Seeking advise from those experienced parents on viable options of further education.

[orchipalar]

Err...for little Orchis.

Dear Chang...not sure anymore if this is the appropriate forum section to post such a thread here...
how the time flies past so fast that it would seem to have been perhaps years since last Orchi was actively...
posting before...but now Orchi is lost in having any sense of directions in here.
Sorry for that...

Of late...Orchi is ever so desperate to seek help hopefully from those many other well experienced parents...
to shed some light n assist Orchi in order to consider the correct choice to make for the eldest of little Orchis...
who would be sitting for the SPM exams beginning next month!

Let Orchi begins by telling a bit about him...
In the recent SPM trial exams...he managed all A(s) on Maths...
an A for Physics n Chemistry...a B+ for Biology.
an A for Bahasa Malaysia...
an A for Sejarah...
a B for English...
a C for Moral study..
an E for Bahasa Cina...

On co-curricular activity...
He is ranked 2nd Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo...he would be taking his 3rd Dan test by this year end...
He has been assisting as a Junior Taekwondo instructor at SJK(c) Chee Wen Primary School...

Well soon after his coming SPM exams...(hopes he would do better)
Orchi would have to make hopefully the correct decision whether to send him to a private college...
or let him continue his Form 6 education at his current secondary school...nearby.

Appreciates to get the advise from experienced parent members of Usj.com.my...

Best regards
Orchi.

[currymee]

Are you in a rush ?

If not, please let them do Form 6 - based on my wife's experience of teaching in local universities, those (non-Bumis) that went through Form 6 performed better in universities due to maturity and depth of understanding.

However, if you have decided not to consider any of local universities, then may as well go straight to private colleges.

If you want to bet on both sides, then do Form 6.

[Jokee]

I like the maturity statement. I went to form 6 and also worked in the bank for a year and learn a lot before go uni. Compared to most of my friends, I graduated 2 years later than them. There is a difference.

[usj18leong]

2 years in Form 6 will help the child to understand what he really want to do and not just follow the trend.

[ng]

Grade E for Chinese studies ? Is Chinese language that difficult ?

I think it is the fault of the Chinese teachers. English is tougher than Chinese language.

[Rhiga]

Since you ask which options – private college or public STPM, I believe you have decided what you think is the best for your kid..

Fyi, the numbers of A in SPM trial exam and also in the real SPM exam is not an assurance that the student can do well in Form 6. Form 6 is full of non-bumi students with good SPM results who have been rejected by the biased policy and in which their family can't afford to send them to private college . The competition is fierce among them.

STPM exam is high standard. It is not like the SPM exam where gomen had lowered the standard extensively to produce more straight A students for the obvious reason.. !!

Lastly, I don’t think Form 6 has much to do in improving maturity. I think this is very much depend on individual.

[StonTemplePilot]

If u can afford to, dun waste time with stpm unless u are aiming for local unis...if otherwise, i would strongly ask u to consider private colleges..

[SiangMalam]

I think you have to think two steps ahead to make the decision for the next step....

Two steps ahead meaning: local uni or foreign uni.... only when you decide this, then you opt for Form 6 or a matriculation in the private college.


p.s. Eh hello, I don't believe you are so busy you cannot reply to my SMS or sent the stuff across in an e-mail kah? Coz I'm going into Riau Islands next week lah near Jambi and Karimun islands... tenggiri batang (Spanish Mackerel) takes the trolling lure quite easily ohhhhh....

[SiangMalam]

Grade E for Chinese studies ? Is Chinese language that difficult ?

I think it is the fault of the Chinese teachers. English is tougher than Chinese language.

One man's meat is another man's poison lah Ng...... to me English has only 26 aphalbets and 10 digits... Chinese.... berbillion-billion!

[sulynx]

i went the form 6 route because we couldn't afford private college and was lucky to secure a spot in a local university to study a course of my choice. i think it depends on a few factors:

1. what the student wants to study (if s/he wants to major in a popular science course, it is more difficult - but not impossible - to get a spot in local university compared to majoring in a course that is not as in demand)
2. whether time is a factor (does the student need time to decide what course s/he wants to major in? do the student/parents want a shorter period for tertiary education?)
3. whether parents can afford private tertiary education

but after being in the workforce for a few years, i've realised that ultimately what you studied and where you went to study do not play important roles in helping you clinch a good job. skills, character and personality matter more.

[Rhiga]

....but after being in the workforce for a few years, i've realised that ultimately what you studied and where you went to study do not play important roles in helping you clinch a good job. skills, character and personality matter more.

Good result helps to secure interviews for 1st job. Good track record help to secure better jobs later.

Some industries don't really care of your personality or characters.. They shortlist purely based on whether you are from good school and whether you are the top 5% in the school. They firmly believe you either make or break, up or out in their firms within 6-12 months.

For example, McKinsey in the management consulting, Schulumberger in the O&G upstream.

[HTCHONG]

.....but after being in the workforce for a few years, i've realised that ultimately what you studied and where you went to study do not play important roles in helping you clinch a good job. skills, character and personality matter more.

I don’t agree with you, pardon me to say that this is quite deceiving…

....Good result helps to secure interviews for 1st job. Good track record help to secure better jobs later....

Yup...true ! Especially if you want to work for prestigious organization/company …..

[Rhiga]

When a student at A level/STPM (about 17-18 years old) still don’t know what the heck he/she wants… this is a clear sign the education system has failed.

[sulynx]

Good result helps to secure interviews for 1st job. Good track record help to secure better jobs later.

good point. it may open doors but what helps a jobseeker clinch the job is whether s/he can communicate well and make a good impression. a candidate on paper and a candidate in person can differ greatly. even if the person aces the interview there is a probation period to pass.

it depends what you consider important - to create opportunities to secure a good job or to have qualities/traits that can dictate how successful you will be in your career, or both?

i guess in the context of being a fresh graduate and the desire to secure a good first job, where/what you studied matter a lot since there is no prior work experience to back the candidate.

i look at it from a different viewpoint.

[ng]

One man's meat is another man's poison lah Ng...... to me English has only 26 aphalbets and 10 digits... Chinese.... berbillion-billion!

The written form of the Chinese language is much more difficult but the grammar is 1 million times easier than English.

English has so many tenses, verb changes, plurality changes, uncountable/countable nouns. All these don't exist in Chinese. Vocabulary is also 100 times more than Chinese.

No such thing as I 'am', he 'is', he 'was'. Sheep and not sheeps etc. So many exceptions exist in English.

Until today, I still hear a lot of non natives making a lot of grammar mistakes even for the author of newspapers.

I think it is because the standard of English has been lowered in our current SPM, if not, most students won't be able to pass MCE (English version) in the past.

I still hear 'He speak good English' instead of 'He speak English well'.

I still hear 'This is more better' and 'this is most best'.