Please Please Advice

[faith&hope]

Hi,

Thank you for taking time to read this. I'm 19 this year and am really in a dilemma. It's now February and I'm waiting for my A-level results which is tentatively scheduled to be released in March. But the thing is, I'm feeling really on edge. Here are my options. I'm thinking of retaking A-levels as a private candidate cause I really don't think I did well... And I know I can do much better. But my family isn't supportive of that route cause it's no guarantee that I can do better (what more without the discipline of being in a junior college this time) and they feel like the ultimate goal is to get a degree and I shouldn't waste a year. Okay, so my other option is to go Kaplan and study ACCA or maybe some other course in KAPLAN. But I heard KAPLAN is not too good. I've visited the school and the students and type is really not my type... I felt really strange... Third option is, LETS SAY I do well enough and get into SIM, should I go for it? Because I don't know what I want as my career yet (business, banking & finance, accounting are what I've narrowed down too so far), which of these courses are well recognized and will get me further in life if I were to study in SIM? Fourth option is to go overseas (US or UK) to take a course of my choice. But then, there will be the debate on the country and university to go to. And I don't really want to add extra burdens on my family financially. What should I do? Please advice. I'm really at my wits end and I feel like I should have plans even before my A-level results are released so I wont feel so helpless if my results really go awry. And also, I don't think i'll be in the right frame of mind to make decisions and life plans after my disappointing results.

Thank you so much!


God Bless!

SIM GE don't see results. Anyone can enter. They literally take in everybody. Unisim should be something you could aim for. Unisim is now recognised by the government and is now local. But because it is local, it is harder to get in, but not as difficult as NTU/NUS/SMU. Private degrees definitely very difficult to get into government sector, so try to stay away from them if you can. If you get a local degree, you will have more options for work.

I had a friend who failed almost all his A level subjects. In the end still got into SIM-UOL. They don't care what your results are. As long as you can pay the fees.

See your results first.

In life, people can give you advice but you need to sit through and think yourself. you are still young so naturally you will feel unsure.

[Mark]

What do you want to do with your life or the next couple years? You're focused on your parents and finances and what I think is a narrow definition of success. Unless you want to be a licensed professional like a doctor, or a Ph.D., academic success is not a predictor of business success, not to mention success as a spouse, father, etc. Don't forget to enjoy your life.

[aspenx]

Not yet touched upon by the replies so far is that ACCA is rather useless on its own. You will still need a diploma/degree to back it up.

I am not an expert so I appreciate it if anyone who knows better can advise you better on this.

Whatever it is, rushing things isn't going to help in the long run. You can tell your parents that you should have a little more leeway as you don't have to go for NS like your male counterparts? Imagine us guys being delayed by more than 2 years to get a degree! The horror... And even with that "extra time", most of us didn't make a better decision for post-JC studies!

I know it's hard to do but you should take it easier and explore your options and interests carefully.

Good luck.

Actually I am rather hesitant to share my story because the odds are definitely against you although I also wanted to inspire you.

Coincidentally I was in similar situation as you almost 20 years ago. I did poorly for my O levels,couldn't get into JC/poly and ended up studying for my A level in a private institute. However as many had expected, I did poorly for my A level (E,O,O) and was facing the same dilemna. I had 2 choices then, either to retake my A level as a private candidate or to get enlisted to Army first. That year was 1993.

After a few sleepless nights, I finally made up my mind and tell myself that if there is one single most impt thing that I can do in my 19 years to determine my future, that would be to do my best 100% to make sure that I get into a local university (NUS and NTU). And I told myself that I just need to slog for 8 months from April to Nov and that could change my life forever. To cut the long story short, for 8 months, I will locked myself in my room after school (was in the private school) everyday and did my own self-study, working on 10 years series, etc etc.

My efforts finally paid off when I received my A level result a year later....I did well enough (A,A,B) to get into NTU Accountancy. Today I am doing better in my career than many of my counterparts/relatives from good JCs.

My message is this: You will be wasting your 1 year unless you are prepared to put in everything you got, sacrifice your entertainment/social life for the next 8-9 months and are reasonably confident that you will do well. You have a 2nd chance, but you need to seize it!