Help! SIM or Retake Alevels?

[livi]

Hello everybody! Am in a dilemma right now and am in need of some advice.

I did rather badly for my ‘A’ Levels (CCD/D, GP/PW/MT: B) and got rejected by NUS/NTU/SMU. Have alr appealed to SMU and am waiting for their reply and will be appealing to NUS/NTU asap. However, I am now considering between retaking my Alevels & going to SIM (I have been offered a place at SIM-UOL Econs & Management).

I went into the ‘A’ Level examination room unprepared. I didn’t study for Econs at all, all of my Literature texts were only half-read (I took H2 Lit, so basically I had 5 texts to do), I had only briefly went through the very basic concepts for my H1 Chemistry, I only started prepping for my H2 Mathematics 1 month before my paper (I was consistently a ‘U’-grader, but managed to bring it up to a C for ‘A’s) and throughout my 2 years in JC I played truant on several occasions (Atleast once every 2 weeks). So I really deserved getting those crappy grades I got.

I regret not putting in effort for my ‘A’ Levels and a part of me would really like to make things right by taking Private ‘A’ Levels with MDIS next year (meaning I’ll only be matriculated in the local Uni in Year 2012). However, I am also considering the SIM option where I’ll do my best and aim for First Class honours and move on.

My boyf got accepted into NUS Science (AAA/A, look at the difference) and he is part of the reason why I really want to get into NUS. He was in AJC while I was at IJC and throughout my entire 2-years I felt awful just because I was from a lousier JC. I am proud of him but at the same time, I want to be as good as he is. He doesn’t care about status/reputation and all that but I guess I am superficial like that to actually bother about all of this. So ultimately, if I were to go to SIM, I’ll be the “inferior” one again, even if I do get 1st class honours.

My concern with taking Private ‘A’s is that I may not do well even after a second attempt, not make good use of this second chance and end up wasting a year. Nothing’s really certain and there is no 100% that I will get straight As and get into NUS.

So what do you think? SIM or Private As?

TIA for your advice!

[xnana]

honestly, i would say go for SIM. this is my opinion but having gone through A levels as well, it's not easy to retake it a 2nd time when you haven't done very well for the 1st time due to various reasons. you need a lot of perseverance and hardwork, time commitment to be able to do well for a levels. moreover, private candidates are at a disadvantage than JC students. for instance in JC, you've had all the help you could get from your teachers and peers already. think about why you went for the examination unprepared? to me, it's time wasted. and if you're working for it just to get into the same university as your bf, i think it's in the wrong direction. you should think of what you want to do in future and how higher ed will help you to achieve your goals. it's not a matter of which universities are more superior etc, it's the kind of mindset and esteem you decide to think and hold.

and true enough, there's no guarantee to whether you'll get good results and move on to the 3 local unis. you have to weigh what you really want and whether it's realistic and achievable or not.

nobody will remember your A level results 10 years down the road. it's how you perform in the working society that matters. having a degree is just a stepping stone to your career. ultimately, having a local u degree doesnt make you way superior than private degree holders too. some people can study, but they can't work for nuts.

this is solely from my own perspective and experience.

good luck and all the best anyway.

[rainnie-h]

I would pick SIM too. because retaking as a private candidate requires a lot of money (tuition fees) and more importantly, a year's worth of time. Yours truly retook her As too, and my parents spent a bomb on tuition fees.

however, if you are really keen on retaking, get the best tutors as you will need all the help you can get. I approached my former jc teachers before but they either did not respond or decline. I can unstd la cos they have heavy duty workloads but nonetheless, I was still rather envy of those whose teachers willingly helped them (seen in another thread) .

I hope you do not mind my being frank here, but in addition to getting the best tutors, you must also manage your time and disciplince well. I have a friend, who retook her As with me last year, only studied three days before the exams commenced. -___- her excuse being oh she partied too much , she didn't know where to get help from. which is pretty rubbish if you ask me cos I found help of my own accord. I offered to share my help but she herself declined. Its pretty obvious her heart wasn't in it at all. Now l.ehh? she's just idling around l0r with only an olvl cert.

I strongly believe that with adequate preparation and help, you will be able to do much much better this time round

moreover, private candidates are at a disadvantage than JC students. for instance in JC, you've had all the help you could get from your teachers and peers already. think about why you went for the examination unprepared? to me, it's time wasted. and if you're working for it just to get into the same university as your bf, i think it's in the wrong direction. you should think of what you want to do in future and how higher ed will help you to achieve your goals. it's not a matter of which universities are more superior etc, it's the kind of mindset and esteem you decide to think and hold.

nicely put, xnana in addition, jc students have at least a minimum of 9 hours worth of study time in school. on the contrary, when I retook my as a private candidate, I found myself with a lot of free hours and it was a lil hard trying to be disciplined and study, you get what I'm trying to say? =) to be on par, you nd to study at least the same number of hours as them in school but it is honestly not easy at all cos you find yourself having so much free time and its easy to deviate from your original goal which is to study.

secondly, I agree that you shouldn't retake just because you want to be on the same level as your boy. Having worked for 1.5 years, though its not as much as compared to the full-timers, they dont really care THAT much about what uni you came from. its the working etiquette that matters.

moreover, I feel that your motivation for retaking your As - wanting to be as good as your boy and not being "inferior", is a tad weak. No offense though. It should be for yourself yeah?

SIM isn't that "inferior" per se. I'm a current Comms student at SIM and I'm enjoying myself thus far. I was accepted into the architecture faculty at nus but I didn't take that up though the fees are so much cheaper at nus. That's because I know what I want to do after graduation and architecture is totally not my cup of tea.

I hope our responses will help you in your decision making.

[livi]

Hi there, thank you both for your replies.

Wanting to be in NUS with my boy is definitely not the only reason why I want to get into NUS (think why everyone vys for that prestigious spot at Asia's 3rd best University and how NUS grads are very much respected by most employers) but its definitely one of the things that motivates me the most.
Have yet to reach a decision yet but will definitely do my best to make the best decision for myself.

[bloomingmusk]

I would also go for SIM, if i am been given that options. I am at a stage where i am deciding where to go for my degree course too now and i am so glad that my choice of uni didn't want me to retake O or get an A level. I really got a very big phobia after failing my O twice. I didn't study at the last moment, i didn't play truant, even till the last moment before i go into the exam classroom, i was still going through what i had studied etc but i know where i go wrong. I just didn't spend enough time to study everyday and also i choose two subject which i totally had never studied before in my entire life - literature (i love reading it but who knows passing it is so dreadful) and biology. It ain't easy to study private for these O and A level thing. I think beside been discipline, you really need to work really hard and had the right kind of people and teacher to help you out because even if you read them up everyday, nothing goes into the mind.

I didn't want to waste another year for my O because by the time i can take exam for uni will be two years from now and additionally, i hope to graduate asap to go working and earn money already...i am at an age not young to idle too much so i really cherish these few years of studying time....it maybe the last time too.

I don't think if you give a shoddy work and come out from NUS, your employers is going to respect you. Respect is to be earned not given just because of who and what you are. If it is given easily like that, it can also be taken away just as easily. Some people whom i met at work, they are the seniors, they also didn't have much education but where they are now, i see their effort and hard work been present, the way they handle things and people, i just feel education won't teach any of these, no matter how high you study. You are still young and must experience it yourself to see all these thing in future. Alot of things won't be on the surface. You only use the cert to open doors of opportunities for you, whether you succeed or not, depends on yourself.

Gambatte! It's going to be a long and dready time and youth spending on studies but thinking for the future, it's always seem to ease alittle of the burden. I will be one too. So jia you yo!

[kickyourface]

i would say sim having been a pte candidate as well.i retook my a level sure my grades were better but only good enough to enter courses like civil engineering,Arts n ss in local uni.in the end i ended up in sim...........

i wasted one yr of my life retaking a level which seriously i regretted

[rainnie-h]

hmmm. respected by most employers - thats actually debatable.. because I know of someone who graduated from a particular institution (shall not say which) with 2nd upper, but her working attitude's terrible. to the point that me, who's merely a temp staff, has to cover up her mistakes and boo boos. so yeah, I quite agree with what bloomingmusk said with regard to Respect is to be earned not given just because of who and what you are .

because in the working industry, everyone (if you are comparing those from the tertiary level) is more or less on the same level. its how the working attitude makes them stand out

all the best in your decision making! :D

[xnana]

rainnie-h thanks people persuaded me to retake A levels but i honestly at that point of time didn't see why i should and having gone through the dark times during preparation of examinations.. i didn't want to experience it again. similarly, my grades were good enough to enter the 'lower tier' courses in local unis but decided not to, and pursued something that i really wanted to do which is accountancy in SIM too! that was one of the biggest decision ive made and i'm definitely happy with it and whatever i'm studying now too! (though there are still occasional rants and grumbles about certain modules )

but anyway livia91, i just want to say. whatever decision you choose, make the best out of it. what matters most like the others have mentioned, is the working attitude and how you perform the tasks and duties in future. tertiary education equips you with the knowledge but skills and experience still has to be picked up along the way. it's difficult now and you might be constantly under pressure, but it will be over soon. take your time to think about it seriously

for me, i had a year plus of 'break' and i utilised it by working and gaining experience while trying to make my decision back then.

all the best!

[shootingstar18]

This may sound silly cause even I find it silly. I should have retake my As 2 yrs back cause even though I've passed my UOL LLB year one and currently in my second year, in the midst of having exams, I found out that it's not that simply to get through. Moreover, my heart still lies with local unis. It's dumb I know but I feel inferior and incomplete with graduating with a local degree.

Hence, the impromptu decision to apply to NUS this year. Luckily they gave me an opportunity because it was a late submission. NTU and SMU didn't allow me to.

Crossing my fingers though.

I think using your first year degree to apply to local uni helps too, but that is if you would wanna restart from year one again and waste a few thousandssss....

[ZannnZannn]

i guess it really depends on yourself. my bro flunk is A 's badly and asked me for advise. i told him to retake cause going to local uni surely have more opportunities but ended up he did even more badly. when you retake you might be less likely to be motivated unless you really push yourself hard.
sim also provides good chances for people too there cases where, but not many people done their degree so well that they are offered chances to uk or overseas yourself.
talk is cheap, you may be determined to work hard at first but thoughout the process you might slowly slack and lose yourself.

think hard about what you wanna do and whether the courses offer interest you too.

[yat_ting]

i would like to chime in too.. i scored badly for my As and got accepted into SIM-UOL Econs and Mgmt. I would like to point out that no matter which path you take, both require a lot of discipline. as shootingstar mentioned, a UOL degree is not an easy degree even though many singaporeans know that we take it because we cant get into mainstream uni. and no, it's difficulty doesnt arise from the point that we cant do well because we didnt do well for As. any lecturer teaching the syllabus will tell you that UOL is not an easy degree. if any one who isnt a UOL student tells you that because your exam is once a year just like A levels, u can just spend one week prior to exams to study and get good results, they clearly dont know what they are talking about.

aside from the social stigma, i can understand your desire to study in NUS, my bf is doing law at NUS too (believe me when i say that my results are worse than yours and his results are like your bf's). to be honest, it took me his entire first year in NUS (which just ended) after much assurance and hanging out with his friends that it doesnt matter that i'm from SIM and for me to break the wall that i built up to protect myself. they too have friends in SIM and heard of our horror stories.

in any case, i wish you well =)

[jason20100605]

i would like to chime in too.. i scored badly for my As and got accepted into SIM-UOL Econs and Mgmt. I would like to point out that no matter which path you take, both require a lot of discipline. as shootingstar mentioned, a UOL degree is not an easy degree even though many singaporeans know that we take it because we cant get into mainstream uni. and no, it's difficulty doesnt arise from the point that we cant do well because we didnt do well for As. any lecturer teaching the syllabus will tell you that UOL is not an easy degree. if any one who isnt a UOL student tells you that because your exam is once a year just like A levels, u can just spend one week prior to exams to study and get good results, they clearly dont know what they are talking about.

aside from the social stigma, i can understand your desire to study in NUS, my bf is doing law at NUS too (believe me when i say that my results are worse than yours and his results are like your bf's). to be honest, it took me his entire first year in NUS (which just ended) after much assurance and hanging out with his friends that it doesnt matter that i'm from SIM and for me to break the wall that i built up to protect myself. they too have friends in SIM and heard of our horror stories.

in any case, i wish you well =)

good advise.

[12gatsu]

Hi I'm from the same batch as you and I did badly for my A Levels too. While I wasn't a straight As student, nobody expected me to do badly(except myself, long story). So yeah, I was in the same position as you a few months back so I can understand your confusion and struggle. I didn't even bother applying to the 3 unis at all and I did consider retaking the A Levels but the thought of studying for the 'A's all over again wasn't very appealing and I seriously doubt I'll have the discipline--I'll basically be forcing myself to study and it'll only be a matter of time before my initial drive wears off. In the end I decided to move on instead and applied for SIM.

I've read the previous posts and I felt that most posts have already expressed my views so I shall not repeat the same things, but as someone who faced the same dilemma as you just a few months ago, I would encourage you to consider SIM. Try your best to disregard the perceived social stigma. There's no shame in going to SIM. It is a legitimate university afterall and their degrees are recognized by employers. Of course I was crushed and agonized that I've no chance of entering the 3 unis but in the end, I chose to move on instead of spending another year studying stuff I've not much interest in. My mum put it bluntly: I had wasted 2 years, am I gonna waste another year?

Ultimately the decision is yours to make and I wish you all the best. Sorry if some parts r incoherent, I've a splitting headache haha