First published on 6/7/18 on Meraki
Hi guys,
So I have been posting a lot about things I wish I knew before I entered JC, study-wise things, etc. But here is one final post for this year to conclude this whole J1 thing I accidentally had going on here.
So here we go into FAQ 101 about JC!
First things first,
Should you pick a JC or a poly?
Well, really, this is very dependent on yourself. The main thing you really should be thinking about is whether you know what you want to do when you graduate, whether you have found your direction.
I personally picked a JC because I really didn’t know what I wanted to do for a career. I didn’t have a direction. So in a sense, you could say that going to a JC allows you to ‘buy time’, just 2 more years, for you to really think about what you want to do.
Which JC/ Poly should you pick?
Assuming you opt to go to a JC, there comes the issue of picking a college. A branded one or a less branded one, or even a ‘new’ one, like one of the four merged colleges.
Well, every single school is unique and to really pick the correct one means that you need to know what you want and what suits you. The one thing you shouldn’t do is to pick a college just to be with your friends. Okay I rephrase, it won’t be a fantastic idea to pick a college solely based on this criteria, but I’ll come back to this later.
The more important factors to consider are really distance and the culture of the school.
Between two school that do not differ much in terms of what you are looking for, I would say pick the closer one. I am blessed to have parents who ferry me to and fro school every day, but if not, I would be spending close to 4 hours EVERYDAY just travelling! And when your CCA kicks in and you start learning new content, it IS going to take a toll on you. The one takeaway I’ve had in JC? Travelling is not fun.
Where the culture is concerned, there really isn’t a better way to do this than to go for the open houses. Although yes, schools tend to show a more polished side of them during these open houses, and even students who complain about everything will start singing praises during this time, but you get to see what the school has to offer.
As a general rule of thumb, some of the things I have heard about some schools are listed, although I do disclaim that these are completely based off personal experiences of my friends and me, and are not to be taken as a fact in any case.
- Victoria Junior College is known to be the ‘rah-rah’ school, the fun one (this I can elaborate later because I am actually studying here right now haha)
- Hwa Chong is rather competitive and the IP-JAE divide is not-exactly fantastic (to put it bluntly, it is pretty bad ah).
- Meridian is rumoured to have the most difficult Chemistry papers.
- Nanyang is super student-centric and chances are that you will get whatever subject combi you want, no matter how weird
- and the rest, I haven’t heard anything. Share with me any that you know of! I would be more than pleased to include them in this list for our juniors.
Right, and about that ‘picking the same school as your friends’ thing. If the schools you have in mind have little differences, and if you are swayed towards a particular school because your friends are going there, don’t beat yourself about it. I know that it is the unpopular opinion, everyone tells you to make your own choices, but what they don’t tell you is that the support you get from your friends is going to be extra important in these 2 years ahead of you.
So as long as you don’t go to a school you absolutely hate because of your friends, go ahead and pick the same school as them if you are undecided. They will help ensure your happiness and who knows, you might end up loving the school after entering.
How to pick your subject combination?
Go for what you are good at, what you like, what can get you into the course you want at University.
Let’s be real here. Most of here in a JC all have just one goal in mind: to get into a university, local or overseas. If you have a course in mind, then do your research and make sure you pick subjects that can get you there.
If you are like me and still have no idea what you want to do, it’s alright, really. Just pick a generic subject combination and chances are that you will be fine. I would say that PCME would be a decent choice. It leaves you with quite a bit of room to play with.
But then again, pick something that you actually like. I’ve heard of people who take subject combinations that are usually seen as rather suicidal, like Biology together with history or geography, something along those lines, but because they know what they like and what they are passionate about, they still go on to do decently at A Levels.
So the main point is, pick something that you like, something that can get you to where you want to be, and if all else fails, pick a generic combi.
How to study?
I have to confess that I still haven’t completely mastered and found the best way but here’s what I have. Really just get down to it. Time passes way faster than you think and the moment your MYEs are over, Promos won’t be too far behind. Yes it is super stressful but you can do it, I believe you can.
In general, just find your motivation, have a plan and stick to it, and just do it!
For a more detailed post on how I study, check out my study tips series!
CCA?
Trust me, you will start hearing of people who have 2 or even 3 CCAs, but my advice is, unless you are really really sure you can handle it, don’t kill yourself with too many commitments. The rigour of the A Level syllabus is not to be messed with. Besides, if you show your school that you can handle your studies well, there will be many other opportunities open to you. In VJC’s context, there are always opportunities like OGLs, Ad-Hocs, etc, but only if you are doing decently in your studies/ is part of your CCA Exco.
Life Hacks
Find the method that works for you and stick through with it. JC is way harder than any other institution we’ve been in but we just have to hang in there and push through with it.
So here’s my take but if you need to hear someone talk about these things from another person’s perspective, you can find a video here and here. I was inspired to write this after watching her video, tbh. And she really gives a balanced account of the whole experience.
The bottom line is that all of these are just our own experiences, everyone has a different experience. Don’t take our word for it, really go experience it yourself
One Step At A Time 