<p>hey, mit_hopefulgirl :) I'm studying in acjc now (j2), applying for princeton (ed). JUST sent off my application (At Last.) It's time now to get back to studying for the 'A' levels.. which are in what, less than a week's time? :o</p>
<p>just to keep track with the conversation topic: I'm doing 4 A levels and one S paper (light of my life!). Hm.. actually I've never heard of Business Studies for A levels. Everyone here seems to do the same few subjects (Chemistry, Biology, Math C, Physics, Econs, English, History, Geog, Art, Music).</p>
<p>I've never heard anything about an S paper either... Maybe they're talking about the STEPs (I, II & III)? Or maybe it's something like the AEAs.</p>
<p>I would be doing my Alevels...but moved to an american school...doing IB certifcates...but did my O-levels (IGCSEs) in Bio, Chem, COmputer Studies, English, Math, Business Studies and Accounting! Also did GCSE PE! hehehe! what a combo..rite now doin IB Chem, IB Bio, IB English, AP Stats, IB Econ!</p>
<p>ok S papers are short for "special" papers, which are harder than american honours classes... it's called paper "0", and is offered for subjects like math, chem, phys, bio, english, history, geog and so on. </p>
<p>To nanaa: wait... are u anna choo? ur nic sounds a bit like that=) I'm serene from rjc... in trip science, 2 s papers in chem and math=)</p>
<p>heh i have a confession to make...i'm a singaporean as well..i guess you guys mighta guessed from my nickname...</p>
<p>as to the point about business studies, they used to have a commerce stream in jc,(back in my time) and if i'm not wrong they might have had some form of business studies as a subject.</p>
<p>If I'm not wrong, S-papers are relevant only to the Singaporean context? And maybe in UK. But although they provoke 'higher thought' and 'in-depth studies', it's not a widespread phenomenon around the world, nor are they recognized by many universities. (e.g. advanced placement in some universities is offered if you do AP, or A-levels, or IB.. but not S-papers.) But they're exciting. :) oh yes indeed. </p>
<p>mit_hopefulgirl, nope I'm not anna choo heh, sorry to disappoint you.. I'm taking History, Lit, Econs, Maths. Lit-S. do you know there are many rjc people around here?! </p>
<p>sin_87, yea I know (my teachers speak fondly of the past), just shows again the narrow scope of subjects offered by jc. hm, by the way, "(back in my time)"?</p>
<p>If you have bunch of Bs for O-level in UK, you can kiss goodbye right away to any of the top 5 Amercian colleges. Don't waste your time and money. My friend who got 3As for O-level in Hong Kong only managed to get into UNC Chapel Hill and As in Hong Kong are a lot harder to get than in UK (A grades make up of 3% of letter grades in Hong Kong versus the generous 15-20% in UK; my friend could easily get straight As if he sat for the O-level in UK). FYI, Stanford has 6 undergrads from UK; so on average, less than 2 persons/per year from UK go to Stanford. You need to be one of the best in your country, not just in your class, to have a chance for HYPSM.</p>
<p>gianievve, I'm not too sure what my 'guidance counselor' put in my big brown envelope (heh) but I think both my preliminary exams results and predicted grades all went in. My school's general policy is to add two grades up to the prelims, so my predicted grades are probably something like AAAB, at best AAAA, depending on whether the teachers take into account my canoeing season ending late (2 weeks before exams). The As are later so perhaps those results wont even matter. :) which can be a good thing or a bad thing.</p>
<p>Oh yes it's apparently a whole lot easier to get As in the UK.. they also take an easier form of A levels compared to poor old struggling Singaporeans. *sigh but it's okay I suppose, life's pretty unfair.</p>
<p>Hey nanaa, are you from RJC as well? You're right, there are certainly many RJC students here. I'm Wui Ming from 2S01B. I'm Malaysian; I actually came to Singapore directly to junior college, after the Malaysian Certificate of Education ("Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia"), the Malaysian government exam that's equivalent to the GCE 'O' levels. I got straight A's for that, but I'm not doing so well in JC so I'm not sure how that will affect my chances... my prelim grades were terrible but I think my teachers should predict something like 3A 1B (though the B could swing either way) for the 'A' levels, and probably A2 for GP. Do you know if they predict 'S' paper grades? I'm taking 2 'S' papers and got MU for prelim.</p>
<p>Hmm... this seems to be turning into a Singaporean thread... sorry guys if you aren't following our discussion because our education and exam systems are different... sigh, how complicated admissions must be!</p>
<p>Nope I'm from acjc. :) one of the .. two around here? I don't know. </p>
<p>Well we really shouldn't be chatting here haha we're supposed to be doing our A levels! Hm..well I know my teachers would probably not know what to predict for my S paper because we didn't even have any prelims for that. But.. if they do.. well what can we ignorant students do? Just sit tight and pray hard. :) Amen.</p>
<p>You didn't have S papers in your prelim? Wow, AC must really have confidence in you guys huh? =) I was already wishing that we had more experience taking the S papers - the prelim was our first time.</p>
<p>How's your preparation for the As? I'm really worried about chem on Monday...</p>
<p>Oh well! RJC only asked us to send in our prelim grades but I sent in my promos as well cos the grades were higher. =) Do you guys know your predicted grades? Ours is sent confidentially to the schools with our school reports... =(</p>