i'll try to put the career choice in simpler diagram, post SPM. i'll create a better diagram later.

options:

i. SPM > STPM/A-LEVELS/SAM/MUFY/MATRICS/FOUNDATION (basically all pre-university qualifications) > DEGREE

ii. SPM > DIPLOMA > DEGREE

iii. SPM > SIJIL POLITEKNIK/VOKASIONAL > DEGREE

iv. SPM > SIJIL > DIPLOMA > DEGREE


these are some of the most common routes that students take post-SPM. do note that for choices iii and iv, we're talking about quite a stretch of time, might span between 5-8 years post SPM.

This post has been edited by azarimy: Dec 14 2006, 08:40 PM

after running an exhaustive check, i came to this conclusion:

(IPTAs offering architecture: UTM, UM, UiTM, USM, UPM, UIAM and UKM)

UIAM and UM are the only two IPTAs openly taking A-levels for their architectural degree. UTM, USM and UKM takes A-level students on case-by-case basis. UPM only accepts A-level for foreign students. I couldnt get any info on UiTM's A-level intake whatsoever. sorry it took me awhile to get this information.

*i called in for UTM, UIAM and UPM. UM, USM and UKM are based on their websites. couldnt dig any from UiTM.

u know to be frank, it doesnt really matter. u need to take A-levels first. period. trial exams or whatever wont mean anything once u're on A-levels. all u need to do to is to make sure u'll get ur place on ur degree. and A-level is the key, not SPM.

so regardless of what u get in ur SPM, as long as it allows u to take A-levels, then it wont matter. if u flunked ur bio in ur SPM, make sure u do well in A-levels.

u shouldnt see the subjects as a pre-requisite in terms of intake, but rather as a preparation of urself in taking the journey in pharmacy. i think by basing on logic alone we can assume that u will need biology at one point in ur studies. but we're not talking about what u learn in bio exactly will be transplanted into ur degree, no sir.

we're talking about the basics and principles of biology that u will need to have BEFORE embarking on a more serious pharmacy related biology. fair enough, the degree itself will try to teach u its own specific set of biology, but that assumes that u already have the basics.

remember, not all pharmaceutical schools teach the SAME thing. same goes for any other courses. but the basics are the same.



bottom line is, u will need to study bio and be good at it at one point. if u take biology now, it MAY help u in the future. if u dont, well, u're gonna have to spend more time on the related subject while doing ur degree bcoz u dont have the basics.

a-levels is a certificate of education by itself. (go check wikipedia for more detailed info). its an international exam similar to STPM, widely used in the world especially in commonwealth countries. it is not conducted by a university or college of any sort. so regardless where u take the a-levels, it's technically the same syllabus world-wide.

it's like asking: is taking SPM in johor the same with kedah or sarawak? yes it is.

This post has been edited by azarimy: Dec 19 2006, 12:37 AM

if shimy's talking about A-levels, i doubt it's for msian IPTAs, other than UIAM. what about private colleges in msia?

matriks is almost a sure fire way to land a place in the university. once u're in matriks, u're not bound by racial factors when continuing into the universities as u have been screened once. so once u score ur matriks results, it's a fair walk in the park for u.

talking about forensics, what specialization r u interested in? u have forensic medicine, forensic science and what not. i have a friend who currently studying phd in forensics, did her masters in criminal law and a degree in law. i take it u dont really have to take medicine first, unless u wanna do forensic medicine.

taking her route, which she recommends especially if u wanna save budget, is to do ur degree in msia, and later masters (u can opt for multiple majors) overseas. as always in job qualifications, people will look for the latter. so ur masters will carry more weight regardless of where u studied for ur degree.


if u can land a place in matriks, USE IT!

if u wanna be a CSI, it's not about what u take, but more about where u work. as far as my friend told me, there arent that many qualified CSIs running around in msia, and she'll be the only female criminologist with a phd after she finishes.

u see, forensics is a merging of several fields, so it's up to u to take which path, as long as it leads to forensics. she took the law-crimonology path, which might not land her a lab-job, but more of a behavioural studies and stuff (coz her field is pedophiles and sexual crimes). to be frank, CSI IS a lab-job, and u cant really escape that. what do u think those CSI people do at the crime scene?

my firend worked in thailand and indonesia, and currently is attached in japan working on a project that is also part of her phd. she could've worked in australia or other more 'popular' countries, but that's just it - she's not into popularity. from what i gather, in the realm of forensics, u dont really have much of a problem working anywhere. just make sure u're good enough.

u're not "offered" upu. what u need to do is buy an application, where they will give u a pin number. then when they announce that application is open, u can use the pin number on the website and fill in the application forms online.

most people went to education fairs with absolutely zero knowledge or interest in anything. i think this is the wrong attitude to have when attending education fairs, bcoz u will most often leave with a sense of hollowness, especially since now u know there are a bigger world out there than before. my advice is, to have a specific objective when attending the fair. some tips:

i. have atleast an area of interest.
ask ur self, what would u like to do in the future? what is the thing that u enjoy doing? in school, what are ur favourite subjects? never ask how much u wanna earn, bcoz some of the top earning jobs dont require a degree, but streetsmarts and a lot of luck like stockbroking, insurance salesperson, restaurant managers etc. ofcourse, those jobs do come with a higher risk

ii. have a budget.
best way is to ask ur parents what they have in store for u. or perhaps look at ur results/projected results and figure out if u could obtain a scholarship. the other option is to apply for a study loan. PTPTN comes to mind.

iii. have a target.
to what level do u wanna study? diploma only? straight to degree? diploma + degree with a 2-3 year break in the middle? straight to PhD?

iv. have the ability to say "no" or "i'll think about it".
this is the most important thing. some people in the education fair are so aggressive that they would wanna sign u up right there and then. although this may look like securing ur future, chances are they're desperately trying to hook u up for a certain unforeseeable gain on their part. go home with all the information u've gathered, and sleep on it. discuss with ur parents/guardians if need be. never say YES on the spot.

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Added on November 23, 2007, 12:53 amdont confuse urself between minimum requirement and the minimum intake cut-off points.

minimum requirement is an absolute value that an institution will take at any given time. meaning, as long as u obtain above the minimum requirements, u will have a chance at studying whatever u're applying. lets say bcoz of war (god forbid), nobody applies the course u're applying except u. even if u're exactly at the minimum requirement, they have the obligation to take u in.

minimum cut-off point is an imaginary line where an institution set for intake. this value varies from year to year, and it highly depends on the number of applicants and the results they carry. for example, course A have 200 new places each year, and the minimum requirement is 1A. in 2006, 500 students applied, 150 with 4As, 200 with 3As, 150 with 2As. now we immediately know 150 with 4As will fill the top 150 out of 200 places. now only 50 of the 200 3As will occupy the last places. the cut off point is somewhere in the 3A level, which is pretty high.

now, in 2007, only 300 students applied, 50 with 4As, 50 with 3As, 100 with 2As and 100 with 1A. now, since all fulfilled the min req, all the 4As, 3As and 2As will occupy the places. the cut-off point is exactly at 2A. anyone below that will not get in.

now compare the two. u'll see that by average students of 2006 are creme de la creme. students of 2007 has a bunch of 2As. it is perfectly valid, bcoz all are actually qualified for the min req. this is also the same reason why we often hear "last year my friend got 1A could get into university, but this year i cannot". this has nothing to do with graphs or excellence of the exams or government policy. it's purely mathematics that any form 3 students can do.

This post has been edited by azarimy: Nov 23 2007, 12:53 AM

there is no such ranking on pre-u exams. ever.

i'm going to go with either A-levels or STPM science stream. but it doesnt really matter if u take pure science or not, just make sure u have biology in it. but as most people would advice u, taking pure science at the moment gives the widest option available.

1st: that was written almost 10 years ago.

2nd: it's actually asasi (foundation), not matriculation. back then there's no difference between those two.

3rd: if you take asasi at one university, usually it's only valid to be used to apply to the same university. this is different with matriculation, which is open ended.

perhaps u're new to online community forums. it's very hard for users to keep track of each posts that they made, especially since it's more than a year ago. i myself have chalked up almost 10,000 posts since i joined in. the easiest way to check on something is to ask and verify the validity of the information (which is what u're doing now).

credit transfers is common practice in all IPTs in malaysia.

sains hayat is directly related to biology. but i dont know if they would allow u to take them if u didnt have a basic in biology. this u will have to check with the school offering the foundation programme.