Hey all, I'm gonna to study A level in TARC. How is the quality of A level in TARC ? How is the environment there? I really hope that i have a conducive uni to persue my pursue my studies. This is because A level is important to me to get a scholarship to study my degree. I wish that I wont make a wrong decision to study there. I need u guys some opinion. Can u guys give me some suggestions? Thanks.

hope u guys gv me some opinion. thanks

You could post ur question in the TARUC thread here

There are many helpful student and senior and hopefully they can answer ur question

A-level is almost same everywhere.

If your SPM results are good, go apply for Taylor, Sunway, BAC, MCKL if possible.

At least they are english speaking and it helps when you are proceeding to the relevant degree program of your interest.

I just finished my A-Level (science) in TARUC. Note that I'll be speaking from experience in the main campus in Setapak KL, I have no idea about the other campuses. The key thing if you're planning to study in TARUC is that you have to know what to expect out of the university college.

The teaching quality is great, you'll find that most if not all of the lecturers there are very open and friendly. The lecturers will try their best to teach you at a proper pace, the tutorial classes are a great way to catch up or do extra revision. The class environment is more or less what you'd expect, where you would be alternating between classrooms and lecture halls. Most of the lab equipment are well maintained, air-conditioning issues are hardly happen. The food in TARUC is significantly cheaper than most other unis (the cheapest plate of mixed rice is RM2.30, 2 meat + 1 veg), quality is exactly what you pay, but if you're not a fussy eater, it's fine, there are a lot more other choices there anyway.

There were some problems where the microphones in the classrooms/lecture halls were not working, and people at the back could barely hear anything. However, they just did a minor upgrade to the computer systems last year before I finished, hopefully there'll be less microphone issues now. Another thing is that you may face issues if you're not able to speak Mandarin, as most of the Chinese students there ALWAYS speak in Mandarin. I have some 'banana' friends that were somewhat annoyed at this but still managed to go on just fine and considered it a learning process. However, the lecturers and staff will talk in English 99% of the time, so it's not a big problem.

teacher will provide note for us or we need to do our own note? how was the learning material there?
btw, thanks for reply

Starting off the semester, each class will have a class representative. The lecturers will provide the class rep hard copies of the lecture notes (exception : math) , tutorial books, and practical books (for science subjects) to the class rep to photocopy at the college printing shop. So you'll be getting some lecture notes.

From what I know, different lecturers will give different lecture notes, my lecturers gave very useful notes, though they are mostly key points and important info on topics that you'd come to expect from the CIE exams. In short, the notes are basically a summarized version of the important things from the textbook. So that means you can totally do without the textbook if you attend the lectures, because the point of the lectures are the lecturers elaborating on the key points found in their notes. A word of advice is that you make your own notes in the lecture notes (if there is space to write) during the lectures to help yourself understand what the key points mean.

The learning material is fine, though you really spend most of your time facing your notes and the slideshow up in front as the lecturer teaches. Depending on your lecturer, occasionally they may use videos to help inspire students or give a clearer explanation on certain topics, so that's definitely helpful especially for some 3-dimensional shapes you need to see for chemistry in order to really understand. It really brings the notion that the lecturers indeed want to help you learn.

As for mathematics though, no notes will be provided except for a possible tutorial book consisting of exercise questions. So you'll be burning through many lecture pads over the course of your study for that subject alone. That being said, I'm not discouraging you to not take your own notes, some people prefer reading their own notes, some people feel the lecture notes provided are just fine, it's up to you. Be sure you found your study style by the first or second semester.

Oh, and you might be hearing this from your lecturers or seniors : "Remember to do your PYQ (past year questions).". Some tutorial books will contain an assortment of PYQ to practice, but you will have to attempt many other past year papers in order to grasp the idea of answering questions the way Cambridge wants it. My class even had a running joke about 'Cambridge logic' when it comes to the odd style of the CIE marking schemes. Try your best to get started on doing them as early as you think you can manage,

This post has been edited by Vincent_Lam: Mar 12 2014, 12:28 PM

oic...
how about the environment?
btw, ur A level result is released? hahaa

Sorry I took awhile to reply to this haha, kind of forgotten about it...

The environment is nice, everything is pretty accessible, they have a nice landscape with a small 'forest' walkway next to the Centre for Pre-University Studies building. They have some parks nearby with stone tables and chairs, the environment is definitely pleasing, it has a fine blend of nature and modernization. Although I normally don't study in the parks though, the weather is always too hot and mosquitoes are a pest.

And yeah, my A-Level result was released a few weeks back, I managed to just barely qualify as a high achiever, haha.

I just appreciate u replied me xD
What is the method to study A level? How to get a good result? hahaaa

I echo Chiahau's post. Although A-levels are the same, I would usually think its best to stick with Taylor's, Sunway or MCKL.

Best method to study? Do not rely solely on the lecturers. Have the initiative to do your own studies, stay motivated and do tons of past year papers. Absolutely tons of it.

A common downfall is that A-levels are solely exam based. Try your best not to slack off in the initial months/year. Consistent work is the key. All the best!

This post has been edited by HawkreiN: Mar 18 2014, 12:04 AM

If i start my A level in MCKL in 24 March, the duration is 15 months only.
I also still considering about that. The reason is I worry that i cant catch up and not enough time to manage it.

Are you planning to study in the UK/ Aus?

If your aim is UK then it is imperative that you join the March 2014 intake to make the 2015 uni admissions. If you feel that the duration is too short, join the next intake and use the break before 2016 uni admissions wisely. 15 months is rather short but it is still manageable. You will need to work hard.

Aus unis usually have bi-annual intakes so this becomes less of a problem. There are also options of taking AUSMAT or SAM instead.

HawkreiN is right on the best study method. It's best that you can study independently while also being able to consult your lecturers for clearer elaborations.

The duration of the A-Levels in TARUC is 18 months, which in my opinion, is slightly more than enough if you don't slack at your studies. You can opt for a faster option if you're confident enough that you'll be able to handle it. Understand that you're studying because you want to accomplish something and not rush things in life that are beyond your limits.

Thanks for the advice xD
Is that have the ''TARUC'' name in the A level certificate? haha

Again, is there a difference if your A-level is from another institute?

IF not, why bother asking?

I just want to confirm isnt have the name in the cert.
I cannot asking isnt?

Your question is illogical.

What's the correlation whether the cert if from TARUC or Sunway or whatever?

If there is NO SIGNIFICANCE, why waste time and ask?

A-level is just a pre-requisite, most of the time people won't even bother to see where it is from.

I have checked the website and saw a few modules , so what's the difference between Mathematics A and Futher Mathematics ?

The official results certificate will show you as a student as TARUC. The A-Level certificate will be awarded by the Cambridge International Examinations Syndicate, the official certificate and statement of results in which you get your results come from there and will have no influence or impact at all with the exception that you've done your exams in a different institution.

Mathematics A is the standard syllabus of math whereby it has statistics and pure math. Further Mathematics is what you would compare to 'Additional Mathematics' in SPM, it is generally much more difficult than Mathematics A and comprises of mostly the sort of mathematics you'd do in engineering courses

This post has been edited by Vincent_Lam: Mar 26 2014, 02:34 PM

just to ask how was the environment for library? can we go library whenever it is open or sometime there was crowded?

The library only will be crowded when there is exam.

Other than that, 365 days nobody would bother.

Some of the books are okay, but frankly, mostly looked outdated.