Malaysia Students Blog

Gap Year Experience Sharing: Mind The GAPS

2013-05-13T08:09:00.000+08:00

Posted by Celine Wan

A gap year is when a student takes a year off between his or her college years and university years. Yes. There are Malaysians out there who do take gap years. As for me, it’s not just one, but two. This personal recount was written with the intention of debunking the Malaysian and Asian myth that the possibility of gap years should be absolutely dismissed.

Gap Period: June 2011 – September 2013 (+2 gap years)

Education History:

Pre University College: CIE A Levels

Taylor’s College Subang Jaya

University: Chemical Engineering via Natural Sciences

University of Cambridge (starting October 2013)

Why Gap Year?

I was lost. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I used to consider medicine but it wasn’t feasible: family wasn’t supportive of the decision and I had no financial support (local university inclusive). I didn’t know where I wanted to go and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. The situation was exacerbated when counselors weren’t very helpful and I had no proper guidance from anyone regarding my future. I kept dragging this inevitable question and before I know it, I’ve already graduated from A levels and my peers were off to University (mostly in overseas ones).

If it is not happy it is not the end

Life Story: 2011-2012

After 1.5 years of taking a gap year(s), never have I felt more enlightened, matured, and grateful from this bittersweet 2012. In retrospect, I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I were to just settle with the easiest option.

Snippets of my gap: In Korea

So it was August 2011. That marked the absolute end of my Pre U life. I started reflecting on myself: as far as I can remember, the whole of 2011 was a blur with series of confusions. I was taking my A levels then and by the time I’ve decided on Chemical Engineering, most of the University applications were already closed, and I was left with just a few options that wasn’t even what I wanted. Timelines weren’t clear to me and when it comes to university placements, everything was a huge blur. There was a sense of dissatisfaction inside of me, because I was apparently limited if I were to depend on my family’s income to support my tertiary studies (I come from a large family and I would be the first child to pursue a degree. Heck, I’m the first Science student). Then I realized I was severely limited again when I considered the date—I’ve already graduated and term was about to begin! I cannot blame myself because everyone matures and settles on a specific path at different times.

Naming specific schools wouldn’t be a very nice thing to do here so let’s just say I had a clear decision for some time—double degree in chemical engineering and economics. For the University, I quickly resorted to the first choice offered to me. Why did I opt for that? I really just wanted to get out of this tertiary education web-tangle. It was a difficult thing to understand and timelines were nothing but a big blur. By September I became miserable and I realized how lonely I felt in this entire sticky situation. Farewells were rampant and I began to miss all my friends. At around this point was when I had decided to take a leap of faith to apply to the UK (aside from Singapore). If I am able to obtain an offer with external funding— good for me! But if not, then well at least I’ve tried and I could do some other things before starting University. Whatever the reason I knew it wouldn’t be a waste of time though I occasionally felt very much lost.

Snippets of my gap: Free tickets to London

Coming back to the situation: I talked about my problem to some people. Many have encouraged me to apply to the UK and the US. Perhaps I have “nothing” to lose if I do not take emotional investment into account. If all goes well, I might be able to have external funding. So at that point of time, it was less than a week (five days to be more specific) till the Cambridge University application deadline. Never have I imagined myself applying to places like that—perhaps I have underestimated myself. Then again I felt kind of ashamed by my lack of inspiration back in school and it was only during my Pre U did I realize what an “Olympiad” is (NOT to be confused with Olympics!). With so many students with non-human abilities, who am I to stand a chance against them? Then this article about a Cambridge student who recently passed away came out; the inspirations I have from it was when I shoved pessimism and prudency aside and just try my best without thinking of the outcome.

Although my decision to apply to such overseas institutions was kind of late even for the 2012 entry, I was very determined. I started my UCAS from scratch and the five days felt like hell. Alongside my UK application was my US one. This was when I was introduced to the SAT and the world of US Apps. I took the SAT subject test in October; SAT 1 in November; and a retake of the SAT 1 in December. The rest of my time was filled with essays and going back to high school and college for teacher recommendations. I was kind of embarrassed every time I went back to college and high school since my teachers were expecting me to be in University or something—but like I said I shove every emotional distraction aside, so that includes ego. Christmas and New Year was essentially non-existent.

Then came the pleasant surprise—I’ve received an unconditional offer from Cambridge. The downside? It is a DEFERRED OFFER! What? Another gap year! I’ve been offered a place in a mature college in Cambridge so there is nothing much I can do. Elation overrides the feeling of taking another gap year anyway! I should rewind a bit before I continue: I’m a history freak. I love European History. I’m also very much guilty of being an anglophile. In fact one of my hobbies is to write about historical stuff (see here: theirhistory.blogspot.com) so it was no wonder that Cambridge turned out to be my dream school no matter the rest of the university outcomes.

Despite the shocking euphoria that caused my insomnia and temporary numbness on my fingers and head, it was already made clear that it doesn’t guarantee my journey to Cambridge—I needed funding. Although I was more confident in myself, the possibility that I had to turn down my dream offer feels so daunting. In fact, my worries came to its full-exaggerated glory when I am reminded that this is a deferred offer: would anyone be willing to sponsor me? With such a problem, am I supposed to wait till it's 2013 to apply? But wouldn't that be a huge risk? Am I supposed to go to other Universities should I receive a scholarship offer? My mind was brimming with such questions and really at that point of time, all I hoped for was this gap year.

Snippets of my gap: society events in Bali

Lo and behold! My dream came true! Reality still feels like a dream sometimes and I feel grateful everyday. Of course I’ve left the details of the strenuous scholarship applications out. In fact it was online forums that helped me all the way and for that, I am thankful and have decided to contribute back whenever I have the time to spare. Some other things I did during my gap year was to travel; be active in society and community work; learning miscellaneous stuffs; doing miscellaneous stuffs; get out of the comfort zone and to socialize; get an internship job; and the list goes on! It is a common misconception that people would be doing absolutely nothing during their gap year because I’ve never felt more busy; pensive; outgoing; changed; challenged; matured; free from responsibilities; happy and grateful in any 1.5-year period in my life!

I still have another 9 to 10 more months to go before I head off to university. So that’s approximately a brand new gap year anyway. I hope I’ve inspired the young Malaysians out there-- especially the ones currently on a gap year-- to dare to dream and not take other peoples’ judgements too seriously. Of course there is hope! Not to mention the consideration of taking a “gap year” which is a term very alien to us Asians. Venturing into the unknown makes you stronger, with lots of self-discoveries along the way.

And my two cents: please try to plan for your future earlier. This is a personal regret of mines.

Take Aways

I’ve come a long way where maturity, courage, patience, and humility are concerned. I concede that a gap year is not an entirely comfortable feeling and many times have I felt melancholic whenever I notice that my peers and even my juniors have become my seniors. Sure we all get excited because we don’t know what’s up ahead and what they’re experiencing right now. Sure it kind of sucks to know all your friends have left once again for their second year and you are left here wondering for two years now on what it’s like to be like them having gone through the conventional method; you only have one life after all. I guess that’s the setback most people fear when it comes to taking a gap year; you’re the hipster and eccentric one. But think back and question yourself if it matters if you graduate 2 years later than your previous peers in 10 years time-- I bet people wouldn't even notice. Is 2 years even significant for something as meaningless as age? Age is but a number and would eventually lose its significance over time. You're still going through the same life processes and it's a misconception that the 2 years would be left idle or fruitless. More importantly, your time spent in university would eventually be the same once you graduate and you're not learning lesser than anyone else. Instead of blunders, you would be more mentally prepared and matured as you start your university years. So stop comparing yourself with others because they’ll probably change their minds once they graduate, and many people can attest to this! In a personal front, I know that one thing is for sure—I’ve never regretted this 1.5 gap years to the point of being grateful for having gone through it. Sides, people have often mistaken my age in a good way!

So that’s for the cons—the insecurity. Now the perks of having a gap year override the cons if you can appreciate and fully utilize your free time. Whenever people start to wonder how do I even have so much of time to put so much of thought into a particular topic, I would always have to remind them that I am on a gap year so it’s not surprising that I muse or know that much.

Next, your time is in your hands and you have full control over it. There will be no other period in your life where you have the luxury to do so, save for your retirement days. However this is definitely the time to embrace your youth. My first gap year was spent on university and scholarship applications so this second one is essentially the “live life to the fullest” sort. Yes I do study, work, muse, write, and read up a lot to improve myself but that’s supposed to be secondary in your gap year. If you want to know my totally hipster side I actually tried hiking! That would be very shocking if you realize I’m naturally the knitting and cat-loving sort of girl. Okay that’s just being hyperbolic but seriously I was such an introvert.

In conclusion, I hope that my readers here would dismiss the typical Asian mentality that all hopes are gone if you are to take a gap year. It doesn’t signify you’re a loser and it is no indication that you will be. To the people who have never heard of the existence of a gap year before reading this, this is just to inform you that there are many alternatives in life, and the conventional methods are not necessarily the best for you as an individual.

This is a repost from mindthegapmalaysia.wordpress.com To know more about Celine Wan, you can visit about.me/celinewan

13+ Pre-University & Undergraduate Scholarships (Biasiswa) for SPM & STPM-Result Holders

2013-03-24T22:02:00.004+08:00

13+ Scholarships (Biasiswa) for SPM & STPM Students

Want to get more scholarships? Share this post with your best friends you care on Facebook, tweet this post on your twitter, email this post to your classmates and buddies. We will add additional 1 new scholarships when we get 100 facebook likes, 2 scholarships when we get 200 facebook likes and so on until we reach 1000 facebook likes!

This post will be updated regularly so please bookmark this post and check back often! Enter your email to subscribe so that you will get latest education news and scholarship updates delivered directly into your email inboxes!
Enter your email address to the form above to join 13,000+ students in Malaysia who get all the latest scholarships for SPM & STPM scorers! Join our email subscription list now!

Want more scholarships for SPM & STPM scorers? Visit Malaysia Scholarship Information Centre!

1. Education Ministry Bursaries (Program Bursary Pelajar Cemerlang SPM)

2. Program Penajaan Pendidikan PETRONAS Untuk Lepasan SPM 2012 (Tarikh Tutup: 27 Mac 2013)

3. Bank Negara Malaysia Scholarships (Closing Date: 28 March 2013)

4. ASEAN Pre-University One Scholarships by Singapore Education Ministry (Closing Date: 28 March 2013)

5. Biasiswa Tunku Abdul Rahman (BTAR) (Tarikh Tutup: 29 Mac 2013)

6. Biasiswa Yayasan Tenaga Nasional (YTN/TNB) (Closing Date: 31 March 2013)

7. Sime Darby Undergraduate Scholarship Programme (Local) (Closing Date: 31 March 2013)

8. Biasiswa JPA untuk Lepasan SPM: Permohonan Tajaan Program Khas Jepun, Korea, Perancis dan Jerman (Closing Date: 1 April 2013)

9. Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) Suruhan Sekuriti Scholarship Awards (Closing Date: 3 April 2013)

Pre-university scholarships for pre-university courses at local recognised institutions (A-level, foundation, matriculation, and diploma courses)
Tertiary scholarships for first degree courses at top universities locally and overseas

10. Sin Chew Daily Education Fund Scholarships (Closing Date: 3 April 2013)

11. The Star Education Fund Scholarship Awards 2013 (Closing Date: 5 April 2013)

12. Kuok Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship Awards (Closing Date: 19 April 2013)

KUOK KENG KANG SCHOLARSHIPS for Undergraduate Studies at MALAYSIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
KF HALF-LOAN HALF-GRANT AWARDS for Undergraduate Studies at MALAYSIAN & SINGAPORE PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES

13. Samling Scholarship Programme (Closing Date: 30 September 2013)

More: Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) Scholarship 2013 & PSD/JPA Scholarships for SPM-Leavers

UPSR, PMR, SPM, STAM, STPM & MUET 2013 Exam Dates & Examination Calendars (Kalendar Takwim / Tarikh Peperiksaan)

2013-03-02T16:11:00.002+08:00

STPM 2012 & SPM 2012 Result Release Dates:
SPM 2012 result release date is 21 March 2013 (Thursday). STPM 2013 and STPM 2012 results announcement date is 18 March 2013 (Monday). You can check you SPM 2012 results and STPM 2012 results online or through SMS on the result release dates. (Semak keputusan SPM 2012 & STPM 2012 online/SMS)

2013 Calendars:
Malaysia Public Holidays 2013 Calendar (Kalendar Jadual Hari Kelepasan Am Malaysia)
School Calendar 2013 (Kalendar Persekolahan, Tarikh Cuti Sekolah, Takwim Sekolah 2013)

Exam Calendar / Exam Dates (Kalendar Tarikh Peperiksaan)

Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (Ulangan) (SPMU 2013) Bertulis
11 - 12 June 2013 (Tuesday - Wednesday)

Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR 2013) Bertulis
10 - 12 September 2013 (Tuesday - Thursday)

Penilaiaan Menengah Rendah (PMR 2013) Bertulis
2 - 3 October 2013 (Wednesday - Thursday)
7 - 9 October 2013 (Monday - Wednesday)

Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM 2013) Listening (Lisan) Exam
8 - 19 July 2013 (Monday - Thursday)
Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM 2013) Written (Bertulis) Exam
21 - 23 October 2013 (Monday - Wednesday)
28 - 29 October 2013 (Monday - Tuesday)

Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM 2013) Bertulis
6 - 29 November 2013
2 - 5 December 2013

Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM Baharu 2013)
Penggal 1 Ujian Bertulis: 5 – 8 November 2013
Penggal 2 Ujian Bertulis: 20 – 23 May 2013
Penggal 3 Ujian Lisan: 17 – 25 September 2013
Penggal 3 Ujian Bertulis: 6 - 18 November 2013

Malaysian University English Test (MUET 2013)
March Session
Speaking Test: 19 – 21 February 2013, 25 – 27 February 2013
Reading, Listening & Writing Tests: 9 March 2013

July Session
Speaking Test: 1 – 4 July 2013, 9 – 11 July 2013
Reading, Listening & Writing Tests: 20 July 2013

November Session
Speaking Test: 21 – 23 October 2013, 28 – 30 Oktober 2013
Reading, Listening & Writing Tests: 23 November 2013

Pentaksiran Kolej Vokasional (KV)
29 - 30 April 2013
2 - 17 May 2013

Pentaksiran Kolej Vokasional (KV)
7 - 25 October 2013

Pentaksiran Pusat Pendidikan Asas Vokasional (PAV)
21 - 23 October 2013

Takwim Peperiksaan Luar Negeri & Profesional 2013

The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM)
16 March 2013: Theory (Teori) A
March – April 2013: Practical (Amali) 1 & Diploma (1)
June – August 2013: Practical (Amali) 2 & Diploma (2)
3 August 2013: Theory (Teori) B

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
3 – 12 June 2013
2 – 11 December 2013

University of London (UoL)
1 May – 20 June 2013
26 September – 22 October 2013
28 – 31 October 2013 (Ulangan)

The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA)
4 – 7 June 2013
3 – 6 December 2013

The Association of Business Executives (ABE)
3 – 7 June 2013
2 – 6 December 2013

The Association of International Accountants (AIA)
20 – 23 May 2013
25 – 28 November 2013

Peperiksaan Bahasa Perancis – Diplôme d’Études en Langue Française (DELF)
8 – 15 September 2013: Listening test (Ujian lisan)
17 September 2013: Writing test (Peperiksaan bertulis)

*The above exam dates are subject to change (Tarikh-tarikh peperiksaan yang dinyatakan adalah tertakluk kepada pindaan oleh badan peperiksaan yang berkenaan).

Any inquiries on examination calendar please contact the hotlline below (Sebarang pertanyaan berkaitan takwim peperiksaan bolehlah menghubungi talian berikut):

Examination Hotline (Talian Peperiksaan)
UPSR 03 - 8884 3382
PMR 03 - 8884 3394
SPM 03 - 8884 3330
STAM 03 - 8884 3340
Peperiksaan Luar Negeri 03 - 8884 3346

Source: Examination Council, Education Ministry Malaysia (Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia)

Breaking: UM Raises Entry Requirements - All Degree Courses Require Interview, CGPA 4.0 For Competitive Courses [Exclusive Interview]

2013-02-26T10:53:00.000+08:00

Remember, you read this news first on Malaysia Students Blog. Malaysia Students Blog is the first to break the news that UM raises entry requirements before any other major newspapers in Malaysia. Malaysia Students Blog was also the first to report IPTAs change to summer break academic term, IPTA Deepavali break and other education news. Enter your email to subscribe so that you are the first to receive all upcoming & breaking education news!

Posted by WJ Chong

University of Malaya (UM) has set higher bar for entering into the most prestigious public university in Malaysia beginning 2013/2014 academic session. Starting this year, SPM & STPM result holders applying for admissions to UM are required to meet stricter standards to gain entrance. UM has revised by raising the specific entry requirements (syarat khas program) for all degree courses and foundation in science programme (Asasi Sains Universiti Malaya).

One of the significant updates to the minimum requirements of all bachelor's degree courses is every applicants needs to attend and pass compulsory interview at the university. While interview element was only applied for certain courses such as law, architecture and education-related programmes in the previous years, every UM courses now requires passing the university interview.

In an exclusive interview with UM Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic & International), Professor Dr. Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor, Malaysia Students blog has learnt that the interview element is introduced as the entry requirement for all programmes this year to ensure that the quality of the undergraduates admitted align with the university's goal which is to be ranked as one of the top 100 universities in the world by year 2015. This is also to take advantage of the autonomy status awarded by Higher Education Ministry to University of Malaya in 2012. The autonomy award would allow the university flexibility in finance, administration and academic matters which include choosing its own students.

"The interview assessment that will be carried out is an early initiative taken by UM to assess the communication skills and readiness level of the students, on top of serving as early exposure to them in terms of building self-confidence, professional appearance, communication and soft skills," Prof. Dr. Mohd Hamdi explained. "The main purpose of the interview is to ensure that students accepted into Universiti Malaya are those excellent in academics, can communicate well, and have high self-confidence and interest in the applied programme."

He added that the data collected during the interview process will be essential to UM in planning the new teaching and learning modules during the continuous revision and improvement of all academic programmes. The data will also aid UM in getting to know the level of students and planning strategies to prepare them as graduates who meet industry needs.

The interviews will be carried out by UM academic staffs and involves representatives from the faculty or academy offering the academic programme. The interview structure and medium of language used are decided based on the relevant requirements of the specific courses offered in order to identify the best candidates for each academic programme at University of Malaya.

Another major update is some competitive courses such as Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) and Pharmacy now require perfect Cummulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) score of 4.00/4.00. Previously, although the minimum CGPA score for these courses was not 4.00, almost all who were offered places for these courses did get perfect CGPA score in their STPM or Matriculation due to stiff competition for limited number of places. As a result, news reports of those with perfect CGPA score of 4.00 in STPM or Matriculation not being offered a place in these popular courses were not uncommon, especially during the university enrollment result announcement week.

The decision to set CGPA 4.0 as the minimum entry requirement to high-demand courses (MBBS, BDS and Pharmacy) was based on the research on the recent trend of candidate enrolment data for the past four academic sessions - 2009/2010, 2010/2011, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 - where students admitted are from those STPM-result holders with PNGK 4.0. The rationale behind this decision is to avoid candidates who barely meet the minimum PNGK, as in previous years, putting all their hope on getting a place for these highly competitive courses. By setting PNGK 4.0 as the minimum requirement upfront, these students are encouraged to apply other courses instead of wasting their choices when filling up the online university application form.