First i have to know what are u doing now? High school? Pre-U? If Pre-U then which Pre-U, and when can u get at least ur forecast result, if not actual?

Assuming u're interested in going to PMS. Yes, for now February batches are generally less competitive, with less STPM students (they are usually hardworking but not many of them actually opting for PMS) and JPA scholars, with less of the latter fighting for Australasia PMS'es.

A-Levels result should be released simultaneously worldwide, while STPM results are usually released in March, though some of the STPM students come in by February with their forecast results.

nowadays many people taking pharmcy as it is cheap and dont need to contact to blood....

but will it overpopulated later???

what a fresh graduate of pharmacy earn??

Hello, thanks for the info. I did A levels in Singapore and received my results last March, so I have the actual results.

Yep, I'm interested in the twinning programme. So if there are lesser students (the more acadamically-inclined ones of course), does that mean there will be lesser people in the Feb intake?

Are the offers from IMU in a first-come-first-served manner?

there wouldn't be 'lesser' students, just that the cut-off is likely lower, ie people with weaker results will be admitted.......

offers are made based on meeting cut-offs......as people decline offers, the cut-off will be lowered, and further 2nd selection offers will be given to those who initially failed to meet the cut-off.....they will take in as many people as there are places, ie FILL all seats available.........

they however will maintain standards especially for the pms stream, and the attrition rate may be more for the feb batch compared to the aug batch........

What did you get for A levels? And what are your preferred destinations?

Well, just don't think about the competition first, it's more time-saving if u apply for February intake now right? (Because it's too late to apply for August intake already) Yes generally February intakes are fewer in students overall, for both Seremban and PMS options. The competitions are less stiffer for Australasia PMS'es, and even lesser for those UK places, as TRADITIONALLY there are few or even no JPA scholars can rank UK PMS'es first (i use the word traditionally because JPA started sending some A-Levels students to ME1/09, who are already bound to IMU, not just those AUSMAT and SAM students who miss their places of Australasia medical schools due to various reasons, who can only put their initial respective countries as top choices). I even heard someone from M1/07 with below average results got Edinburgh. This is almost impossible in M2 (August) batches as Uni of Edin is one of JPA scholars' favourite destinations.

As aforementioned, my facts above may not apply to your potential February 2010 batch as this year JPA started sending in A-Levels students by separating them into 2 batches, with February batch having generally the better students. Rumours also say that JPA may revert to the old style, which like mine, M2/07, having 50-60 jpa scholars all cramped into 1 batch, taking nearly half of the PMS places, hence a force to be reckoned with. It seems i'm stressing too much on JPA scholars, perhaps that's because i'm one of them, but it's more due to the fact the number of JPA scholars and their trend of ranking PMS'es are more predictable compared to the private students.

Private students are usually more concerned of the fees and job and postgraduate prospectives, making Australasia PMS'es, especially the cheaper ones like Adelaide as current favourite destinations. Of course, there are still some, who consider UK or North America as their only destinations.

To your second questions, i don't have a definite answer. I can only say that, IMU puts more emphasis on students' financial status then results. But of course, it's always better to apply early, isn't it?

What i said above would not be absolutely right but I do hope my rare longer post can give you and others out there a clearer picture.

This post has been edited by chika138: Jul 17 2009, 07:39 PM

I got 4As for the A levels for H2s, which if I'm not wrong is equivalent to the A2 level (tell me if i'm wrong), I do not have a clear destination for now, but cost is definetely a concern as you mentioned, since I am going to study there with my own finances. But I am considering a few unis in the UK that are generally more inexpensive compared to places such as Edinburgh.

Thanks so much for the helpful elaboration Just being busybody, are you already matched to any of the PMS as of now?

Oh then if u do OK in interview most likely you'll be accepted by IMU.

M2/06
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?kzmnnqtyzmv

M1/07
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?2ghmmud5mg2

The links are reposts as I did post them few pages ago, in case u missed them. As you can see there's even no Tuition fees & iNFO guide for M2/07 out yet, so i'm not yet matched. Being in uncertainty is definitely not a pleasant feeling u know, yet i can foresee that most likely i'll be matched to an Australasian PMS as my results aren't good enough to secure me an UK placing (because usually only top JPA scholars are allowed to rank UK as their top choices).

i think it is currently more difficult to get australasia than uk, due to the very limited no. of places available compared to uk........most private students will also want to match to oz.........

ya i do realize and acknowledge the chance of getting "displaced" by other students in PMS matching, and get matched to a UK PMS, even after i rank all Australasia PMS'es as my top 8 choices. it did happen before.

Does the number of places vary greatly from year to year? or it is roughly about the same?

I notice the number of places in an universities is different for the the two batches that you showed the link above. Does that mean the number or students admittend by the PMS is the TOTAL of the number available for both batches? (just confirming)

What actually determines the matching outcome?

i think u did notice the changes especially of no of NZ places available
i was told by the dean from Uni of Auckland that this is a step to provide more places to their domestic students
so the number of IMU students going to Auckland in Jan 2009 was 25 and in Jan 2010 is about 8.
generally there're slightly more UK places for Feb intake, and more OZ and NZ places for Aug intake
u can read up the matching guides by IMU but in the end god knows how they determine the matching outcome

This is my take on the PMS program. The real system by which you rank your uni's 1-10, and the university will rank all the twinning students on 1-1XX. take the two sums (your ranking X 7) + (university ranking)= Y

the lowest Y will be the university you will twin to.

but there are so many factors that will be considered before hand. first of all are the places each university allocates for IMU. As mentioned by chika, 25 to 8 places. Another was for Dundee, from 10 to 2X places. So it varies each year.

Second of all, JPA scholars are rumored to be given priority over private students as JPA has allocated only sufficient amount of money for each JPA-IMU Batch, and must meet their budget. So its its X number going to UK it must be X number going to UK.
I'm not too sure about this, but it seems logical.

Third of all, some universities like uni of adelaide, will not admit students who have failed their EOS. And each university wants different traits and attributes from the students they rank.

My conclusion to PMS matching is that, just try to do your best in your exams, that is the number one determining factor. But dont be bummed if you dont get your university of choice, be open and consider a few different uni. its almost like a lucky draw.

But if you're opting for UK, your chances are better than those aiming for a spot in australia!!

just a correction, our ranking is x5 not x7
bout JPA scholars, i'm not too sure as well
but this is what i heard from M1/07, JPA officers did tell them they expected up to half of them won't get a place of the group of countries JPA assigned them for, and in the end about 3-5 out of around 11 of them did really turn up to get something out of their top 8 choices
so what i think is, especially in M2 (august) batches, though more than 20 JPA scholars ranking all OZ PMS'es as their top choices, if your result is better than them (they are generally above average or mid-ranged rather than top students), u still stand a better chance compared to them.

And ya, agree with CR7, just try to do your best in your exams (and ECA is actually not that important unless u're aiming those few PMS'es which look at ECA achievements). The first things they always look at are still ur exam results.

there is a further step in the algorithm.......due to the finite places available per uni........places in any uni will be filled by those higher in the uni's ranking first......so even if your Y is lowest for a particular uni, if there are people ranked higher than you, they will get the places, and your algorithm will move to your NEXT lowest Y.........

yes, the final determinant is actually the student's grades, because most unis will rank the students based purely or predominantly on grades........

This post has been edited by limeuu: Jul 18 2009, 07:54 PM

err just a question..i'm taking SAM at taylor's tis yr...would probably get my trial results in september..will i make it in time to apply for the feb 2010 intake for medicine PMS?

they do not need results to consider applications and interviews, but sept is plenty of time to apply with your trial results......you may get a provisional offer citing a minimum cut-off.......you will get your final results from sabsa by december before christmas, and if you meet or exceed the cut-off, the offer becomes firm and you have to pay up quickly (usually before end of dec) to confirm your place......

okay...thx alot..i'll apply by december then

by december?.........no, you should apply when you have your forcast/trial results, and choose a convenient interview date.......get it over before you go into the sam finals........

typo error there..yea will probably do everything by september..thx!

guys i just read the documents they sent us *_* i want elaboration on the 'hair-do' section....CANT YOU WEAR your long hair wth? you have to tie it up at all times? OMG I CAN SHOOT MYSELF RIGHT NOW*_* this is by far the corniest rule there can ever be *_* urgh
they can't force me to chop my hair off to 'collar length' right?