JC VS POLY?

Hi all! Welcome to my blogpost!

First of all, I would like to congratulate all 2016 O level students on your results!! You have all come so far and now it is time for you to make an important decision in your life.

During this period last year, I can totally understand how you all are feeling right now. I actually got 11 points for O levels and did have some difficulties in selecting courses and schools in which I hoped would provide me with the best learning experience.

If you have not read my blogpost called " Detour ", do check it out for it explains why I have decided to leave JC this year and join a polytechnic. Upon reading this, you may be stunned but please don't be! Because I had some really legitimate reasons for doing so and it was NOT because of the college I went to :-)

Before I begin, just know that these are just some of my own thoughts and opinions :-) and I'm sorry that I can't share with you on IBDP because I'm not so sure as to what they really do!

The first thing that should come to your mind is : are you a person who enjoys very academic-learning such as tapping on subjects like literature, math, history... or are you a person who enjoys doing projects and hands-on experiences? Well, if you love academics, then JC could just be your choice! But do keep in mind that jumping from secondary school to college is a big milestone and things will definitely get tougher. Also, within a subject you will not have as many topics as compared to secondary school but what you will have to expect is a lot more depth in each topic! On the other hand, going to a polytechnic does mean that you need to have the ability to interact well with people as you will have a lot of projects to do.

Secondly, are you an independent learner? Going to either a JC or a poly does mean that you need to be self-directed in your learning. For JC: lessons and teachings are very fast, so it is best if you read ahead and have an idea of the topic before the college starts on it. Also, the moment the topic has ended, do finish up on the tutorial to assess your learning and don't wait for the teacher to tell you to do it! If not you will just gradually have a lot of work piled up. For poly: you do need to understand that they are going to treat you like adults and so with that level of respect, it means they expect you to take lessons seriously. If you are going to skip lectures or not do your tutorials, your tutor is not going to care and chase you for it because like I said, they treat you like matured adults.

In addition, have you already decided on what you want to do in the future or are you still unsure of what the future holds for you? If you already know what you want to do in the future and you are confident that you have the capabilities to take on such a career, then you may want to choose a course in polytechnic. With that being said, you should also be aware that only 30% of poly students get admitted into local universities. However, the perk is that with the foundation you have, if you get admitted to a local uni with a diploma, you could have the chance to skip first year of uni. It also means you can choose to start working after finishing poly. Going to a JC definitely gives you an edge to secure a place in uni. Also, if you are thinking of pursuing courses like Medicine or Law then I feel that its better to go to JC since it gives you a higher chance to enter the course.

For poly, I personally feel that the advantage is really the opportunity to go on internships and overseas trips as it really enables you to understand and learn about how work life is really like, in fact it lets you get a taste of what you are most likely going to do in the future! These real life learning experiences will definitely teach you a thing or two about your prospective career and prepare you for it. Whereas when you go JC, you do a lot of in-depth learning of academic subjects which is definitely going to help you a lot in university but the only thing is, you have yet to have a taste of work life till you actually start working.

For JC, I personally feel that it was a huge jump from secondary school and at some point you may also start to realise that subjects that you previously always got A's for may start to become a struggle. But what I can say is, the teachers are always an excellent source of help in your learning. It is especially important to ask when in doubt so that you can understand the topics better and clearer! Also, JC i may be a real struggle but with teachers and friends to help you get through it, the 2 years will pass by very fast! You also do need to know how to balance yourself between CCA and academics because you will have competitions coming your way which will take up a lot of your time and make you very tired and lethargic but you still need to push through!

Okay, I have shared with you some of my thoughts and I hope you found this useful in making some critical decisions for your future! Remember that grades and schools do not define who you are, you define yourself and you create those little opportunities for yourself. So with that being said, I wish each and every one of you all the best for JAE 2017 :-)

xoxo, AMANDA