Education

I used to dream of going US to study. In my JC days, somehow, out of nowhere, I had this notion that the best varsities are in America, eg, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, U Chicago, Columbia etc. But since I've applied only to the local universities, of course most probably I'll be staying here. So, it is with a slight amount of envy that I'll watch a few of my friends fly away to America, Campbridge, LSE etc. How fun!

Even before I've entered varsity, I already can't wait to graduate. No matter what people say about uni life, financial independence remains one of my top goals in life. I'm going to turn 19 and since I've started working, I've taken very little money from my parents. When I enter varsity, I'll have to start taking allowance from my parents again. Well, there's just something very sickening about taking money from parents when you're at this age. Not that it is wrong, of course. Just that it doesn't feel too right.

Although I've not received my confirmation/reply letter from SMU yet, I'm pretty sure I'll get in. In the event that I don't, I'm still fine with going NTU. If I still cannot get into NTU, then I''m in trouble because besides accountancy and business, there is nothing else I want or can do.

A lot of my younger friends are going to Polytechnics this or next week. When I was Sec 4 3 years ago, going to poly wasn't an attractive idea. I heard, then, that in poly, there's lots of projects and at the end of the three-year study, you only have a ten percent chance of getting into a local Uni. Of course, I still do not fully understand what life in poly is like but one thing for sure, the playing field has leveled quite a bit. I would recommend a JC education only for the true academics, the kind of people who are into knowledge, knowledge and more knowledge.

I'll like to comment shortly on how it is unfair to use O level results to get a place in a particular course in Poly. To be fair, most of the subjects studied in Secondary school like Math, SS, Science, are pretty irrelevant to most courses available at Poly. I have a friend who wanted to take up Mass Com badly, and he's would be good in it, but was rejected based on results. He had the personality, the language, the flaire and the enthusiasm! What does that C5 in science matter? or that C6 in CHinese? On the other hand, it's a tricky affair as there's simply no other convenient and efficient to assess future Poly students. [Hint: there's something a little fishy about the whole entire education system right from Pri school]

Please note that all the above are nothing but ramblings, idle thoughts that can be considered trash.