Busy final semester

Before I knew it, I'm now in the last semester of my Foundation studies in Nottingham University – not to mention that I'm halfway through it already. Two semesters seem to be a long time, but yet less than 9 months has passed since I started my course here. If I were to say the 9 months is short, it's not either. Much has happened since the day I got here that made the 9 months seem much longer. It's probably the departure from school life that made the days here feel more packed, hence 'longer' because much more has been done each day.

It's impossible to find another busier time to update my blog other than the middle of the semester, but if you hadn't noticed my blog hasn't been updated for 3 weeks. Besides, I haven't been providing any updates related to this semester. Although it has been only been 6 weeks, much has been done that can be filled into several blog posts. But sadly, all of these occupied my time until I've no time for blogging. The first week of this semester, I already went hiking up Bukit Lalang (Broga Hill) early in the morning at 5 am – and that was done during a weekday where I have an English class at 11 am. I've some photos of the scenery that I took which I’d like to post here if I'd time. The rest of the weeks were not devoid of other activities; my friends and I celebrated the birthdays of 5 friends – Esdelyn’s during the third week, Rod's and Hwa Siang's during the fourth week, and just recently Weng King's and Hui Yen's. During this semester I also joined two clubs that I’m interested in: Robotics and Tai Chi.

Moving on and as per the convention, I'm going to give a brief overview of the modules I’m taking this semester.


Foundation Mathematics (HG1 FND)

Lecturers: Mr. Balrama, Dr. Rohaizan, Ms. Thong
Tutor: Ms. Grace Yap
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of tutorial class per week
This module continues from last semester, which means that everything including topics and marks will be carried over to this semester. Most of the topics to be covered this semester are calculus-based, from applications of differentiation to integration. This is the first time I'm having a Malay lecturer. Mr. Balrama is no stranger to us, having taught us since the first semester.


Applied Algebra for Engineers (HG1 M02)

Lecturers: Dr. Harikrishnan, Ms. Thong, Dr. Rafi
Tutor: Ms. Grace Yap
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of tutorial class per week
Another maths-based module. Nothing much to say here because it's also well, about mathematics, with topics from matrices, vectors to 3-D geometry. Dr. Rafi is another Malay lecturer here, but so far it hasn't been his turn to teach us yet.


Electricity and Magnetism B (EN0 EMB)

Lecturer & Tutor: Mr. Lim
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of tutorial class per week
The only science-based module in this semester. Pretty disappointing because the previous semesters we had three. The topics involved which are magnetism, inductance and alternating current are not really my favourite. However, we're glad to have Mr. Lim from Semester 0's Basic Engineering Mechanics A back as our lecturer.


Digital Media (XXA C04)

Lecturer & Tutor: Ms. Geetha
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of tutorial class per week
Ms. Geetha is also a lecturer from Semester 0. She taught us Information Technology & Design then. For the first few weeks of this semester we learned about multimedia, namely audio, video and 3-D animation. The problem is nothing practical was taught, and we were expected to produce edited versions of audio and video by ourselves. For our group assignment, we have to produce a poster and a short 3-D animation. Our lessons now are about JavaScript – not a problem since I’m quite familiar with it already.


Communication Technology (XXA C05)

Lecturer & Tutor: Ms. Yong
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of tutorial class per week
For an tech-enthusiast like me, anything that has a whiff of the letters "I" and "T" should spark an interest. Despite that, what was taught in this module is plain boring – I guess even technology has a boring side. I would say it's good to know how a network operates, but learning about types of cables and network topologies has no practical value. They're either forgotten quickly, obsolete after 5 years or couldn't be bothered by people unless they're network technicians. And I hate memorizing.


English Language and Study Skills B (EN0 ELB)

Lecturer: Mr. Emmet Whelan (Profile)
Duration: 4 hours per week
This module is not so much about English as were previous English modules. 60% of our marks will come from our group assignment – and that's a big project. We have to do a research – not the usual getting-information-off-the-internet kind of research – but much more. We have to get the data ourselves by conducting a survey; that means distributing questionnaires to people and analyzing the data. My lecturer is the same as last semester's, and we got to know quite a lot about him already.


Lab

Supervisor: Mr. Tan
Duration: 2 hours per week
As usual. The difference is that we have only 3 experiments, thanks to reduction in science-based modules.


Finally, no government compulsory subjects this semester.

Writing such a long blog post surely takes a lot of time and effort. You should see why I’m sort of regretting it when you see my to-do list:

• Digital Media Assignment – I'd done the poster (will post it here sometime this week), but we seem to have trouble with the animation.
• English Assignment – We haven't done the research yet. Hopefully you guys can help me fill in the questionnaire.
• Communication Technology Assignment – Practically untouched.

Apart from that, there're mid-term tests, maths quizzes and homework coming our way. Very busy, that is.

Life in 2nd semester

Wishing all Hindus a Happy Deepavali!

Time flies... It was just July - summer in the UK - when I first started a whole new journey in the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC). Now it's the end of October - autumn, approaching winter - and 3 weeks into my second semester, known as Semester 1 here. Pardon me for not keeping you guys outside Nottingham updated.

Despite the fact that I've grown very accustomed to life here, a new semester still brings its own very unique challenges. For one thing, the campus is now a lot more livelier (crowded I shall say) now that all the students from foundation to postgraduate levels are back from their holidays. In my unit at Pangkor Hall where there used to be an empty room, there is an addition of an African from... well... Africa. I can't even recall his name by the way. Given the influx of so many students, one can imagine how packed the common areas in the university are, namely the student association building (cafeteria and some shops inside), computer labs and sports center. The campus is no doubt quite big, but most of it is made up of empty spaces. In other words, the buildings here are quite small and sparse.

The arrival of students new and old has changed the way things are going on here compared to my first semester. Heck, this is how university life should be, as one of my friend remarked. Clubs and societies are now active with each of them having their respective AGMs. But what is disappointing is that there are not many engineering-related clubs around, so in the end I opted to join the Outdoor Club (only). This club essentially organizes activities which are (obviously) outdoor-based, like camping, cave-exploring, paintball, etc. However fun these activities sound, they do not come cheap. A 2-day camping cum water-rafting trip costs RM200... Apart from clubs and societies, the university is also busy organizing events like "Understanding the Birds and the Bees" last week. Euphemism away, this event is basically about sex education. I didn't attend any of the programmes held, but I heard from my friends that the people there were giving out free... guess what? Condoms. Plus a pack of lubricant. Cool huh? The subject of comdoms became the hot topic of the day. Some even set their own target (not seriouslly) of when and how they're going to use it (must use before the expiry date)!

Academic-wise, the number of modules I'm studying are still the same, albeit harder, because the knowledge from secondary school can only take us that far... Below is an overview of modules I'll be taking this semester.


English Language & Study Skills A (EN0 ELA)

Lecturer & Tutor: Mr. Emmet Whelan (Profile)
Duration: 4 hours per week
Time: Monday, 9 – 11 am; Wednesday, 11 am – 1 pm
This semester is the first time in my life where I have an ang mo (Caucasian) as a lecturer. He is from Ireland and has taught in Taiwan before, so he can understand Mandarin. Apart from the change in lecturer, this module is somewhat similar to ELI in Semester 0, but this time there will be an assessment based on oral presentation. I'd already chosen the topic of SpaceShipOne (I thought of using Nintendo Wii as my topic, but someone has already done it last year).


Light Waves & Electrons B (EN0 LWB)

Lecturer & Tutor: Dr. Khiew
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Monday, 11 am – 1 pm; Thursday, 1 - 2 pm (Example class)
The lecturer for this module is the same as LWA last semester. He is the only lecturer who is known to visit student's blog (including mine). This module is getting a whole lot tougher, with Dr. Khiew cautioning us at the beginning of the semester that there are over 80 formulas to memorize. The Physics in this module is mostly about the quantum realm of nature, with stuff like the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, Compton effect and the Pauli exclusion principle during the last week. This is where the limits of Form 5 knowledge is reached I'm afraid.


Basic Engineering Mechanics B (EN0 BMB)

Lecturer & Tutor: Mr. Tan
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Monday, 2 – 5 pm
We have a new Mechanics lecturer, who was previously our lab supervisor last semester. Unfortunately most students have trouble understanding his lecture, especially after the second week. This module takes us deeper into the field of mechanics, starting from circular motion and ending at oscillations.


Foundation Mathematics (HG1 FND)

Lecturers: Dr. Natanael (Profile), Ms. Grace Yap, Mr. Balrama
Tutor: Ms. Grace Yap
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Tuesday, 9 – 11 pm; Friday, 9 – 10 am (Example class)
This module differs from others in terms of its organization because it runs for 2 semesters. In this semester itself, we have 3 lecturers, each one teaching us for an average of 3 weeks. So far I'd been taught by Mr. Natanael on the topic of trigonometry. He claims to be the cutest lecturer on campus (you can see his photo on his profile page).


Electronic Information – WWW (XXA C01)

Lecturer & Tutor: Ms. Reginamary
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Tuesday, 2 – 5 pm
This module is basically about the internet - how it works and how to create web pages using HTML. Creating HTML pages is pretty basic for me (I started learning it during primary school), but still there are tons of internet jargon (e.g. TCP/IP, DNS, ICANN) which I've to know the exact meaning, although I'd already have a rough idea of what they mean.


Electricity and Magnetism A (EN0 EMA)

Lecturer & Tutor: Mr. Terence Wong
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Wednesday, 2 – 5 pm
This is the module where we learn about electric circuits, manipulating current, voltage and resistance. My lecturer is also the Director of Studies for the Engineering Foundation Programme. He is the only Physics lecturer who doesn't use PowerPoint, but rather talk and chalk (this phrase is a little too outdated, because I haven't had the chance to catch a glimpse of chalk after I left school). However, I prefer his style because he starts everything from ground-up, making sure we understand everything that he is teaching.


Moral Studies (MPW2153)

Lecturer: Dr. Tew
Duration: 5 hours per week in one day
Time: Friday, 12 – 5 pm
Many people have the the misconception that Moral Studies will be like what we do for SPM, memorizing all those moral values. I can assure you that this is totally different, in fact, even more mind-boggling. We have to learn a new branch of knowledge called philosophy, which literally means "love of wisdom". We have to study the various theories that are supposed to help us determine what is morally right or wrong. But what is morally right or wrong is so subjective that each theory presents its own flaws. For example, one such theory is utilitarianism, which states that whether an action is morally right is solely determined by the overall happiness brought by it among people. This is quite understandable, but when it comes to a situation where killing someone brings a lot more happiness, then is the action considered morally right? This is something debatable. Anyhow there is nothing absolute when it comes to the issue of ethics and morality. In his exercises given so far, we are expected to list out the flaws in each theory, which means more memorizing...


Lab

Supervisor: Mr. Tan
Duration: 2 hours per week
Time: Tuesday, 11 am – 1 pm
This slot is more or less the same as in the first semester, except that the time and experiments are different.


The arrangement of my timetable is in such a way that for Monday and Tuesday it's all packed. Thursday is the most relaxing day with only 1 hour of class. Friday is supposed to be a day where I can wake up late, but because of the Maths example class, I'm forced to wake up early...

I hope you have taken your time reading this long post, because such long posts filled with text like this are hard to come by in this blog once things get busier.

No easy life in Nottingham

This is the end of my third week in the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. You may notice that my blog hasn’t been updated for about 2 weeks. Why? The short answer is in the title of this post, while a more detailed answer will follow as you continue to read this post.

Although my short stint in Malacca High School seems like a distant memory to me now, but I still can remember what the teachers there used “brainwash” Form 6 students about how you can have an easy life in college. They say, “If you want an easy life, go college lah! In Form 6, you must be prepared to slog!” (Although I’m technically a university student, but I still categorize myself as a college student, because saying that I’m a university student would give the impression that I’m an undergraduate.) No doubt that life is a little easier here, but in no way that I’m passing my days as if each day is a holiday. To let you have a “feel” of my life in Nottingham, I’ll start off with writing about the subjects (they call it modules) I’m currently taking in Sem 0 of my Foundation in Engineering course.


Light, Waves and Electron A (EN0 LWA)

Lecturer & Tutor: Dr. Khiew
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Monday, 2 – 5 pm
This is basically a Physics-related module where we learn about mostly light and waves, for example lenses, interference of waves and so on. Dr. Khiew is my only lecturer with a PhD. We have 2 hours of lecture where he lectures while showing PowerPoint slides and another hour of doing exercises. His lessons are quite easy to understand, but what I don’t like about his lessons is that he refuses to derive some of the formulas we encounter, like the lens formulas. He would say that we are engineering students, so it’s enough to know how to apply these formulas... I wonder what Mr. Wee will say about this.


Basic Mathematical Techniques (HG1 BMT)

Lecturer & Tutor: Mr. Balrama
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Monday, 9 – 11 am; Thursday, 11 am – 12 pm (Example class)
This module is taught by a quite experienced-looking man, though I'm feeling that we're moving too slowly. What we learn here is basically what we learn before in Form 4 and Form 5, like indices, inequalities, progression and so on. But the questions given can be quite tricky in such a way that befits our age. It’s like a tougher form of the SPM Mathematics syllabus.


Properties of Materials (EN0 POM)

Lecturer & Tutor: Mr. Chiang
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Tuesday, 2 – 5 pm
Fondly (the opposite is true) known as POM. The lecturer of this module claims to be the funniest lecturer in the University, and true enough, he likes to crack jokes. He has something funny to say every few minutes or so, but then some are not so funny… Anyway, this module is a mixture of Chemistry and Physics, but it’s still more related to Chemistry than Physics. Examples of topics covered are atoms, bonding, crystals and gases. And even worse than Chemistry in secondary school, this module requires a lot of memorizing. Well, we’re supposed to know about the properties of materials, and the only way is to memorize them.


Basic Engineering Mechanics A (EN0 BMA)

Lecturer: Mr. Lim
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Wednesday, 2 – 5 pm
This is another Physics-related module that everybody who studied Physics before is familiar with. Topics covered in this module are usually discussed at the beginning chapters of most Physics textbooks. It includes physical quantities, vectors, kinematics, Newton’s Laws up to work and power.


English Language and Study Skills Introductory (EN0 ELI)

Lecturer: Ms. Cecily
Duration: 4 hours per week
Time: Tuesday, 11 am – 1 pm; Thursday, 9 – 11 am
English lessons again… the most boring and useless (the study skills part) subject (that’s what I think). The difference is that we’re learning academic English, not the story-telling kind of English but English based on cold hard facts (my emphasis). I can't deny that I learned something more about the English language especially the grammar part, but there’s nothing more to that. And this module is supposed to teach us study skills, which I doubt it will reach its objective. In order to “teach” us study skills, this module requires us to submit a so-called study diary to our lecturer each week. And my lecturer is going on very slowly, so I wouldn’t learn much actually.


IT and Design A (XX0 C02)

Lecturer: Ms. Geetha
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Thursday, 2 – 5 pm
The lecturer for this module has the easiest time. A Masters Degree holder currently pursuing her PhD in my university, she spends the least time with us. Her class ends at 3.30 pm at most (so far) and she leaves us doing the exercise she gave us. For the past lessons, the exercises given involved finding information about IT-related stuff. We have to arrange the information we found in a folio, and we have to hand it in the following week.


Malaysian Studies (MPW2133)

Lecturer: Ms. Evans
Duration: 5 hours per week in one day (!)
Time: Friday, 12 – 5 pm
It’s Sejarah all over again during Malaysian Studies. Not everything is about History though, because we also will learn about the Malaysian parliament, government and its policies, kind of like Paper 1 of Pengajian Am in Form 6 if I’m not mistaken. Ms. Evans, a Masters Degree holder too, is a part-time lecturer at Nottingham and she’s the best History teacher I’ve ever had (because my previous ones suck). She knows the history of Malaysia like the back of her hand. It’s quite interesting learning about the history of Malaysia actually, but I shudder at the thought of squeezing all these facts into my head again to sit for tests.


Lab

Supervisor: Mr. Tan
Duration: 2 hours per week
Time: Wednesday, 10 – 11 am
This is not a module on its own, but just a slot in our timetable where we carry out Physics and Chemistry experiments. I can’t comment much here because lab sessions are only on next week.


Now you can see what my coursemates and I have to go through each week. According to our timetable, we have an average of 5.2 hours of classes per day, sort of like the time spent for classes in school if you’re in Form 6. And this does not include breaks. But of course, Form 6 students will have lots of extra classes, and some of my lecturers are “kind” enough to give early dismissals.

Phew, what a long post I’ve written. However, it won't end just yet. Proves that I’ve a lot of free time right? Nah, this is just to compensate for the drought of updates in my blog for the past two weeks. If you don’t believe me, let me show you why my hands are not empty.

1. Malaysian Studies assignment about Home Ministry – 10 pages worth of research to be done by the end of this semester.
   
2. Malaysian Studies presentation – my group is planning to do a video about the Malaysian Parliament. If all goes well, it may be uploaded on YouTube.
   
3. Tests! Next week I have English, Malaysian Studies and POM tests. And I’ve been to Form 6 long enough to know that their monthly tests also fall on August. Proves that we’re moving at a very fast pace (not exactly, just joking). Yesterday I just had my BMT quiz, a small test that was over in 20 minutes. All of these tests will contribute to my final results.

One more thing, for the very first time, I’ll be spending my weekend at Nottingham. I still haven’t thought of what to do over the weekend. Living full-time in Nottingham can be described as living like a frog underneath a well; the only contact with the outside world is through the phone, internet, newspapers or taking a bus ride out of this “well”.

P.S.: The JPA scholarship results for 9A students are out, and I was offered a scholarship even though I stated my institution as Nottingham. Moreover, the ever-you-know-what JPA still keeps people guessing about the details of this scholarship. If they sponsor foundation students like me too, don’t you think that it’s better to do foundation here at a prestigious (again my emphasis) university like mine fully-sponsored rather than studying Form 6?

P.S. 2: A big salute to those who managed to read each and every word of my 1000-plus-words post.

P.S. 3: To those who want to see photos, I would say this: Since a picture is worth a thousand words, therefore I've just posted a very clear picture of Nottingham, don't you think? OK, OK, I'll try to get some photos during this weekend. But then when I'll be posting these photos will be another unknown...

UPDATE: To avoid any misunderstandings especially regarding my comments on classes and lecturers, please check out my follow up to this post.

Farewell, Form 6 and MHS

From 13th of May until 3rd of July (yesterday); more than one and a half months. Those were the days I was a student in Malacca High School (MHS). Finally, I had to leave MHS in search of greener pastures at the University of Nottingham, thus opening a new chapter in my life. Imagine the changing of lifestyle that I’ve grown so much accustomed for the past 11 years: Waking up early in the morning to go to school and coming back home later in the afternoon. No, this is definitely not the way of life in university. And I too am not quite sure what university life would be like.

Whatever the life in university, there are things in Form 6 that I think I would sorely miss there:

• School life
• School uniform (hey, they actually look smart)
• Mr. Wee, first class physics teacher
• PA and Chemistry lessons
• Many friends from SFI

Come to think of it again, it actually despised school life when I first entered MHS (see my Form 6: Malacca High School post). But given the uncertainties ahead, I would be inclined to stick to my old way of life. I’ve also read Jia Wei’s F6 (Wise Choice or Bad Choice) post, and of course I agree with him on some points about the advantages in studying Form 6. Speaking about friends, I would like to say more than 95% of students in the foundation course that I’ll be taking will be strangers. This is far different from Form 6 at MHS where you get a significant population of ex-SFI students.

Enough said about school life. I’m sure I would manage to get over it. Hey, some people even went to Russia and Australia after Form 5. For me, it’s just a 2-hour journey from there to home. What is more pressing would be the quality of teaching and the stuff that I would be learning there. Surely, I would not find lectures as experienced and dedicated as Form 6 teachers in MHS. How I wish the teachers in Form 6 (especially Mr. Wee) would continue teaching me there in a less exam-oriented fashion. And yes, there will be no PA lessons, so I would be losing out in knowledge about the workings of our country. As for Chemistry lessons, it will only be offered to students taking Chemical Engineering next year - other students are not given the chance to take it.

However, no matter what comes out to be in the future, I think I would still be a Form 6 student at heart, at least while I’m still in pre-u. To those in Form 6, I would like to say that since you’ve decided to stay, then by all means have no regrets. Form 6 life can actually be enjoyable if you have a positive attitude. Who knows, I may be regretting soon that I've not continued studying in Form 6. And yeah, to Loo Han, Jia Wei, Nicholas and other Form 6 bloggers, do continue to provide updates about life in Form 6… make me regret that I wasn’t there!

Once again, I bid farewell to Form 6 and MHS. To everybody there slogging towards STPM, I wish you good luck! And I'm sorry I cannot be with you fighting the STPM war...

Form 6: Malacca High School (Part II)

The following is a continuation from Part I.

This will most probably be the last post I'll be writing about Malacca High School (MHS) I think, because I've firmly decided to study Foundation in Engineering at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC). Since I promised a Part II for my article on MHS, then I shall finish what I've left off, though I must admit that most interesting stuff I know about and experienced in MHS had been told in Part I. Therefore, you can expect this post (Part II) a little shorter and perhaps less interesting compared to Part I.


Orientation Week

The orientation week starts on March 12. Basically orientation week was about getting to know this school and Form 6, sometimes beyond. We listened to talks by counselors, the library teacher, senior assistants, a few teachers and the principal... Most of them are rather boring. Apart from that, the school had invited some ex-Form 6 MHS students to brief us freshies about life during Form 6 and after - like how study, cope with examination pressure and finally entrance into public universities. And there was also a talk by a professor from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore about the university's science programmes. Nothing much too - his main aim was to promote his faculty and university.

Besides listening and listening to endless talks, there are also some activities in store for us. On the first day, the Form 6 Union and student association did organize some games and at the same time divided the freshies into groups, but that was what I heard, because I didn't go to school on that day. That was the only time the freshies got to play games. The next group activity was composing a sketch (Theme: Expected life in Form 6) to be presented on Thursday. The best 2 would get to perform on Teacher's Day (Friday). My group was the first to present, chosen by lot, so imagine how "lucky"! But it was over quite fast, and so I could relax and watch the other groups perform. A few bits that were hilarious were guys acting like pondans, girls fighting like there's no tomorrow and of course, Jude imitating the antics of our discipline master during orientation week. Quite a perfect imitation, so that's why I recommended whoever who wants to see how "pleasant" our discipline master is to find him. His group won by the way, and I would love to see the discipline master's face if the scene was not cut on Teacher's Day (I didn't attend school on that day too).


Class

By Thursday afternoon, we were already sorted into our respective classes. I was placed in Lower 6 Alpha, the first class in the Science (Physics) stream. Only a maximum of 15 students are in my class, so it can be rather quiet at times, at least initially. The students in my class (as of now) are:
(Hazel) Cheong Sze Kit (IJC) >> Monitor
Yee Zi Shan (STPM) >> Asst. Monitor
(Hannah) Low Tze Fui (IJC) >> Ex-monitor (she quitted)
Lew Shuk Ling (CCS)
Lee Yuin Kuan (IJC)
Suah Jin May (IJC)
Hiu Kee Weng (SFI)
Jude Ng (SFI)
Loo Han (SFI)
Kong Teck Lee (SFI)
Lee Ming Yuen (MHS)

and of course me.

Kin Wee and Wong from NS and Sunway respectively will probably be joining this class too.


Teachers

Most Form 6 teachers of my class are a hardworking lot. Mr. Wee, our Physics teacher gave us notes and exercises on his first lesson. My Chemistry teacher (forgot her name) drilled us on oxidation numbers also on her first lesson. And Mr. Khoo, our Maths T teacher, already gave 2 extra classes during the holidays, although I only attended one of them. The Maths G teacher took a different approach during her first lesson by showing us the courseware (using computer) provided by the Ministry of Education. It was the most "exciting" lesson ever, until Kee Weng described it in his MSN Messenger personal message as "the best maths lesson ever, until I can sleep"!

Probably due to the teachers' obsessiveness with preparing us for scoring good grades in STPM, their lessons can hardly be considered interesting. Chemistry especially. All the lessons so far were about drilling, drilling (during her second lesson, we tried balancing equations). No doubt that she was getting us ready for STPM, but her teaching method made me rather dread her lessons, because my brain just couldn't stand this intense drilling due to months of lack of use. I wish the teachers had come up with something lighter to get our brains oiled before getting into this STPM business.


Conclusion

Studying Form 6 at MHS is actually not bad, considering that it is one of the top schools in the country in terms of STPM results. I feel a little sad having to leave this school, but then again I have stronger reasons to justify my choice, which may be the topic of my next post. In the meantime, I won't be leaving MHS too soon, because the next intake for foundation at UNMC is in July.

PSD offers additional sponsorship

After trying to discern from media reports (here and here) information about the new scholarship scheme by the PSD, an official announcement regarding this matter is finally available.

Iklan Penajaan Tambahan Pelajar Lepasan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia 2007 - Upload a doc

Read this doc on Scribd: Iklan Penajaan Tambahan Pelajar Lepasan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia 2007

PENAJAAN TAMBAHAN PELAJAR LEPASAN SIJIL PELAJARAN MALAYSIA 2007 1. Mulai tahun 2008, Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam akan menawarkan penajaan tambahan untuk pelajar–pelajar yang cemerlang bagi mengikuti pengajian di dalam dan luar negara. Permohonan adalah dipelawa daripada calon-calon untuk mendapatkan tajaan JPA seperti berikut: a. Program Luar Negara i) Pelajar-pelajar yang sedang atau mendapat tawaran untuk mengikuti pengajian Tahun I peringkat ijazah pertama di universiti-universiti Ivy League atau setara. b. Program Dalam Negara i) Pelajar-pelajar SPM 2007 yang mendapat 9A dan ke atas yang sedang mengikuti pengajian di Tingkatan 6 di Sekolah Bantuan Penuh Kerajaan, Pusat Matrikulasi di bawah Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia, Pusat Asasi Sains Universiti Malaya dan Universiti Islam Antarabangsa atau Pusat Matrikulasi / Asasi Sains lain di bawah Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Awam; Pelajar-pelajar yang sedang atau mendapat tawaran untuk mengikuti pengajian Tahun I peringkat ijazah pertama yang diiktiraf oleh Kerajaan Malaysia di kampus cawangan University of Nottingham, Monash University, Swinburne University dan Curtin University of Technology di Malaysia; ii) 1 2. Program dan institusi-institusi yang ditaja adalah seperti berikut: PROGRAM Tingkatan 6 INSTITUSI Sekolah-Sekolah Bantuan Penuh Kerajaan Pusat-Pusat Matrikulasi di bawah Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia i) Pusat Asasi Sains UM (PASUM) ii) Pusat Asasi Undang-undang UiTM iii) Pusat Asasi UIA iv) Pusat Asasi Farmasi UiTM v) Pusat Asasi Sains UiTM vi) Pusat Asasi TESL UiTM vii) Pusat Asasi Sains Pertanian UPM viii) Pusat Tamhidi USIM Matrikulasi Asasi Sains Ijazah Pertama i) ii) iii) iv) Nottingham University Monash University Curtin University of Technology Swinburne University Ijazah Pertama Ivy League Univesities i) Brown University ii) Cornell University iii) Columbia University iv) Dartmouth University v) Harvard University vi) Yale University vii) Princeton University viii) University of Pennsylvania Ijazah Pertama British Top Universities i) ii) iii) iv) v) Cambridge University Oxford University Imperial College London London School of Economics University College London JPA hanya akan menaja bidang-bidang yang diiktiraf oleh Kerajaan Malaysia sahaja. 2 3. SYARAT-SYARAT PERMOHONAN (a) (i) (ii) (iii) Syarat-syarat Asas Warganegara Malaysia; Umur tidak melebihi 20 tahun pada 31 Disember 2008; Mendapat sekurang-kurangnya gred 2A dalam Bahasa Melayu,Sejarah dan Pendidikan Islam/ Pendidikan Al-Quran dan As-Sunnah / Pendidikan Syariah Islamiah / Pendidikan Moral serta mana-mana 6 matapelajaran berikut; Fizik, Kimia, Biologi, Matematik Tambahan, Bahasa Inggerís, Matematik, Prinsip Akaun, Perdagangan, Pengajian Keusahawanan, Ekonomi Asas, EST, Geografi, Teknologi Maklumat, Bahasa Arab Tinggi, Bahasa Arab Komunikasi, Tasawur Islam, Pendidikan Seni; (iii) Mempunyai kesihatan yang baik dan tidak mengidap penyakitpenyakit kritikal seperti Hepatitis, Aids, HIV dan sebagainya; Mendapat tempat ke Tingkatan 6 atau Pusat Matrikulasi di bawah Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia atau Pusat Asasi Universiti Malaya atau Pusat Matrikulasi / Asasi Sains lain di bawah Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Awam atau University of Nottingham, Monash University, Swinburne University dan Curtin University of Technology di Malaysia atau universiti-universiti Ivy League di Amerika Syarikat dan universiti-universiti terkemuka di United Kingdom atau setara; (iv) (b) Syarat Khusus Bagi Permohonan Program Ijazah Pertama di Nottingham University, Monash University, Curtin University of Technology dan Swinburne University, Program Ivy League Universities dan setara (i) Calon-calon yang menerima tawaran di 4 kampus cawangan di Malaysia disyaratkan memperolehi keputusan seperti berikut: Kelayakan A-Level South Australian Matriculatin (SAM) Australian Matriculation (AUSMAT) International Baccalaureate (IB) Keputusan 12 Mata 90 % 90 % 33 mata 3 ii) Calon-calon yang menerima tawaran ke universiti Ivy League disyaratkan memperolehi keputusan Scholastic Aptitude Test I (SAT I) sekurang-kurangnya 1,400 mata bagi Critical Reading dan Matematik, dan markah TOEFL sekurang-kurangnya 105 (Internet Base Test). Calon-calon yang menerima tawaran ke universiti terkemuka United Kingdom disyaratkan memperolehi Gred A dalam sekurang-kurangnya 3 matapelajaran dalam peperiksaan ALevel, atau 40 mata dalam peperiksaan International Baccalaureate (IB), dan markah IELTS sekurang-kurangnya 7.0. iii) 4. BIDANG TAJAAN BIL. BIDANG CONTOH 1. 2. 3. Perubatan Sains Tulen Sains Gunaan Perubatan, Pergigian, Farmasi, Perubatan Veterinar Fizik, Kimia, Biologi, Matematik, Sains Hayat Pertanian, Perhutanan, Bioteknologi/ Sains Makanan, Perikanan/Sains Samudera, Alam Sekitar, Teknologi Maklumat Kejuruteraan, Teknologi Industri, Seni Bina, Ukur Bahan/Tanah, Perancangan Bandar dan Wilayah Sastera Dan Sains Sosial, Pengajian Islam/Syariah/Usuluddin, Kemanusiaan/ Kemasyarakatan, Komunikasi, Bahasa, Sains Pembangunan Ekonomi/Perniagaan Tani, Pengurusan Perniagaan/Pentadbiran Awam, Perakaunan, Undang-undang, Pengajian Kuantitatif, Pengurusan, Sains Perpustakaan dan Maklumat 4. Teknologi 5. Sastera 6. Sastera Ikhtisas 4 5. CALON-CALON YANG TIDAK LAYAK MEMOHON (i) Pelajar-pelajar yang tidak memenuhi asas dan khusus yang ditetapkan. syarat-syarat kelayakan (ii) Pelajar-pelajar yang telah mendapat penajaan lain untuk melanjutkan pengajian. 6. TEMPOH KONTRAK Pemohon yang menerima tawaran biasiswa tajaan Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam dikehendaki berkhidmat dengan kerajaan dan sekiranya enggan, tuntutan ganti rugi akan dikenakan. Tempoh berkhidmat dengan Kerajaan dan amaun tuntutan ganti rugi adalah seperti di bawah: PERINGKAT/TEMPOH PENGAJIAN TEMPOH BERKHIDMAT DENGAN KERAJAAN AMAUN GANTI RUGI (RM) Kursus Bukan Profesional Kursus Profesional* IPTA IPTS Peringkat Ijazah: 4 tahun atau kurang Lebih dari 4 tahun Kursus Perubatan dan Pergigian 4 5 6 7 10 110,000 130,000 250,000 ) Kos ) sebenar ) - *Catatan: Kursus profesional meliputi kursus-kursus seperti perubatan, pergigian, farmasi, perubatan veterinar, kejuruteraan, seni bina, perakaunan, kejururawatan, undang-undang, penilaian harta, ukur bahan dan ukur tanah. 5 7. CARA MEMOHON Permohonan boleh dibuat secara dalam talian (on-line) sahaja. Permohonan adalah percuma. Cara memohon adalah seperti berikut: (i) pemohon hendaklah mendaftar untuk mendapatkan kata laluan percuma melalui talian di http://esila.jpa.gov.my mulai tarikh iklan dikeluarkan; pemohon yang telah berdaftar boleh mengemukakan permohonan mulai tarikh iklan dikeluarkan. Untuk mendapatkan maklumat lanjut, sila layari http://esila.jpa.gov.my atau http://www.jpa.gov.my.; pemohon dibenarkan menghantar satu permohonan sahaja tetapi dibenarkan mengakses untuk mengemaskini atau meminda sebelum tarikh tutup permohonan. Hanya permohonan yang terkini sahaja diambil kira sebagai penerimaan permohonan; borang permohonan dalam talian yang dimuat turun, dicetak dan dihantar melalui pos tidak akan diproses; permohonan secara dalam talian tidak memerlukan penghantaran salinan sijil-sijil, kecuali dinyatakan dalam “Slip Pemohonan Penajaan Tambahan SPM 2007”; pemohon hendaklah memastikan proses permohonan telah sempurna dengan mencetak “Slip Pemohonan Penajaan Tambahan SPM 2007” sebagai bukti permohonan telah dibuat; pertanyaan mengenai masalah teknikal semasa mengisi borang permohonan dalam talian boleh dibuat dengan menghubungi talian 038885 3550. Talian ini dibuka setiap hari dari jam 8.00 pagi hingga 5.00 petang (Isnin – Jumaat); dan pertanyaan mengenai program tajaan boleh dibuat dengan menghubungi talian 03-8885 3049 (10 talian) pada setiap hari bekerja mulai jam 8.00 pagi hingga 5.00 petang atau e-mel di alamat esila@jpa.gov.my. (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) vi) (vii) (viii) 8. TARIKH TUTUP PERMOHONAN Tarikh tutup permohonan ialah pada 14 Jun 2008. Permohonan yang diterima selepas tarikh tersebut tidak akan dilayan. TAMAT 6

To apply, visit the JPA eSILA website.

From the above advertisement (as they call it), they say they will be sponsoring Form 6 students who got 9As and above in their SPM, but in what aspect are they going to sponsor? School fees? Books? Food? Not to mention that there'll be at least a 4-year bond.

Unless they come out with an attractive scheme, I'm sticking with studying foundation (soon) at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.

Form 6: Malacca High School (Part I)

Two weeks into Form 6 at Malacca High School (MHS). Not full attendance though, because I ponteng (skipped) school on Monday and Friday last week to take the JPJ test for car and motorcycle respectively. In a moment I'll be telling all that I've learned about this school within this time frame.


School Background

MHS was founded in 1826, said to be the oldest government English school in Malaysia. The school motto is Meliora hic sequamur, which is Latin for "Malacca High School"... or so I thought. I didn't even realise it was the school motto when I first saw this phrase on the school crest (left). Only later I found out the meaning of these three foreign words: "Here we strive for better things". It is amazing that these three Latin words when translated into English become a sentence which is 6 words long, double the amount of words. But this is not my first encounter with a Latin school motto. In my previous school, the motto is Age Quod Agis, which when translated into English becomes "Whatever you do, do it well", also double the original amount of words. So my conclusion from above is that Latin is a rather compact language...

Much more information about MHS can be found in the Wikipedia article about this school here, so I will not go beyond providing a few important background information about MHS, or I may as well copy and paste the whole Wikipedia article here. Another thing worth mentioning about MHS is its school song. From the Wikipedia article and some research, I realised that the melody for the school song is called "Materna" composed by Samuel A. Ward in 1882. What makes it more intriguing is that the melody for MHS' school song is also the same as an American patriotic song called "America the Beautiful" written in 1904. So during the school assembly, imagine somebody singing "America the Beautiful" instead of the school song, which are both of the same tune. In place of "Sekolah Tinggi, Sekolah Tinggi" it would be "America, America"! The following is the lyrics for the MHS school song and "America the Beautiful", side by side for comparison. Below the lyrics is a small player that will play "Materna".

MHS School Song

America the Beautiful

Sekolah Tinggi Melaka keseluruh negara Beramai-ramai kita dukung rukun negara Satu padu bertenaga majukan negara Prinsip hidup progresif amalan sekolah kita Sejak lapan belas dua puluh enam namamu terbina Sepanjang masa kemuka mulia dan bahagia Sekolah Tinggi, Sekolah Tinggi, tempatmu berbakti Perpaduan, bercahaya, kekalan abadi.

O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain; For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood, From sea to shining sea. O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved, And mercy more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine, Till all success be nobleness, And every gain divine. O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam, Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self control, Thy liberty in law.

First Impressions

I've never imagined when I first arrived that studying Form 6 in MHS would be a world of difference compared to my counterparts in college. One thing for sure is that we have to don the school uniform (like ever before) although this year's uniform for Lower Sixes at MHS is different compared to other students, that is a combination of black and white (excluding purple and green necktie we have to wear full-time).

My first day there was last Tuesday and it was orientation week held in the school hall. We had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Mustafa, the discipline master, for a briefing (on discipline of course!). He can be described as anything but nice, but this is still based on my first impression of him, as always. Although it was the second day of school for us, he made a fuss out of those not sporting a complete school uniform. He proceeded to call those without a school badge OR tie to stand at the side of the hall and those without school badge AND tie to stand on the stage [Sweat]. Of course I (and among many others) have none of those, so I went up the stage, only to be called down a minute later because it was my first day in school [Sweat again]. After a lecture on school attire was everybody allowed to sit down again. What a pure waste of time. He went on to say that handphones are not allowed in school, and asked those who brought handphones to stand up. I was one of the few who admitted bringing along a handphone, though I'm sure there should be more. But he took no further action. Later, he demonstrated that he is someone not to be messed easily by throwing a chair ('jika tidak, kerusi ini akan layang'). Those who have trouble imagining it can find Jude for a rendition of this scene (Why Jude? More about that later). These happenings really brought me back to reality that as Form 6 students, we are still ordinary schoolchildren just like those in Form 1 to Form 5. What is special about us is only our uniform, which didn't translate into any "special" privilages...

Other first impressions of this school were gained before school starts and during recess. Every morning, we have to assemble at the Form 6 Quad to sing the school song and hear somebody recite the doa. Both are new to me, so I guess that this only happens in schools controlled by the Malays (all MHS principals since 1985 are Malays). And then there are the toilets. The toilets are definitely a far cry compared to my former school's toilets. In short, they stink. For girls, toilet woes abound! MHS, being a predominantly boy's school, has only a toilet (if I'm not mistaken) for around 250 girls to share. So expect a long queue during "peak" hours at the girl's toilet. The situation is so bad that a female teacher actually advised girls during the orientation to drink less water, in contradiction to the usual doctor's advice...

The above gives another impression that funds channelled to this school is not well managed. As a fully government-aided school, one can expect good facilities for the students, but contrary to my belief, this is not so. Not only the regarding the toilets actually, but also the library. Amazingly, the library has less books compared to, again, my former school, a mission school. Oh, did I forgot to mention that the principal drives a Mercedes and sits on a brand new plush sofa during assembly?

To be continued...
Next in Part II: Not everything is bleak - more on orientation week, my class and teachers.

Follow up on PSD scholarships for students with 9As

The New Straits Times did a follow-up report today on scholarships that the PSD is planning to offer to all students with at least 9As in their 2007 SPM.

Info on scholarships to be out next week

PUTRAJAYA: Parents seeking information on the government scholarships for students who scored at least 9As in last year's Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia can find it in major newspapers by the middle of the month.

The Public Service Department said it would take out advertisements with detailed information on the government scholarships.

A PSD official said those who had already started Form Six or matriculation could still apply for them.

"Students can also apply on-line but at the moment, the Internet forms are not ready.

"Information on how to apply online will also be mentioned in the newspaper advertisements.

Last Friday, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan announced that the government had decided to increase the number of scholarships.

Since then, parents have bombarded the NST with phone calls seeking more information.

Some asked whether their their children studying in private universities and colleges were also eligible.

The initial announcement said those eligible were students who scored 9As and above in the 2007 SPM examination, regardless of economic background.

I hope they would provide more details on this as soon as possible, so that students can make an informed decision on whether it is worthwhile to study in government or private institutions.

PSD To Sponsor All Students Obtaining 9As?

I saw a news article in The Star today entitled "PSD to offer scholarships to all SPM students with 9As". Can't you believe it? A lot of people I know obtained at least 9As in their 2007 SPM. But what's the catch? Here is what was reported by The Star and other media organisations:

The Star

PSD scholarships for SPM students with 9As

PETALING JAYA: The Public Service Department (PSD) will offer scholarships to all students who scored 9As in their SPM examinations last year, regardless of background, to study Form Six in fully-aided schools.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan said students who do matriculation, including those in Universiti Malaya’s Science Preparatory Centre and International Islamic University’s matriculation programme, would also be offered scholarships.

These students will also be sponsored for their first degree if they do it in a local university, he said in a statement yesterday.

Sidek said the PSD would also sponsor such students if they obtained places in an Ivy League or equivalent university.

Top-scoring students who get a place in a Malaysian branch of a foreign university such as Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne Unversity will also be offered scholarships.

On top of this, Sidek said the PSD would offer scholarships to 2,000 students for overseas studies and a further 10,000 for studies in local universities.

He said the scholarships were being offered in line with the Government’s efforts to develop human capital.

He said the Government was aware that the number of high achievers is growing every year. Yet, not every student would have a chance to get Government sponsorship.

“The Government realises that high achievers are assets.

“As such, it has introduced the initiative to increase the number of scholarships where students of any background will be offered as long as they satisfy the SPM 9A score condition,” he said.

The move, Sidek added, would indirectly encourage these high achievers to further their education in local universities.

The New Straits Times (NST)

Govt scholarships for all with at least 9As in SPM

KUALA LUMPUR: Students who scored 9As and above in the 2007 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination will be sponsored up to their bachelor's degrees at local universities.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan said the government had decided to increase the number of scholarships because outstanding students were the nation's future assets.

"The number of students who obtain excellent results in all SPM subjects is rising every year but not all of them are able to obtain scholarships as the number is limited.

"Realising that these outstanding students are the nation's assets, the government has taken the initiative to provide scholarships to all students with at least 9As, regardless of background," he said yesterday.

"This move will indirectly attract good students to further their studies at local universities, which will also help to raise the standard of higher education in Malaysia."

Those furthering their studies to Form Six at government-assisted schools and matriculation centres under the Education Ministry, including the Centre for Foundation Studies in Science at Universiti Malaya and the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa matriculation programme, will stand to benefit from the offer.

"Students who have obtained places in Ivy League-standard foreign universities and local campuses of foreign institutions such as Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne University will also be sponsored," said Sidek.

The measures, he said, were consistent with government initiatives to develop skilled human capital.

The government will be sponsoring 2,000 students under its Overseas Degree Programme this year and another 10,000 students at public universities under the Domestic Degree Programme.

Both reports are very vague and confusing in their reporting. Do students have to take Form Six, matriculation and other programmes by the Government in order to qualify for this scholarship? What about those already studying in local private colleges and universities like Nottingham and Curtin in Malaysian campuses? They did mention ALL students! A report by Bernama on this subject is better in the sense that it clears up these issues.

Bernama

PSD To Sponsor All Students Obtaining 9As In 2007 SPM

KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 (Bernama) -- The Public Service Department (PSD) will sponsor all students who obtained 9As or better in the 2007 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.

This is in addition to the 2,000 students under the Overseas Degree Programme and 10,000 under the Local Degree Programme, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan says in a statement.

The sponsorship will be given to students undergoing Form Six at government schools and matriculation centres under the Education Ministry, Universiti Malaya's Pre-Science Centre and International Islamic University Malaysia's Matriculation.

It will continue up to the first degree-level at local universities and extended to those who have obtained seats at Ivy League universities overseas and foreign university campuses in Malaysia like Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne University.

Based on the above report (and my interpretation of it), the sponsorship will be given to students who will be undergoing Pre-U studies at government schools and matriculation centres under the Education Ministry, Universiti Malaya's Pre-Science Centre and International Islamic University Malaysia's Matriculation this year (yeah, that's the catch). After completing their studies, the scholarship will continue for those taking first degree-level at local universities and foreign university campuses in Malaysia like Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne University. Moreover, those who have obtained seats at Ivy League universities overseas will be also sponsored.

There are other questions that remain unanswered like "What is it meant by 'sponsor'?", "Is it a full scholarship?", "How are students going to know whether they are given this scholarship?" and "Do students need to apply for it or they will get it automatically?". I think these questions will be answered in due time. The most important thing the government is trying to do now is to get students to study in government-aided schools and institutions.

For 2007 From 5 students, it is another hard time rethinking whether they should continue into Form Six (and others mentioned) or study at a private university or college. Many have already decided on this before the announcement by PSD. Are they willing to sacrifice the luxury of studying in private institutions in order to gain this scholarship? And for those already planning to study From Six, they have to think of the increased competition they have to face when entering the universities covered by this scholarship after getting their STPM results.

Where are my classmates?

For the past few days I was deliberating whether to go Form 6 or some private college/university. So I decided to do a survey on what my classmates are doing/planning to do after Form 5. Together with Jia Wei, I compiled a list of study choices and those who are currently pursuing/planning to pursue them. (For this purpose, I have included myself as one who is going Form 6.)

Here are the results of my survey:

Study Choices of 2007 SFI 5H Students After Form 5

Study Choice	Names of Students	Number
Form 6 (STPM)	Science: Chun Yian, Kin Wee, Jia Wei, Nicholas, Loo Han, Lem, Han Wei, Au Yong, Jordan, Heng, Soon Heng, Beng Choon, Teck Lee, Yeong Sheng Arts: Eugene	15
A-Levels	Bhavik (KTJ), Ong Yi (KTJ), Kai Zong (Singapore), Philip (Singapore), Chi Lim (INTI), Jude (INTEC), Agil, Andrew	8
Programmes in Local Private Universities & Colleges (ex. A-Levels)	Hui Kit (Foundation in Engineering @ MMU), James (Foundation in Engineering @ MMU), Chia Cheng (Foundation in Engineering @ MMU), Khuan Yew (Foundation in Computing @ Taylor's), Isaac Chin (Foundation in Engineering @ Nottingham), Kee Weng (Foundation in Engineering @ Nottingham), Tzong Meng (Foundation in Science @ UCSI), Teng Quan (ADTP @ INTI), Alex (CAT @ Sunway), Han Seng (CAT @ Sunway), Wong (CAT @ Sunway), Wei Di (Foundation in Engineering @ UTP), Kalai (Foundation in Business @ Taylor's), Daniel, Amin, Manoj, Me (Foundation in Engineering @ Nottingham)	17
Foundation & Diploma Overseas	Isaac Pang (Australia), Jeng Yit (Australia), Hou Ket (Australia), Yang Xin (Russia), Boon Hock (Dip. in Mechanical Engineering @ Singapore)	5
Total		45

Form 6 (STPM)		33.33%
A-Levels		17.78%
Programmes in Local Private Universities & Colleges (ex. A-Levels)		37.78%
Foundation & Diploma Overseas		11.11%

The data above is based on the information that Jia Wei and I have in hand, so I cannot guarantee its accuracy. Also, some people might change their mind at the last minute to take a different study route.

Of course, I'll gladly update the data presented above to correct errors and reflect current changes. Those who would like to provide additional information (especially on our "missing" comrades whose study choices are unknown) can do so by posting a comment.


UPDATE (29/4/08): Chi Lim decided to take A-Levels instead of Form 6.

UPDATE (4/5/08): Latest news from Jordan and Teng Quan.

UPDATE (8/5/08): Heng is going Form 6.

UPDATE (12/5/08): Soon Heng is going Form 6, not A-Levels.

UPDATE (12/5/08): Removed Chia Cheng, Boon Hock, Beng Choon and Teck Lee from the "Unknown" category. There are no longer any "missing" comrades, thanks to Heng!

UPDATE (4/6/08): Major changes: Jude, Kalai, Wei Di, Yeong Sheng, Me