PRE-U . STPM

Recently read an article that practically comparing STPM and matriculation. Not a new issue in Malaysia where double standard is always practiced. Matriculation students always get what they want for public Uni and STPM leavers wouldn’t even get the same course if they possess the same cGPA. Matriculation is considered to be equivalent to STPM but STPM is tougher, therefore, creating an unfair situation here in Malaysia. I am not going to talk about those as this post should be all about STPM.

STPM is always linked with 4 phases; “tough” and “does not secure you place in public universities” being the first 2; “cheap” for those who can’t afford private colleges and lastly, “a waste of time”.

Having gone through STPM and I personally think that STPM leavers have exaggerated the overall toughness of STPM. It might be due to the sense of accomplishment that they had survived/gone through STPM. They are fighters indeed compared to those that took the matriculation pathway. At least those are their common thoughts on STPM.

Yes, it is tough if you are aiming for an A or 4.00 and no, it is not that hard to secure at least B+ with some effort. You fall below that, you don’t get to lament that STPM is tough and trying to find an excuse to cover for your laziness.

Throughout the years, most of the straight As students in STPM achieved average result in SPM and most the straight As students in SPM doesn’t make it into the list of 4.00 for STPM. I don’t think it is easy to score As in any pre-U unless you are those lucky ones chosen for the matriculation programme but the important message here is a B in STPM is possible to achieve even if you screwed your SPM unless you are getting C and D for science subjects and yet you still enrolled in science stream again in form six. Chances are still there for you but don’t keep your hope high.

Yes, it is tough after working hard for one and half years (provided you do work extreme hard for it or else you don’t deserve the credit) and not getting a course that you want in public Uni and no, it is not when you entered to an undergraduate programme and realized that you have learnt so much compare to others. While others are still trying to get a grasp on sp hybridization theory, you know it is already at your finger tips. When others never heard of a Grignard reagent, you know it is just another piece of knowledge that requires a nudge. While others are learning the Kreb’s cycle, you are merely revising it.

The questions in STPM nowadays are certainly not as tough as last time. You just have to look at those past year Qs in the year of 1990s especially for maths. Yes, it might be the toughest exam in the world LAST TIME but the Qs are relatively easier now. Yes, it might be a complete waste of 2 years if you can’t even score the minimum results to get into the course you want. Well, it is the same if you don’t perform well in A level or SAM.

STPM is tough because of the amount of topics/stuff you have to know but you are only given a short period to do that. Basically, you have only a little more than a year, 15 months to cram in all the information that was supposed to be distributed across 1 and half years. Take for example, maths T, 8 chapters in total for paper 1 and during lower six, your teacher is able to finish the most 2 and half of the 8 chapters (and most of the time, they tend to be the easiest topics among all the 8 topics). The remaining 5 and half are to be finished in time for your trial STPM exam after the long holiday at the end of the year where you wouldn’t bother to even touch the books. So, yes, you won’t have much time to really fool around during upper six.

Imagine 3 thick sections of physical, organic and inorganic to be covered in those so called 1 and half years. Most of the teachers in school didn’t manage to cover all the topics; at least not without extra classes. Even if your teacher manages to cover each and every topic without extra classes, I doubt that you will understand and retain much of the knowledge. Either your teacher is using the “finish the entire syllabus in time and ignore the understanding of students” or “forget about finishing the entire syllabus but understanding is more important” way of teaching.

That is why it is tough and form six is basically intense. Your teachers will have to rush through each vast amount of materials in each lesson in order to cover every single topic for the particular subject and you are expected to take up private tuition. (Biology, chemistry and maths)

If you don’t come from a rich family, the choice is quite obvious. In fact, there is no better choice other than going for STPM so that you would have a shot to get into IPTA.

If I were to choose my pre-U again, I might just go for A level if I have done better in my SPM. Why?

It is not because I didn’t enjoy my form 6; it is not because I feel that form six is a complete waste of time but I would rather take up other subjects’ combination. I might pick biology, maths, chemistry and maybe psychology or physics. There are a lot of Uni out there that doesn’t even consider general paper or Pengajian Am as a core subject. Therefore, whether you score an A or not is not going to increase your chances of getting an offer. If you tell me that Pengajian Am really shapes your mind and you are more mature now, I am just going to laugh at you.

The minimum requirement is always listed along with the phase “excludes general paper” or “excludes thinking skill”. Of course this case doesn’t apply to those IPTA. No one really bother what you get for your Pengajian Am.
If you were to score B+, B+ and B or B- for the third subject, you wouldn’t qualified to apply courses which require 3 B+. If you took another core subject, at least you have a better chance of getting 3 B+. Taking 5 subjects during STPM is not recommended as most the time your school only a combination of 4 subjects at most. Most of the students will choose to drop the fifth subject even if they took it up during lower six because it is not easy to score 4 subjects and certainly harder for students taking 5 subjects. If you are thinking that 5 subjects would increase your chances of scoring 4.00, I would seriously ask you to reconsider.

There are tons of scholarships out there for A level and if you managed to get strings of As in SPM, many would waive your tuition fees even to 90%. So, it is kind of worth it. Of course, if your parents find it tough to fork out at least 10 – 15 thousands just for your pre-U, just stick to STPM.

Some said that A level is not worth it because sometimes you get crappy lecturer, well, all of us have crappy teachers at school as well.

If you don’t get any fees waiver or scholarship, just stick to STPM unless your parents have the extra money.


Reasons to go for STPM:
a) it is your shot for public university.

b)you love your school a lot. (i don’t love my school but i love my teachers)

c) you wouldn’t want to leave your home.

d)it is a world-wide recognised qualification.

e)cheap to almost free pre-U education.

f) you will enjoy your time with your friends. I know I did.

g) your parents is not rich and PTPTN for pre-U is certainly a bad choice.


Some reasons not to go for STPM:
a)if you manage to secure cheap pre-U education and by cheap I don’t mean KTAR or UTAR. They might be good but most of the time, you pay for what you get. You pay less; you don’t get to complain about the poor quality of lecturers, facilities etc you get. They are in for business. Just because you pay the money; you don’t get to complain either. It is you that choose the pre-U education; it is you that wanted a cheap deal; it is you that took up their offer without having a thought about their intention of offering you at the first place; it is you that never survey around and go for quality instead of being “lure” into the mess and IT IS YOU THAT CHOOSE NOT TO GO FOR STPM. So no, I don’t pity you at all.

b)you would like to take other subject combination.

c)SAM if you are planning to go to Australia.

d)you will need at least cGPA of 3.0 to get offered something that you choose provided you pick those courses according to your cGPA.

Freedom, college life, peer pressure are lame excuses not to go for STPM considering the money involved in private colleges pre-U programme.

Some said the art stream is relatively easier to score compare to those of science stream. I wouldn’t know.

A piece of advice to the parents out there, I know a lot of you would go extra miles just to provide the best your children can get. Reveal your financial status to your children instead of telling them “just go ahead and leave the money matter to me” or “don’t worry about the money”. Your children might just spend your money on things they shouldn’t because they thought you have tons of money for their education. You are trying to squeeze every penny out of your pocket and take up loan or mortgage the only house you have but your children just spend it going for clubbing, cyber-cafe, karaoke etc and when they runs out of money, they just ring you up to ask for more.

I am being sarcastic here, nope; your children would never do that to you. After all, it is your money.

____________________________________________________________________

> Many National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) recipients use their loan money to “fund” their relationships instead of studies, reported Kosmo! Ahad.

Pasir Salak MP Datuk Tajudin Abdul Rahman said based on his previous experience running a higher learning education institution, it was a trend to have love relationships amongst university mates and studies were not a priority.

“To make matters worse, PTPTN money disbursed to fund tuition fees and living expenses during studies are used for other petty reasons in relationships,” he said at the handing over ceremony of loan advance money to 175 university students in Tanah Kampung Gajah, Perak.

He added that some students even asked their parents to marry them off when they still had a long way to go before completing their studies.

source: thestar
 
Google Analytics Alternative