Admission To Local Universities For Poly Grads
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I am an ECE graduate from NP. Together with my peers, we hope to get into the local universities to further our studies. However, the local uni seems to adopt a rather translucent admission system for poly graduates. According to the uni, only graduates with "good academic performance" will be accepted. What is the definition of "good academic performance" ? 10,20 or 30ADs ??!! How will u rate a C.O.M holder with respect to an A-level graduate with
3-As?
Next, the no. of places reserved for poly students is also not revealed. Finally, I feel that more places should be reserved for poly students with good results. Being a poly graduate doesn't mean that you do not have that intellectual capacity to go to the uni. In fact, many of the poly graduates have make it big in overseas uni.
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Adrian -
Let's not start a quarrel over here on why poly graduates are at an disadvantage in getting into local uni compared to A-level holders. But i hope i can point out some of the reasons why it is so. (These are what I had read from other sources).
Firstly, i must agree with Xinke that it is indeed a small proportion of poly graduates who are able to make it into local uni despite their excellent results.
Many of them who were rejected by local uni went abroad to pursue their degrees and most came back with 1st class honours. So why is it that local uni do not accept them?
Firstly, it was said that Spore is a small economy. The authorities need to "regulate" the number of graduates so that there will not be a situation of over supply of graduates in the local scene. Take a look at countries such as the Philippines, they have so much graduates that most ppl find that their degrees are useless. They could earn much more income by coming to Spore to work as a domestic maid! Yes, the maid u have at home might have a degree back in the Philippines!!!
Secondly, after O-levels, students have 2 choices: to pursue an A-level, which is the DIRECT route to a uni; or to pursue a poly diploma.
We are aware that local education is heavily subsidised by the Gov, where this money comes from taxpayer money. With this in mind, we also know that an A-level education is considered a secondary education while a poly education is a tertiary education.
So the Gov is trying to be fair by allowing students have a fair share of tertiary education. Poly graduates had already enjoyed the benefits of heavy subsidy, while A-level graduates have not. So by fair chance, more places should be made available for A-level students to enjoy the benefit of such heavy subsidy which their peers had already enjoyed while pursuing their diploma.
This is the fair part: Gov do not want some group of the citizens to enjoy "double subsidy" which creates a burden on taxpayers. That is the reason why less positions is available for poly graduates.
Lastly, it rewards those who are willing to take up the challenge to pursue an A-level course after their O-levels. Since we know that the direct route to a uni is tru A-levels, why are some ppl not taking up A-levels in the first place? Because they can't make it into JC based on their best 6 subjects? Because they wanted to avoid GP (General Paper)? Or because they do not want to wear school uniform?
Sorry, i am not trying to create an argument here, but these are the most "popular" reasons why ppl rather take up poly course than A-levels. So to be fair, A-level students should be rewarded with higher chances of getting into local uni although they might not have better capabilities than their peers holding a diploma.
Hope this should solve some of the mysteries in your mind~!
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Hello Yoohoo ! Thanks for the reply ! I must say that your point on "double subsidy" for poly students is really thought provoking.
However, I don't really agree on the part where you mention about rewarding secondary students who take up the A-Level challenge.
Personally, I think that poly examinations and projects are just as challenging if not more challenging than the A-level examination. It is by no means an easy feat to get a C.O.M.(Certificate Of Merit) Diploma in poly. In fact, many of my poly peers wanted to do their A-levels. Unfortunately, they couldn't make it to the college because of their poor English results. The education system shouldn't condemn a person just because of his handicap in language. I have a friend who couldn't make it to the college because of his poor grade in English (E
. He scored straight distinctions for the rest of his subjects. He is currently a silver medalist from Singapore Poly Electrical Engineering Dept. He has proved that language is not an insurmountable obstacle in acquiring skills and knowledge. He has applied for a place in NTU. I am sure a person of his calibre will definitely excel in his university studies as well, .... if given the CHANCE.
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Adrian -
What I heard from friends is that a poly diploma is of higher "standard" than a 'A' level degree, & a 'A' level degree is somewhat abuot the same standard as a 'O' level degree.
So if those who go JC to get 'A' level degree do not go on to University, the 2 JC years are considered "wasted". I'm sure almost, if not all, students who go into JC have the sole aim of getting University. However, things are slightly different for poly students. With a Diploma, they already have the most basic qualifications. So they can choose to work or continue their education. But this is not really the same for 'A' level grads who can't get into University. To many employers, they are overqualified for jobs which require 'O' level, & underqualified for those which require a Diploma. So these 'A' level grads will be stuck in nowhere.
Anyway, what I agree that Universities should adopt more transparent policies for admission of poly students. My brother who had graduated from TP had pretty good results & received letters from NUS & NTU who "invited" him to join them. However, the letter talks nothing about how they can apply. One difficult thing for poly students here are that they don't have a "standard" period of admission like JC students. Since the Universities want to admit poly students, more should be done to advise these qualified poly students on the University admission. Afterall, it is not easy for these students to emerge from the crowd & obtain such good results which can allow them to be admitted to University. Seriously, with their application knowledge obtained from their poly education, I think they are actually more qualified than most 'A' level students. -
By the way, regarding the point about being "condemned" bcoz of poor English results, I have a few comments of my own.
At 1st, I also thought that English should not be the stumbling block towards higher education. Many of my friends who had excellent grades for their 'O' level opted to go poly instead of JC cited their mediocre command of English as the reason. Many of them did not do badly for their 'O' level English, it is the GP in JC which frightens them.
Anyway, that was a few years ago. Now, my opinions have changed. Through these years, I had realised that English is really important in the current society structure. During my University years, I needed to do up countless reports & presentations. As my English wasn't that fantastic, hence I really had a difficult time finding the appropriate phrases & vocabulary to express myself. If you have fantastic content & analysis, but without a proper command of English to express all these, your report may be regarded as just an average piece of work. However, if you can only come up with a a sufficiently good analysis, but you excel in the wording & organisation of your report, good grades are of high possibility. What I trying to put across here is not that content is unimportant, but that a strong command of English is very necessary to put forth whatever points you want to make.
So actually, using English to "screen" students during the 'O' & 'A' levels is to make sure that those who manage to go up the academic ranks have the adequate English proficiency to deal with the future academic challenges. Nonetheless, there are exceptions whose English is not particularly strong but are still able to excel in whatever they do. But, I guess this only applies to those who are considered experts in their fields of speciality, & not to the average man-on-the-street.
My 1-cent worth...
[This message has been edited by Hajime (edited 26 May 2000).] -
Yes, Xinke I also agree with you that Poly exams/projects are by no means an easy one. But the fact is that lecturers usually try their best not to fail students if they showed that they have some knowledge in the module (true for Poly / Uni). Of course these students will not score, but will just scrap tru.
But A-level exams are also not as easy as u might think~! I must say that the workload is very heavy as there are so many topics to cover. Furthermore, it is not exactly a 2 yr course. After the release of O-level results, term will start somewhere in mid April, ends in Nov. Following which the final yr will start in Jan, and ends by Oct.
With the heavy schedule and miminal time, it really pushes the best out of an A-level student.
With a poor english results in O-level, do u think that the student will survive in GP (General paper)? Most likely he will flunk or don't do well. This will mean a waste of time during the "2" yr A-level course should he not be able to gain entry to a local uni. Hence, common sense will tell that it is advisible to pursue a poly dip where english is not an important criteral for the course.
Of course if your frenz do well in poly with a COM, then he will most likely be able to further his studies in local uni and hence, still get to enjoy the "double subsidy", but with an extra effort of 1 yr difference. Economically speaking, this is the "price" that reflects the opportunity cost of not being good in english.
My english is not that fantastic too! so i shall end here... ...
PS: I agree with Hajime's point in screening better students by using english. I myself is handicapped by my poor command of english, but this is the fact and the fact is cruel~!
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Hajime got a point there... It is this risk that students face when they take up A-level to find themselves not being able to cope with GP and hence, not being able to get into local uni.
Hence, to identify those who has the best of both world (good in english and other academic subjects), we are able to screen and search for the "best" of the cohort who will eventually be higher up with an academic support.
But this does not necessary mean that those who are poly grads are in any way inferior. Many of them are as intelligent and smart as any other uni grads. The cruel thing in this modern society is that it places a heavier weight on paper qualification.
A poly grad is indeed more skillful than an A-level grad. This explains why students prefer to settle for a "safer" route by pursuing a poly dip after their O-levels
Education is indeed a
maze~!! -
Hi,
after reading all the arguments on the system of poly and JC education, plus entry to university, I have a few points to make/add.
1. I agree with Hajime on her views of the demand of english language in university. Being in NUS, I have a few friends from countries like China and Indonesia, and there are many students from China in my course of study. If you want to compare their command of English with that of Singaporean, naturally, Singaporeans are at an advantage. The problems that I see my friends facing is that they can understand not all of the lectures and tutorials. They also have problems expressing themselves in their work. However, they are not stupid. My China friend is on a Singapore government scholarship and his grasp of Mathematics is unbelievable---from the mouth of my Statistic lecturer. When it comes to subjects like computer programming, my China friend has problems because he cannot understand the lecture. How can you expect him to write a program when he don't even understand the language of the teaching media?
My point is that English is really important. If you cannot clear GP, even if you proceed to University, you will spend half the time trying to understand what is being taught and you will find it harder to excel.
2. The system of admitting poly grads is really blur... agree they should try to have a more transparent system.
3. Also agree on the issue of 'double subsidy'.
Thanks -
Thanks for agreeing on the "double subsidy" issue. The idea is not from me, but from my econs tutor
.... i read it from one of his articles on Straits Times forum.
I guess this explains why he is able to come up with such an idea (well, he is an econs expert mah~!) -
hi, I am currently a 2nd year student in particular poly. The grades that I have now is 16As, 3 Dists and 4Bs, with this grades, I know I can never get the COM, but may I know if my chances of going to local Universities are high or low? Thanks if anyone could tell me.
Yours sincerely,
Don -
DOn: With the grade, if you cant get into local University, burn their campus for prejudice.
I dont see any reason why you cant get into NUS with this grade as the minimum is 3pts(average B). -
Hi,
I have heard that some lecturers in local University look down on students from Poly. Is this true both in NUS and NTU?
I was thinking what about those who scored like crazy in O levels but go to Poly instead?? Same kind of "dog looks" from lecturers too?? -
Hello Don!
I was wondering about your course of study.... Based on my friends experiences, you can jolly well go into an engineering faculty in the local Uni..... However, if u are intending to go into the Faculty of Business or Accountancy... u may need a few more ADs.... Anyway, u have been doing quite well.... As long as u maintain your currrent academic standard and grab a few more ADs.... getting a C.O.M and getting into Uni ...shouldn;t be a problem....
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Adrian -
sigh. i wish to go either to ntu/nus to further up with my enggrg degree.
But lah i think im going to have a big big problem. (yeap my grades sucks)
Skipping year one, was maybe a mistake. (i was an Ite com holder)
and i had to struggle thru 2nd year.
only 3rd year then i faired better.
One thing i heard if your results not very good, do well in your project, they will consider this too
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S.P. ---- Land of Proud & Egoistic Industry Rejects -
Hi,
Well, Xinke, you told me that grabbing a few more ADs will get me a COM? I don't think that is easy as I heard to get a COM, you have to grab at least 12 distinctions or rather 12 ADs, now I have only 3, you can't expect me to grabbed all ADs in my third year right. For your info, I am into Electronics, Computer and Communication Engineering. So I was thinking that getting the COM would be quite impossible.
Yours sincerely,
Don