PSC application process.

Okay I wont be blogging very much come next week because I am going for my predeparture course for PSC. It lasts from 6th July to 25th July, including Saturdays, and I have tuition classes to teach on Sunday, so this means I will have very little time to blog!

I will try to blog as and when I can but no guarantees! I know however that you people still want to read stuff, so I have written some articles beforehand that I will publish once every few days while I am away to keep you all coming back. Haha.

So I promised a long long time ago that I will blog about the psc application process. There are a few stages to the application process:

1. Application: Apply through the PSC portal. http://www.pscscholarships.gov.sg. Try to apply by 1st January the next year, but I heard rumours that to be considered for early cycle you need to apply by 30th October (Year 6). Dont know how true that is.

2. Psychometric test: If you are shortlisted by PSC, you will have to go through a psychometric test. It's a test that tests your IQ, simple math, language and personality. No prior preparation is required.

3. Interviews: There are 2 interviews at the final stage. The 1st is a psychologist interview where they ask you questions about yourself, your family, etc. No stress or worries at this interview, just be yourself and answer everything truthfully.

The 2nd interview is a board interview where a panel of interviewers will sit in front of you and ask you questions pertaining to anything, be it your personality, your records, current affairs, etc.

4. After 5 days, you will know if you are accepted or rejected!

That's a brief overview of how things work. I am a bit tired now because its 1233 am and I want to sleep, so I just wrote a very brief overview. If you want to know more details about any of the parts please leave a message here or on the tagboard and I will get back to you.

One thing I forgot to mention however is that in June of your year 6 year, the college counsellor will recommend 30+ kids to go for the psc psychometric test. So you may either take the psychometric test in June (year 6), or take it after you get shortlisted for psc the following year if for whatever reason you werent recommended or you werent able to make it.

So a timeline may look like this:
Year 6, June - Psychometric test
Year 6, June - September - Preparing of application
Year 6, September - December/whenever you get called up - Hope for the best
Year 7, January/February - If you are considered for early cycle, you have your interview around this time
Year 7, March - If you werent called up for early cycle, you may get called up during regular cycle, about March
Year 7, April - May - Interviews for regular cycle
Year 7, June - Sign contract
Year 7, July - Predeparture course

Please dont think that the PSC is like any other college essay. I personally found it the hardest essay that I had to write. I wrote many drafts, only to throw them all out (totally, without retaining any parts) because the tone just wasnt right.

Many people also underestimate the interview, thinking that flipping through the papers once a week is enough. Please dont underestimate it, current affairs is very important, if you havent started reading the papers I suggest you do so now because it is not only helpful for your various scholarship interviews, it also makes you a more worldly person. Many people ask me what was the thing that got me in, I personally think it was the interview that clinched it (haha but I dont know if it's really the case, I guess only the PSC board members will know, this is just a guess).