Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by Amir Palermo

Which school should I invest my Bursary money on?

Amir Palermo — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:16:24 +0800

Hi!

I'm eligible for a Bursary from the gomen via my 2011 SPM results. Basically, they'll pay for my pre-u studies. By 2014, I can use the results from my pre-u to study overseas.

The bursary offers several pre-u courses, but I'm only interested in IB or A levels since these two will net me a spot in a university in UK.

But only these institutions are offered by the bursary:

QUOTE

Internatio nal Baccalaureate (IB)

Pelajar yang layak di bawah Bursary KPM boleh mengikuti program persediaan ini
di institusi berikut:
1. Sri KDU International School (KDU)

2. Taylor's University College

A-Level
Pelajar yang layak di bawah Bursary KPM boleh mengikuti program persediaan ini di
institusi berikut:
1. Taylor's University College
2. UCSI University
3. Kolej Damansara Utama (KDU)
4. Cempaka International School (CIS)
5. Kolej Bandar Utama (KBU)
6. International Islamic School
7. Sunway University College
8. INTI International University
9. HELP University College
10. SEGI University College
11. Stamford College
12. Methodist College KL

So which institution is the best for me to use the government's money on? Money is OBVIOUSLY not an issue here, as the bursary covers everything from head to toe.

SO WHICH SHOULD I CHOOSE? HELP!!! THANKS LA WEI!

When it comes to IB, which school offers the best?

Amir Palermo — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:54:43 +0800

Hola amigos.

I'm a 2011 SPM leaver, and I'm seriously considering to take up Intl. Baccalaureate (IB) to study meds overseas. My results:

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Thanks to the Gomen's bursary, I have a safety net should all my scholarship interviews fail, but regarding the policy, I'm unclear on whether or not we're able to choose what Pre-u Program we'd wanna do, and where.

So when it comes to IB, from your experience and knowledge, which institution offers the best chances so that I'll score a nice 42? I have an offer from Axiata to do my IB in The Intl. School of Penang Uplands, but I don't know whether it's a good place to study. So many mat salleh, I might get distracted :/ is that place any good?

Kolej Mara Banting sounds nice, but I have yet to apply for Jpa or Mara, so I'm not sure if I can even get in.

But besides these two institutions, where is the best place to study IB in malaysia?

P.S. If youre gonna preach to me about "ohhh, it depends on the student, not the school", you might as well not comment :> thanks!

edit: typo

Banking/Finance, Financial Engineering, Economics

Amir Palermo — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:41:52 +0800

BNM scholarships have open their doors overseas to countries like the UK and US recently to SPM leavers. I've always had an interest in the world of business, but I'm facing a dilemma in choosing which field I should pursue between these three:

1) Banking/Finance,
2) Financial Engineering, and
3) Economics.

I've done my homework thanks to Google, and I've come up with a few assumptions. FE aka computational finance is the least popular out of three, and not many take up this field. Economics sounds like an interesting science, with the whole supply and demand equation and all that. And according to my brother, banking and finance will make you rich, FAST. How he came up with that, I don't know.

I must note that BNM is sending kids like me to the US for these courses. I have a deep fascination with numbers and business and money. To me, these three fields don't sound mutually exclusive, so am I missing something here? What are some DISTINCT DIFFERENCES between these three? If I do get this scholarship and get bonded by a bank in Malaysia, what's the job prospects like in the next 5 years like?

Also, what are some insider knowledge I should know of regarding these fields? Is one better than the other? Seriously.

Oh and I was a science stream student, without taking the related subjects in spm level like prinsip perakaunan and ekonomi asas and all that. I'm not missing much, am I?

THANK YOU SO MUCH WEYH. (:

How does one apply for JPA/MARA scholarships?

Amir Palermo — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:25:33 +0800

I know there's a lot of scholarships out there, whereby applications can be easily made via online.

But what about these scholarships? I have a lot of problem applying, simply because the rules and website directory aren't quite clear:

1) JPA

I went to http://esilav2.jpa.gov.my/ and that's about as far as i could go. Am I missing something here?

2) MARA

I have ZERO idea where to start from, and the website ( http://www.mara.gov.my/web/guest/kolej-mara ) is so confusing

And as a side note, i got 10A+ , 84% for my co-curricular activities, and since this is malaysia and race matters SO much, I'm a bumi.

Your help is much appreciated! Thanks!

EDIT1: MARA's loans/scholarships to Kolej Mara Banting haven't opened up just yet. oh well.

What is the highest performing matrikulasi college

Amir Palermo — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:42:16 +0800

Hi! So, there's about 11 matrikulasi colleges in Malaysia, and I'm curious to know which college excels the most, academically.
Is there a matrikulasi college that pwns the others? Or are they all the same?

It's really weird at the lack of statistics available on the Internet regarding the ranking of these colleges. I highly value your insights in this, as I feel there is a lack of discussion on the performance of matrik colleges in the country.

Thanks in advance!

edit: program matrikulasi is my plan B should my spm results not turn out stellar. I wanna make sure I make the right choice.

Is the medicine field oversaturated?

Amir Palermo — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:05:16 +0800

Watsup awesome people! Merry Christmas! :>

I'm torn between pursuing dentistry or medicine. I feel each of them has their own set of pros and cons. Nonetheless, after the news on the NST reporting that the gov will 'freeze' medicine due to oversaturation, I'm a bit tentative of pursuing this field.

How true is this?

*just finished my spm btw

How can I get in to the matrix program in UM&USM?

Amir Palermo — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:47:30 +0800

I heard that USM and UM has their very matrikulasi program (which I'm guessing is a bit different than the public kolej matrikulasi that's open to anyone).

How does one get into the matrikulasi program in UM and USM? Their site wasn't very much helpful, and after ringing their contact number, I managed to get in hold of a very slow (borderline idiotic) woman on the other line. Clueless, indeed.

Help?

Will matriculation ruin my life?

Amir Palermo — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:10:32 +0800

And by 'ruining my life' I mean: not getting a good job compared to my peers, and not going to overseas to study/work.

Im somewhat apprehensive of taking matriculation, especially after my senior was flabbergasted when I told her of my decision. She insisted I take form 6 instead, and keeps on repeating "don't ruin your life by taking matrikulasi!"

It is obvious that getting a 4.0 is more common in matrik, compared to form 6. But is matrik really that BAD?

The cliche 'HELP ME CHOOSE A PRE-U PROGRAM!'

Amir Palermo — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:55:03 +0800

I just finished spm, and uhh, here's my situation:

Im very much interested in pharmacy here, but I need to choose a pre-u program, obviously. Despite the scholarship tuition wavers I was offered at most private universities, (I got 10 As in trials) A-levels is STILL too expensive for me. **Read: I am very poor**

Since A-levels is too pricy, then there's the question of STPM. Interesting, maybe, just maybe, I could just pull it off. Heard it's very hard.

OH BUT WAIT! Then there's the option of the 1 year matriculation (which, to me, a 4.0GPA is definitely possible, since it's said to be easier)

What should I do?!!! What would be the best option for the road to pharmacy?

p.s. I don't feel much love for matrikulasi in the forums. It's rarely talked about. I thought this post might just change that to open discussion.

p.p.s I'd like to study/work/have a career in the overseas. I need to get out of this country asap. I'll do anything. Yes, I am desperate.

p.p.p.s I'm a bumi. Thought that info might be somewhat useful.

Should I be scholarship hunting even before SPM?

Amir Palermo — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 20:53:23 +0800

SPM is in one month away and I'm already feeling somewhat anxious. Having said that, I'm actually more anxious of my tertiary education.

Trials has just ended, and I would like to ask, is there anything else that I can do now to get some kind of scholarship? Are there any interviews opening up before SPM? Should I be scholarship hunting now? And if that is so, where should I begin? What should I apply for? Any links you could provide?

I really want a headstart in education. Any information will be greatly appreciated. Help? Please? Thank you! (:

Note: (any form of scholarship is okay with me, regardless of whether or not it's exclusive to local or overseas institutions. Medicine would be my first choice, naturally)

What should my next move be to be a pediatric?

Amir Palermo — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:45:35 +0800

Hi there!

I'll be sitting down for my SPM in a few week's time. I'm an aspiring pediatric, but I just can't seem to find out how to get there.

So far I *quote:feel* that I am academically qualified. For my trials I bagged 4A+ , 2A- and 4A . I'm taking 10 subjects altogether. I am very active in co curricular activities (KDU debate championships, ICAS competitions, NILAM state levels, etc etc). I have a tremendous passion for medicine, and my sole ambition is to become a doctor, ever since childhood. Since this is Malaysia and everything is raced-based lol, I feel its worth noting that I am a bumi.

But the problem is, I cannot afford a tertiary education. So it's either scholarship, or bust.

So to you smart people out there: HELP! What should I do? What should my next move be? Should I enter a matriculation program, since that is the most logical decision to make? But matriculation is only acknowledged locally. If I go ahead for matriculation, is there a chance for me to go overseas to study medicine?

Confused. Help. Please? (: