employability on their own.
Though increasingly, getting a Uni degree even after Poly is
usually sought after, for most graduates.
For those of you 'O' level students who decide to go on to JC,
choose your subjects based on your personal interest and passion.
JC is a tough course, if you don't like what you study, you can't
perform well in it. If you like Chemistry and Biology, the
recommended or popular combination would be to study H2 Chemistry,
H2 Biology, H2 Mathematics, and let your contrasting subject (eg.
economics) be a H1. If you manage to get into a (so-called)
'top-JC', then add in Physics for more career options (eg.
Medicine). (Note that the above suggestions are for those primarily
interested in Science, not
economics/commerce/finance/business.)
Personally, the two subjects which I find interesting to study in
the JC, are Chemistry and Biology. If you want to go JC, you better
make sure you have at least 2 subjects which you like, otherwise
don't go JC (you can't peform competitively if you don't like what
you study). You always perform better when you enjoy the subject,
and this is true anywhere, JC or Poly or University.
