I really do wish I kept the stuff I wrote while retaking the A-levels. Because the thoughts and feelings behind those words were a lot bleaker than what I am writing now. Now that I know that I managed make it out alive after all, I have a positive outlook on the whole process. I do not want this blog to be about my success story. I want it to be an accurate portrayal of what it is like to retake the A-levels (a.k.a examination from hell) as a private candidate in Singapore. So that is exactly what I am going to write about: everything you need to know and have, reality and society’s outlook on retaking, how to make use of your time, preserving your mental sanity and also tips on how to avoid your relatives during the whole ordeal.
On a more serious note, I am honestly writing this because when I wanted to retake, the internet failed to assure me about my decision to retake the A’s. Every time I googled, I only found information on retaking the UK A levels which has no bearing on retaking the A levels in SG or whatsoever. Moreover, the only thread I found on hardwarezone was back from 2010 with everyone discouraging the idea of retaking. I highly doubt these people even re-sat for the A’s themselves. So here is the real deal, I am kind of an expert on retaking as a private candidate because I retook and got into local uni (yes I know, I am living the dream), my sister retook and got into local uni and I know friends who have retaken and got into local uni. So there’s that. As of me writing this, there is no extensive guide to retaking in Singapore. So here goes!
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Basics
You have to read and reread the SEAB guidelines. Most of the questions I get from students who want to retake is explained in the SEAB FAQ page. Even so, I guess people will feel better if a real person is explaining these things to them. Firstly, when you retake, you have the option of taking 3 H2 subjects and GP at one sitting. Or, you could add your H1 subject if you think you can improve that as well. But the minimum is 3 H2 subjects and GP to re-sit. There is no need to retake your SPA (Science Practical Assessment) as it is valid for 2 years. It is going to be painful, but don’t think too much and just pay up first. Next, you have to apply to universities to try your luck. If you get accepted, you can email SEAB and get full refund of your money. If you don’t, you can still get back half your money if you change your mind about retaking. I retook in 2015 and I paid $640 ++. My sister was initially confident about getting into university and when she didn’t, she had to scramble and beg SEAB to allow her to retake in July! July is too late if you are sitting for exams in November. Still, she managed to successfully retake in measly 4 months and got into NTU’s English Literature programme. So now you know. It is possible to still only start retaking in July. But why would you if you can start the process earlier? So I would advise that you apply today and slowly start gathering resources and recapping syllabus. Once you know for sure you need to retake, you can go full force. I can guess what you are thinking now. ‘but was your stream arts or science?’ Doesn’t that make a difference?’ ‘Were you doing NS?’ ‘Were you working?’ It doesn’t matter about the stream. My sister was in arts stream and I was from the science stream. We both retook. The stream does not matter. What matters is you and your conviction. I was not doing NS but I have heard about friends retaking while in NS. Unfortunately, I have yet to hear a success story. I personally, was working, but I was not doing a full time job. Just part time serving pizzas. The rest of the time, I spent was for tuition and doing revision. The importance of UAS Most important thing now is: did you calculate your University Admission Score (UAS)? Don’t fall for the ruse of Indicative Grade Profile (IGP). Your IGP translates into UAS and that is what universities look at. This is straight from the horse’s mouth (a lecturer from NTU). UNIVERSTIES LOOK AT UAS. Not your grades. So, head over to ZUEET to calculate your UAS. And make sure that when you apply, you follow the 2.5pt difference rule like it’s the word of god (if the course you want to apply to is 80pts, the minimum they will accept is 77.5). This is not a joke. It is hundred percent vital that you put your first choice as something that will guarantee your entrance into uni. You may have concerns such as, 'What if I don’t like it?' 'What if I hate Physics but it is the only course I can enter with my grades?'. Honestly, everybody has their own philosophy when it comes to pursuing university education. Mine is: get your ass into university, change your major later. All things considered, you could end up loving your major or worse come to worse, if your GPA is high enough, your university might let you change your major. I was told by NTU that 10% of their student change their major in first year. Albeit that not being a lot, you could be part of the 10%. So yeah, if your UAS is borderline 68pts to 70pts, you have to consider retaking as a viable option. If you are not careful in the order of your course choices, you might not get it in at all. I put NUS’s Project Facilities and Management as my first choice although their UAS cut off was 72.5 and my UAS was 70. Guess what? They called me on the 30th June. That’s right, the absolute last day of all universities are supposed to get back to us. So I say, just try. It is all about you. Your mental state and your attitude are major players here. In this post I am going to divulge some juicy details. My personal retaking story and also my sister’s and my one other friend. You can take them as case study.
Everybody’s retaking story is different. My sister needed a school environment to be disciplined so she went to MDIS and paid $4k for lecturers to guide her (this is no longer applicable because MDIS doesn’t prorate their fees anymore. If you want to retake from july, you have to pay the total fees of 10k which nobody in the right mind will, unless you are the grandson of Tony Tan or something equally preposterous like that). On the other hand, I loaded myself with private tuition and I know a friend who is currently retaking while in 2nd year NS with minimal tuition for each subject. Case study 1: Me Stream: Science Grade in 2014 (1st attempt) General paper - C H2 Mathematics - E H2 Chemistry - D H2 Physics - E Total UAS - 58pts Grade in 2015 (2nd attempt) General paper - B H2 Mathematics - C H2 Chemistry - D H2 Physics - C Total UAS - 70pts *H1 Geography: B, Project Work: A First attempt: I got rejected by every university Second attempt: I got called for interviews from NTU History, NUS nursing, NUS Project Fascilities and Management. Currently studying: NTU History Timeline: I started studying end of April Case study 2: My Sister Stream: Arts Grade in 2012 (1st attempt) General paper - C H2 History - B H2 Literature - B H2 Economics - E Total UAS- 67.5pts Grade in 2013 (2nd attempt) General paper - C H2 History - A H2 Literature - B H2 Economics - D Total UAS - 72.5ts *H1 Math: D, Project Work: B First attempt: rejected by every university Second attempt: She got called for interviews from SMU Social Science and NTU English Lit. Currently studying: NTU English Literature Timeline: Started studying in July Case study 3: My Friend Stream: Science Grade in 2014 (1st attempt) General paper - B H2 Mathematics - C H2 Chemistry - D H2 Physics - C Total UAS - 70pts Grade in 2015 (2nd attempt) General paper - B H2 Mathematics - C H2 Chemistry - C H2 Physics - C Total UAS - 72.5pts *H1 Geography: B, Project Work: A First attempt: rejected by every university Second attempt: she got called for interviews from SMU and SUTD Currently Studying: SUTD Timeline: started studying in end June So as you can see from the variety of examples above, it does not matter what stream you are in, or whether you are in NS or not. If you are disciplined and determined, go ahead and retake. I also know some people with good enough grades to get into uni but are retaking just to get into a particular course they want. Singaporeans can be mad like that. It is incredibly important for you to source out the cheapest and the best tuition you can. Science or arts, you can’t just wing it and study on your own. You need a tutor to mark as Cambridge would and give feedback.
As for my personal experience with tuitions, I went for SINDA’s A level programme called Saadhana ($50/subject per month). The Math tutor was amazing. The Physics tutor was okay. Chemistry tutor was too fast for me. But I stuck with it from beginning to end because it was affordable, tutors were available to answer questions over the phone 24/7, and I made friends with the students so I could clear doubts anytime. From May to august I added on another Chem tuition (Chemstar Education in Jurong East, $320 per month). After that, I let go of the Chem tuition ( I did not have money to carry on two tuitions simultaneously) and got a private physics tutor instead. This guy was undergrad from NTU and I stuck with him from September to November. The craziest tuition experience I had was for GP. I went to Spring International School (also in Jurong East) which is actually tuition for PRCs who wished to take A levels in SG. The teacher had no experience teaching A levels so I was only charged $120 per month. All in all, I spent close to $4k-$5k on retaking. I worked part time selling pizza during the weekends to help out my parents a little. My siblings also pitched in to help with my tuition. That is simply the ugly truth of retaking, you can be as determined and disciplined as you want, but you also need money to go on. Regarding resources, I would recommend finding all the online websites you can to get notes that are different from what you already have. Here are some I know
Also (for students of science), if you have a friend who retained or just any junior from JC, get their I/C number and use their LMS account. LMS has videos for every topic in every subject with the most basic things explained. You can replay it a thousand times to understand everything, nobody will judge you. Students also like to enquire about how I studied so the following part is going to explain that:
You need to stay constantly motivated and that can be a little tiring. When you plan all the way to November be prepared to lose some weeks to circumstance because shit happens. My grandfather died in September and my relatives from India came over to stay for 3 weeks. I lost precious study time during those weeks. Be prepared for the worst. My family was very supportive of my retaking so I was lucky in that aspect. But you cannot just shrug off the embarrassment that comes with retaking. Although in the grand scheme of things, our mortification becomes a minuscule part, it really messes with your psyche. By the time August rolled around, I learned to laugh it off. The number of times I saw somebody I knew and suddenly became super interested in my phone’s home screen is just too damn high. The look of horror when you tell your juniors that you are retaking and the discomfort you’ll feel when your classmates discuss orientation camps during class gathering is all part of the experience. If you have believed everything that I have said so far, this is the most important part you need to trust me on: you will become a more mature person with higher tolerance for difficult times in life compared to most people. You will also value education a lot more than you used to.
Here is also another important piece of information. You are not the only one retaking. A LOT of people retake. They just don’t publicize it. Don’t trust people who tell you that they are taking a gap year because they are probably not. When people asked me what I was doing, I always told the truth because I was proud of retaking. That is the simple truth behind retaking A Levels in Singapore as a private candidate, it takes balls of steel to re-sit for your examinations especially with every tom, dick and harry telling you not to do it. All my classmates told me it was going to be a waste and my teachers were dead against it. But I went ahead and I did it anyway. I’ve learned to treasure the few people who stood by me all the way. So this is my last piece of advise: if you think you can improve your grades, don’t listen to anybody else, just do it. Retaking is not for the weak hearted. ALL THE BEST!!! |
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