<p>Yeah, it's sent confidentially.</p>
<p>But you should be able to guess what they are, and you're from RJ, taking S papers so you'd probably get straight A's and distinctions. What's gonna set you apart are your essays and teacher recommendations.</p>
<p>im also a singaporean currently in last year of ns.
s papers are a singaporean thing...what i heard was that the uk used to have it but they scrapped it. but sg retained it to differentiate the 1000s of 4-A students.
in the uk they have something called the AS-Level. initially i thought S = Special also but apparently it's S = Subsidiary (i.e. an even easier paper than the normal a-levels!!!)</p>
<p>AS levels are supposed to be the first half of an A level, but they tend to be easier than the A2 half. it's a mechanism to allow UK students to diversify their range of subjects, rather than be confined to a smaller number.</p>
<p>S papers are an archaic holdover from maybe 2 decades ago. i think the UK dumped them a long time ago. don't imagine that they don't have an equivalent - it's called the Advanced Extension Award (AEA). plus Oxbridge sometimes require applicants to take tough STEP papers which i daresay are harder than S papers.</p>
<p>hm not sure about these step papers.. but for S papers it's been getting easier and easier. i took maths c and physics and they were a complete joke compared to those TYS questions from the late 80's or early 90's. probably because so damn many people are taking them nowadays. back then u'd have maybe 50 people in the whole of singapore taking any 's' papers.. now it's more like 1000</p>
<p>Certainly insightful thread into what fellow young Singaporeans these days "reason" about why they want to study in the U.S. How many of us actually wonder what 'getting an Education' is all about, with or without O, A, S papers? It just seems that there are so many people wanting to get to the 'top' Colleges just because they are 'branded'.</p>
<p>And what's so bad about that? Prestige isn't necessarily a bad thing, and the world we live in IS a materialistic one.</p>
<p>keygp, in what way does this thread show why we want to study in the U.S.? just wondering. </p>
<p>In fact, it is true that many Singaporeans think that 'top' colleges are great because of their 'brand' and 'prestige', although there are exceptions to the rule. Just look at the number of parents who scramble to get their children into top schools, and the number of students who dream of RJC HCJC VJC and getting into these top schools. And I suppose it is not just a Singaporean thing, but a phenomenon that occurs all over the world. (although maybe kiasu-ism makes it slightly more prominent) </p>
<p>But, I will say that S papers are pretty exciting when you get really involved in them, and stop thinking about the grade. Or at least, my experience with my S paper studies has proved to be mentally invigorating. And O, A, S papers are all part of that Education when you really get into them. I suppose the problem is that people don't. </p>
<p>If you think about it, studying for these things give a person a whole lot more discipline and intellectual rigour. Which is part of Education. Perhaps the appeal of the U.S. is the complement to this education system here in Singapore. At least, it is for me. :)</p>
<p>By the way, all you Singaporeans taking A levels now should very well be studying for them instead of spending time here. (haha, look at me scolding myself for my foolishness) </p>
<p>Good luck for the A levels! It will be over soon. (yea right, in about a month?)</p>
<p>OK so how many A's in O levels would be considered "very competitive"?</p>
<p>It depends on how many O levels you take? I don't know, here in Singapore we use the L1R5 system so we end up with points for our grades, and a precise numerical grade. I suppose an overall average of A's and B's is good? Then again, if you're talking about 'very competitive', maybe straight A's is more like it.</p>
<p>I have a total of 11A's 1B in 12 subjects. That should be competitve right?</p>
<p>keygp, what r u talking about??!?! thousands of people in this world would kill to get accepted to harvard yale princeton! I would LOVE to get in.</p>
<p>Schools that are "branded" makes me want to get into them more so I can show off to everyone I know that I got in to Harvard or something: People in this country are VERY discouraging. Teachers constantly tell me to give up my studies for the US cos it's hard and they say that it'll be practically impossible for me to get in - they tell me to think 'practically' and tell me to stop 'dreaming'.</p>
<p>That's why I'd like to tell them they're pieces of shts and that I got in and that they suc.</p>
<p>"getting an education" is about (for me), to achieve all i can in education and do the best I can and get what I deserve (which is, to get into JHU).</p>
<p>And it's not only for singaporians. I'm a new zealander!</p>
<p>keygp: "It just seems that there are so many people wanting to get to the 'top' Colleges just because they are 'branded'."
and they are 'branded' for a reason??
nobody wants to go to jjc or pjc not because they aren't prestigious but because they suck.</p>
<p>That's a really stupid assumption btw wukong. Honestly, one of my friends went to a polytechnic simply cos she chose to. And she got 6 points for her O levels, so she could've easily gone anywhere she wanted. One thing that sickens me to the core is hearing elitists like you put down other schools w/o even appreciating all that's been done for you. We get into good schools because we have the chance to have a stable education. Many of my neighbours (from JJC, PJC, which you very pointedly said you thought suck) have to juggle a job AND school. C'mon. People take what life gives them, you have absolutely no right to judge one school over another simply cos of rankings.</p>
<p>"you have absolutely no right to judge one school over another simply cos of rankings."
boo hoo. wonder what the rankings are for then? so that politically correct whiners can go "ooh...all the schools are actually the same. but it just so happens that some students aren't as privileged as me. i better not be too quick to judge. but let me put down rjc as my first choice anyway."</p>
<p>of course there are many who are disadvantaged, but it is SIMPLY A FACT that they aren't as good. IT'S A FACT THAT THERE ARE EINSTEINS AND THERE ARE RETARDED PEOPLE.
personally i dont think teachers are really much different between schools. what i'm referring to is the entire environment, where u can actually find people to discuss something intellectual.</p>
<p>wukong - there's a difference between people who 'aren't as good' and people who have to juggle work and studies to support their families. i bet if you hardly had time to do homework or study (you can forget CCAs) you wouldn't do quite as well in your exams.</p>
<p>supergirl - saying that you have a friend who had 6 pts but chose to go to poly doesn't show anything. obviously there'll be a few people who choose this route, but the fact is that the majority choose to get into the schools with the toughest entrance criteria that they can meet. it's a simple issue of selectivity generating prestige and vice versa. and i think wukong meant simply that the quality of education and intellectual culture in JJ, PJ et al. is inferior/lacking. that's not the same as saying every student in those JCs sucks.</p>
<p>perfectdark - there's not much point in comparing O levels, since we take the exams from different exam boards. the highest no. of O levels you can take in one sitting over here is 10, so 10 A1s would be the very maximum you can get. (the A grade is split into A1 and A2.) i guess 8 A1s or more would be considered very competitive.</p>
<p>Thank you seeker, I get what you're saying and what you said makes sense, and to wukong: I was just saying things they way I see it. If you can't take criticism well I don't see how you're gonna survive in the world out there.</p>
<p>Seeking prestige is all right. What you come to realize later (hopefully anyway) is that prestige is not the only thing that matters. Heck, it's probably one of the last things that matters. </p>
<p>Admission officers know this as well. They seem to have a nose for smelling out people who apply just for the sake of prestige and people who are really excited about learning. Well, mostly anyway. If you check up last year threads about where people applied to and where they got in, you will see that the people applying to ALL the ivies (for the sake of prestige) are the ones who didn't get into any. I'm not sure how much of a correlation is this, but it seemed a pretty meaningful one.</p>
<p>Or if you look at it from another viewpoint, let's say money = prestige. I might give up my lower paying job for a higher paying one... but if I really loved the lower paying one (maybe writing a book or something) ... well. There are better things than money. Likewise, there are better things then prestige.</p>
<p>Anyway, college admissions are a good time for YOU to decide what is important to you, and to find a better reason in your life to decide where to go and what to do without being influenced by peer pressure and parents' choices.</p>
<p>Hear hear! Interesting reponses from my earlier post.</p>
<p>NoFX - thank you for your honesty witih your reasons. I really respect that and I'm fine with it. If only everyone is as honest as you. There are yet many others who would give far too 'well rounded' reasons even if they are not totally true. All the best for JHU!</p>
<p>wukong - if 'getting an education' meant that you put down jjc and pjc this way, it doesn't say very much about WHERE you are educated, does it? Would getting into Harvard suddenly change that for you? Would a much <em>lesser known</em> (not the same as meaning 'inferior') college change that for you? By the way, no extra points for pointing out that there are 'einsteins and there are retarded people'. Not a very intellectual point, you know. You should have just kept it to yourself :)</p>
<p>supergirl - I know and heard about quite a few people who scored 6 points and went to Poly too. Many of them did very well at University and won scholarships/prizes. I can't agree more with you, that 'people take what life gives them' and that we 'have absolutely no right to judge one school over another simply cos of rankings'</p>
<p>seeker - it's very interesting to hear you mention 'quality of education & intellectual culture'. If you'd care, maybe you can elaborate more? How would you define 'quality of education'? Is a 'top' school/college necessary an instituition that must equate with giving 'quality of education'?</p>
<p>Sorry that my earlier post was not exactly in sync with the original thread. It was meant as a remark/observation.</p>