Questions about the many things that we do in school: Does it matter?

Many parents (including mine) often wonder about how much of the things that we do in school really count especially when our school diploma is still unknown relative to the A levels, when the lady in the fish market knows what A levels is but the taxi driver that drives by your house everyday doesnt know what "NUS High School" is.

So in this post I will talk about:
1. APs
2. Majors and honours
3. Rigour of curriculum and The CAP
And how much of a factor each plays in university and scholarship admissions.

Okay first of all I will describe university admission and scholarship admissions. I am not an expert so this is from my experience and knowledge. Please do ask the school straight if you want the school's perspective, this is just mine and no one else's (please dont kill me Dr Hang).

University admission is a judgment of your personality, ability, everything, based on some writing. That writing comprises of: 1. Your CAP, 2. Your curriculum/subject combinations, 3. Extracurriculars, 4. Standardized tests like SAT/IELTS/BMAT, 5. Awards, 6. Your essay.

Then there is the interview which you are expected to ace, for some universities, but not for most of them. So it's safe to conclude that it is more important to appear good on paper (bluntly speaking) because appearing good on paper means you are a really good person.

For scholarships, it is the same thing as university admissions, except that there is DEFINITELY ONE OR MORE interviews which YOU MUST ACE. So looking good on paper is no longer sufficient.

Okay so on to the next 4 things to talk about and my views.
1. APs: nearly useless for admissions, but no point not taking it. More and more top students from other schools such as RJC and HCI are taking APs as well, and they take loads at a go by self studying. APs are a lot easier than A levels, and these top students just cram the studying in a month or 2 and get 5s anyway. It's easier because APs test for breadth while A levels are more of 'depth', so knowing a little about everything will suffice for APs. Many Americans also take about 5 to 6 APs in their senior year.

So if top students are doing APs and some have A level results too does doing APs really give you the advantage? I dont think so.

I wont say that APs are entirely useless, because they lend credit to your curriculum and rigour. It's a standardized test after all, so getting a 5 in every AP exam says something when you are compared to the rest of the world. Being in a school with everyone getting 5s say something about your standard in comparison with everyone else, and that's what our school needs before people are willing to recognize our rigorous curriculum.

So when AP time comes, please do help one another because it raises the school name, now you are no longer competing against one another but competing with the rest of the world - some students dont seem to grasp that - it's one thing to be selfish during exam time, it's another to be selfish during AP time.

I am a little thankful for doing APs too because it allows me to skip some modules in US universities. I think A levels allow you to skip too (I am not sure) but for APs it's a definite. Each university has their policy online.

Another reason to do APs is because based on the school curriculum, you have enough knowledge to ace the APs so why not have a 5 on your paper than not have a 5? Makes you look better too.

In terms of university applications, schools tend to look at everything in context - including whether or not you have taken the most challenging courseload, so taking the maximum amount of APs would be an extra testament to that in addition to your majors and honours.

In terms of scholarship applications, cant really comment because I have never put any AP results on my scholarship applications - there isnt a space to put it on Brightsparks and when people ask you to submit your results you submit your school diploma (cos the curriculum is more rigorous) and not your AP results.

Overall verdict: After university it will be useful, dont expect it to boost your university application by too much though. Take it anyway cos it's a waste not to.

2. Majors and Honours. I always thought that taking 3 honours and 1 major would be a major disadvantage for me if I wanted to fight for a spot in top schools and scholarships. It turned out to be the best choice I made.

I took honours in biology, chemistry and math and a major in physics. In fact, I took the fast track in physics (i.e. I went along the honours track in physics, but dropped out after taking physics B in year 5). I thought I would be disadvantaged because as the adage goes, everyone prefers to take someone with a lower CAP but more challenging courseload instead of someone with a higher CAP but less challenging courseload. Right?

Not necessarily, I feel. It depends on how you spend that extra time.

In terms of university applications, your college counsellor (ie Mr. Allan or Ms. Sng) will have to rate your curriculum on whether it is most demanding, demanding, etc etc, and it is rumoured that top colleges will only take in those with the most demanding courseload.

There was this slide that serves as a guideline on what's demanding and what's most demanding, I am not a NUSHS student anymore so I dont have it but you probably will see it in 1 of those PTM slides. (Vanessa/ZM do you have it? If you do please edit my post and post it here, haha)

I dont know what Mr. Allan put for my courseload but I do remember my courseload was somewhere in between demanding and most demanding.

The reason why I didnt major with honours in physics was because I didnt like it. Admittedly, I was struggling in it too - the problem with modular system is the moment you screw up your basic modules you cant catch up - and I didnt want to waste another year doing physics when I could spend that time doing something else. So I dropped it, and I got to spend more time in council, external activities like ECO, YCM, etc.

My point is, dont take 4 honours if you dont enjoy the subject because that time can be spent doing something else that you like, and that's what colleges want to see - you doing something that you have a passion for, rather than just blindly studying and being on paper chase. At the same time I understand that your academics must be somewhat competitive to have a chance at all the top spots, so...it's a judgment call for you I guess. Take honours for the subjects you like better and dont force yourself if you dont like the subject?

Does it really matter in the big scheme of things? Well I have friends who took the most rigorous curriculum possible but are worse off (in terms of scholarships and unis) than friends who just took 3 majors with honours. My conclusion is that taking the most rigorous curriculum may give you a slight edge but there are more important other factors. Dont waste your time and youth taking classes you hate just for that extra writing on paper!

3. Rigour of curriculum. Okay I got good news and bad news. Bad news is that Dr Hang will kill me but I dont think the rigour of our curriculum is recognized yet. Good news is that it will probably be recognized by your time (in a few years).

I didnt think that people understood what a 4.36 cap meant. When I went for my PSC checkup yesterday, the nurse asked me so you must have scored all As in your A levels la! I said er we dont take A levels and the nurse looked so puzzled. "But I thought it's PSC?" "Yes I am from the math and science school. NUS High School?" "Oh... but you got all As right?" I just smiled. -.-

Is it bad? I dont think so. I feel so confident going to university right now because I have learnt more than others. You really do learn more and you will find that it's not just the curriculum, but the independent study techniques and time management skills that will be very helpful in the long run.

So does the CAP matter? Dr Hang once told us that scholarships expect you to have a minimum CAP (3.6) just to clear the 1st round, after that it depends on your interview - and I am inclined to agree with him. So dont spend 10 hours a day trying to push your CAP up from 4.2 to 4.3.

Some places have the tendency to equate an A in A levels to an A in our school diploma (such as Murdoch who expects a CAP of 5 for some courses). I feel that there is nothing you can do about that other than rue your luck and hope that they will recognize our diploma in a few years from now. :( On the other side, there are also universities like Cambridge who expect a CAP of 4.2 for some courses, so that's great.