Zstan is right on the dot. It is the bond that you should be thinking. For overseas, I think it is worth it despite the 6 years bond. But for local, with the 4 years bond, I am not too sure.

Look at the fees you have to pay and consider PTPTN as option. No bond and you can pay over time.

I was informed that nowadays, even engineering graduates may find difficulty in getting a job. So, getting bonded may be a good option for you to get some exoerience. Your worry may be that , they will just assign you to a desk job and let you rot there over the duration. If you dont learn anything during this bonded period, you will just be considered as any new graduate after your bonding in the employment market.

If you are lucky, they may just release you from the bond as they are not enough jobs to go around in the civil service.

Tough choice, really. You win some, you lose some.

i don't think they will release you.

either u stick to ur job as a clerk or pay back the government every single cent.

but i've heard encouraging stories as well la.

if you get into into TOP OVERSEAS uni(Imperial, MIT etc), and graduated with flying colours, some companies might just hire you and pay back everything to the goverment.

i heard one story that a guy graduated from MIT and got hired by NASA straight away. of course they paid our gov back la.

think about it. are you that good?

4 years as a clerk? How to explain to your next prospective employer. Worse still, if employed, working under other engineering graduates who might be 4 years younger than him.

This is a worst case scenario. Pray hard for the Malaysian economy to improve over the next few years for more options.

I think his is a local scholarship. Not likely for overseas.

that's what i am trying to say!

imagine a fresh grad and you(with 4 years as a clerk) fighting for a place at Intel. i don't see you having much competitiveness compared with the fresh grad. in fact the fresh grad might get the job as you wasted 4 years doing nothing related to the engineering industry.

no..should pray that JPA scholars can work for GLC...then can go TNB or petronas to work for that matter...

Do you know whether or not it's the same when it comes to PIDN? I applied for PILN but didn't get it. After appealing, JPA offered me PIDN. If I accept, I'll be doing my A-Levels at University College Sedaya International.

I'm currently doing my A-Levels at Sunway College though. Is there any way for me to appeal to JPA to let me continue at Sunway?

Also, if I do accept the offer and study at UCSI, when I finish, will I have a say in which university I go to?

Thanks in advance! Sorry about the questions, by the way. I'm not so savvy when it comes to JPA and their ways...

This post has been edited by Tennis_Fan: Jun 14 2010, 12:46 PM

ooo..

my former uni...

no...u have to study ur a-levels all over again at ucsi..=)..no appeal...

after that u study at ucsi la...either medicine or pharmacy....

Oh, were you a JPA scholar too?

It's good to meet someone from UCSI. I've been dying to ask about the A-Levels there! Any idea whether it's Cambridge A-Levels or Ed-Excel? Also, how are the teachers there? For the A-Levels program, that is...

haha..nola..i just a normal student..got quite some friends who got the JPA scholarship though..

its edexcel...they changed their syllabus already..i was from the last batch using the old syllabus...

lecturers a...

really depends on your luck la..my bio lecturer was the head of a-levels..maths one is a very old lecturer...super experienced but his classes quite scary... chemistry lecturer okok lo..

Yes, you can appeal. Your chances depends on how well you phrase your appeal and to whom you send it to. However, I would suggest that you just follow the standard plan and have fun with all the other scholars too. It makes you life easier at the end of the day.

I'm so used to the Cambridge A-Levels already. People say Ed-Excel is easier, but I really don't know. Any thoughts?

Oh and one more thing. I'm starting the A-Levels at UCSI in July. It says in the offer letter that it's a 12 month program. But as far as I know, July intake students finish in November; which makes the program last 1.5 years. Is there a mistake in the letter, or will I be put into an express class with other JPA scholars?

ermmm...

ed excel is easier because u have moreeeeeee time to study..

example for the january finals:

if i were a very hardworking student, i would have 2 solid months to study for my finals. (trials end in mid november)

for stpm i think only 3 weeks study break?

cambridge 2 weeks only right?

that i think is the main difference la IMO.

no. JPA scholars is on snail class. 2 years. u start july 2010..end in june 2012..ur degree starts july 2012..

12 months 12 months lo. If you got the scholarship means you're smart enough to handle it.

Is there actually a difference in terms of syllabus for Cambridge and Edexcel? If Edexcel is easier then that means the studies are also less in-depth compared to Cambridge right? By the way I'm taking Cambridge currently

Thanks for replying so quickly. I don't mean to be a pain, but do you by any chance know who I should address the letter to?

I've always wanted to study overseas, but the scholarship JPA offered me is only for me to further my studies in the country. I'm afraid that by accepting it, my dreams of ever studying overseas are put to a close. But let's just say I accept the offer and study at UCSI. And I do really well in my A-Levels. Do you think it's possible for me to apply for a JPA scholarship again, using my A-Levels results, to study overseas? I know that it's fine for normal students to apply with their A-Levels results, but what about for people who've already accepted the PIDN scholarship and completed their pre-u?

God, it's so hard to explain...

almost the same la..an animal cell has a nucleus and cytoplasm no matter which syallabus u using..and 1+1 still equals 2..

its just how u answer the questions which differ both...

it was never easy to begin with..as what i have said..u just have much more time to study compared to cambridge and stpm...

---

Added on June 14, 2010, 3:41 pmsorry to say its almost close to impossible.

once u accepet the scholarship then u r tied down completely.

and if u had read my other topic, from next year onwards, JPA scholarships to study overseas will be cut down..

sorry to be blunt, but your dreams of studying overseas are theoretically over unless your parents can fund you.



This post has been edited by zstan: Jun 14 2010, 03:41 PM

Really?! That long! But it says 12 months on the offer letter. Did your JPA friends take 2 years to do their A-Levels?

As to who you should address the letter to, I hope you figure that out yourself.

Well A-Levels, at the most you get straight A stars. More likely than not, alot are going to get that score too. There is always a chance they'll sponsor you overseas, but you've to do much better than just scoring As. Furthermore, don't put your hopes on it, with all things bureaucratic, qualification and hardwork alone doesn't cut it.

See, probably you've no money, so don't be too choosy. If you want a scholarship, you've to fulfill your end of the bargain. If you think you can afford going overseas later, you can always tell JPA you want to break the contract and pay them back. If you think someone else is willing to sponsor you later, you can also tell JPA bye bye. If you don't have the money to do that, then you just have to forgo it for now and if you don't have the abilities to get a better scholarship, that's just too bad.

IMO, it's much easier to convert your PIDN to PILN rather than to get PILN out of the blue after your A-Levels. Also, you've to aim high. Getting into Manchester probably won't do, you need to get into Oxbridge or the Ivies. They LOVE the Ivies, more than anything else. Don't say "but". Just get your butt in there.

Don't compare. If your offer letter says 12 then it's 12. If it says 36 then it's 36. They know what they're offering you.

This post has been edited by mumeichan: Jun 14 2010, 03:55 PM

all of them took 2 years la...

first batch of JPA got sent to uk...they finish june..september go uk...

now all is local JPA scholars..finish june..july start...

why so long u may ask?

because u guys will be sent to 'patriotic camps' for about 2 weeks for once or twice in a year...

i dunno about u though..maybe u can call and ask them again?

This post has been edited by zstan: Jun 14 2010, 03:58 PM

Thanks, mumeichan. Everything you've told me is really helpful and I'm definitely gonna discuss this with my parents later. My mom was the one who sent me here to ask for advice.

IMO, it's much easier to convert your PIDN to PILN rather than to get PILN out of the blue after your A-Levels.

Just have to ask, do you know anyone who's done this before? And are you a JPA scholar yourself? You seem to know so much about the scholarships.

Contract wise you will not be employed as a clerk, in fact if there are no post then you will be released from the bond. But JPA as the biggest employer in Malaysia will have some vacancies for you.