Hello! For those who are following me on my Instagram (@ughjermaine), you would have known that I have left Singapore Polytechnic, and enrolled in ACJC. Some of my readers got to know me through my videos about SP and the Early Admissions Exercise (EAE) process so I'm sure this comes as a bit of a shock. It's been a month since I officially left SP, yet I still receive many questions about why I left!
Luckily, I'm still in close contact with my poly friends and since ACJC is so close to SP, I can go back to visit or catch up with them during the holidays! Hopefully they don't get sick of me tho HAHAHAHA
Needless to say, I still miss my friends, our Starbucks, cheese fries and our inside jokes, and I miss the large variety of good and CHEAP food in Singapore Poly!! I miss having the freedom to wake up late, walk only a few steps from Dover mrt, and come to school only when my lesson is about to start. There are still a few things I can't get used to in JC, such as assembly, queuing up and squeezing everywhere. (ACJC please do something about the canteen food😭) It's like I became an "adult" for a year and suddenly downgraded back into a secondary school student :/
I'm usually a pessimistic person, but if you look at this positively, I guess you can say that I've gotten the best of both worlds! I've had all the fun I wanted and chased my passions and dreams for 1 year, but now it is time for me to make the difficult choice and embark on a new journey in ACJC! Who knows? Maybe I might up taking a media degree in the future again and be reunited with my poly friends in university HAHAHA but for now, I just wanna keep my options open.
Thanks for reading and as usual, let me know what you think either through messaging me on my social media accounts or leaving a comment below (anoymously if you'd like)!
Follow my instagram @ughjermaine
instagram.com/ughjermaine
youtube.com/jermaineleejiaxin
♥︎,
Jermaine x
When I was considering to leave SP, I spent months researching online, hoping to find other people that had the same experience as I did. I found only 1 or 2 forum posts on kiasuparents and the reasons for them was because their GPA in poly was not so good. Thus, I really wanted to be able to share my unique experience and reasons.
First's thing first, although the title of this blog post says that I 'transferred', there is a slight difference. Most of my friends had the misconception and thought that I used my GPA to transfer. I actually used my 2016's O Level results and took part in the 2018 JAE to apply for ACJC. This means that I participated in the same JAE as my classmates now and got in through the same system as them. After I was accepted into ACJC, I withdrew from poly. So in a sense, I joined ACJC then dropped out of poly.
I absolutely LOVED my poly course. Everything I said in my EAE videos and my interviews is true, the course was a perfect fit for me. I enjoyed the modules, the lecturers were amazing, I was passionate and proud of my work, and I liked my friends. The one year in poly was the happiest year I had EVER had. So, why did I leave?
1) It was impossible to get a 4.0 GPA.
I blame this on my own naiveness, but before I actually entered SP, I didn't know much about poly, and I thought that, just like secondary school, as long as I work hard and ace all my exams = 4.0 GPA. It didn't occur to me that in a media course, there are completely no exams, and everything relied on assignments and projects. Everyone has different opinions on what a good idea or a good story is, and so the grading was very subjective and depended a lot on the lecturer.
I don't blame the lecturers, of course, but chances were, if the lecturer didn't like your idea, you wouldn't get an A, even if your language was almost perfect. This meant that attaining a 4.0 GPA was nearly impossible! This realisation hit me like a truck. All my poly friends can tell you how badly I was aiming for a 4.0 :(
I don't blame the lecturers, of course, but chances were, if the lecturer didn't like your idea, you wouldn't get an A, even if your language was almost perfect. This meant that attaining a 4.0 GPA was nearly impossible! This realisation hit me like a truck. All my poly friends can tell you how badly I was aiming for a 4.0 :(
My GPA was 3.75 in semester 1 and it was one of the highest (if not the highest, I think) in my cohort... I guess it was considered very good for a media course, but compared with 3.85 to 4.0 from business and engineering students...?
2) I need to go to a local university.
Yes yes, qualifications are not the only thing that matter nowadays, but a degree was always the end goal for me.
If I continued my course, and I maintained my GPA, it was likely that I, like many of my seniors, will end up taking Arts, Design and Social Sciences or Communication Studies in NTU. The problem is, I aspired to take Law. I like to reach for the stars, so that even if I fall short, it would still be high up in the sky.
A Law degree overseas is crazy expensive, and my parents have other siblings to feed too HAHA. I also considered the fact that the local degrees I was interested in required a pass for O Levels A Maths, which I dropped a few weeks after prelims, without thinking of the consequences, so if I wanted to go local uni, I would need to take the A Maths exam as a private candidate.
If I continued my course, and I maintained my GPA, it was likely that I, like many of my seniors, will end up taking Arts, Design and Social Sciences or Communication Studies in NTU. The problem is, I aspired to take Law. I like to reach for the stars, so that even if I fall short, it would still be high up in the sky.
A Law degree overseas is crazy expensive, and my parents have other siblings to feed too HAHA. I also considered the fact that the local degrees I was interested in required a pass for O Levels A Maths, which I dropped a few weeks after prelims, without thinking of the consequences, so if I wanted to go local uni, I would need to take the A Maths exam as a private candidate.
With an estimated 3.75 GPA when I graduate, would local Law degrees even consider me? Of course, I know that it is CRAZY hard to get into Law in Singapore, but I wanted to at least be able to try. To even have the possibility! If I continued with my course, there was little to no chance. Among all the students, only 1 student in my course had been offered law, and it was overseas. In fact, it is SO rare for poly students to get into law, that when it actually happens, it is reported in the news!!!
And my friend in NUS Law says that only 2 students in her whole cohort are from poly. And they were probably from Temasek Poly's Law and Management course. Statistically, it's another near-impossible feat.
And my friend in NUS Law says that only 2 students in her whole cohort are from poly. And they were probably from Temasek Poly's Law and Management course. Statistically, it's another near-impossible feat.
3) What about my FUTURE???!!?
My passion is and always will be media, but what about my future job? In Singapore, money is of utmost importance. And it really got me thinking, honestly HONESTLY, do I want to work for money or passion? I think that I would enjoy working in the media industry, but there are some grey areas about the industry that are morally wrong.
If let's say everything goes well and dainty, and by some miracle, I land a spot in Law. But I end up hating the lawyer lifestyle. With my law degree, I can return back to working in media-related jobs! And my starting pay will be much higher, simply because of the law degree. To be brutally honest, I asked myself if I could live comfortably without money.
If let's say everything goes well and dainty, and by some miracle, I land a spot in Law. But I end up hating the lawyer lifestyle. With my law degree, I can return back to working in media-related jobs! And my starting pay will be much higher, simply because of the law degree. To be brutally honest, I asked myself if I could live comfortably without money.
 |
| My friend showed me this as a joke HAHAHA |
4) I was wasting my time in classes.
Even until the very last day of Poly, (even when I knew there was high chance I will be leaving), I gave my 101% into my assignments and projects. Even when my project mates didn't care so much, I helped them and pushed the project so that it would be of the best quality. Even when I started JC, I was still helping my friend finish "our" project HAHA. It's just the kind of person I am, to give my best into everything even though it doesn't matter at the end of the day. And I truly loved my course so I didn't mind all the extra stress I put on myself.
BUT I was so so so so SO bored in lessons!!! I would be playing stupid games on my laptop like Battle Tetris, Bloons TD and even resorted to Town of Salem just to kill time because the things taught in class were mostly skills. Classes were always fun because the lecturers made it fun, but I'm sure I wasn't the only one that felt like some days were a waste of time. I would go to school, come home, and not even feel tired, because I didn't use my brain much. This doesn't mean that what the lecturers taught wasn't useful, it was just too slow for me. My parents said that I was just wasting my potential, and after a while, I understood what they meant.
(Disclaimer!! This doesn't mean that all poly courses are slack!! Some of my friends in engineering and business are really drowning in work!! )
---
Those are all the reasons I left SP and decided to embark on a journey in JC filled with stress, stress and more stress... HAHAHA *gulps* It definitely would have been easier if I didn't worry so far into my future, but that's just the kind of person I am. Well, this is a decision I have made after contemplating, stressing and crying A LOT. I told myself that I would apply via JAE and leave the rest up to God. Although I was about 70% sure I could get into ACJC bc of the merging of JCs and the cut off score, I believed that God would close the door for me if it wasn't His plan. I also had my mind set on ACJC, because of the Drama CCA and the Theatre Studies programme. I told my mum if I didn't get into ACJC, I wouldn't be going to JC at all. At least this way, through theatre, I am still pursuing my lifetime passion! :)
Many friends say, "Huh but you wasted one year.." but honestly? I have absolutely 0 regrets at all about having gone to poly for a year. In fact, if I went to ACJC from the start, I guarantee you, 2 months in and I would have insisted to transfer to poly, because I genuinely prefer the poly system of calculating grades consistently, instead of mugging at the end! And that would have been worse bc if I transferred out, I can't apply through JAE for JC again.
The one year in poly was the best year of my life, and the social skills, the people I've met, the friendships I've forged, they made me into a much, much better person than the sheltered secondary school girl I used to be. In just 1 year, I learnt so many invaluable lessons and became more independent.
Many friends say, "Huh but you wasted one year.." but honestly? I have absolutely 0 regrets at all about having gone to poly for a year. In fact, if I went to ACJC from the start, I guarantee you, 2 months in and I would have insisted to transfer to poly, because I genuinely prefer the poly system of calculating grades consistently, instead of mugging at the end! And that would have been worse bc if I transferred out, I can't apply through JAE for JC again.
The one year in poly was the best year of my life, and the social skills, the people I've met, the friendships I've forged, they made me into a much, much better person than the sheltered secondary school girl I used to be. In just 1 year, I learnt so many invaluable lessons and became more independent.
Luckily, I'm still in close contact with my poly friends and since ACJC is so close to SP, I can go back to visit or catch up with them during the holidays! Hopefully they don't get sick of me tho HAHAHAHA
Needless to say, I still miss my friends, our Starbucks, cheese fries and our inside jokes, and I miss the large variety of good and CHEAP food in Singapore Poly!! I miss having the freedom to wake up late, walk only a few steps from Dover mrt, and come to school only when my lesson is about to start. There are still a few things I can't get used to in JC, such as assembly, queuing up and squeezing everywhere. (ACJC please do something about the canteen food😭) It's like I became an "adult" for a year and suddenly downgraded back into a secondary school student :/
I'm usually a pessimistic person, but if you look at this positively, I guess you can say that I've gotten the best of both worlds! I've had all the fun I wanted and chased my passions and dreams for 1 year, but now it is time for me to make the difficult choice and embark on a new journey in ACJC! Who knows? Maybe I might up taking a media degree in the future again and be reunited with my poly friends in university HAHAHA but for now, I just wanna keep my options open.
Thanks for reading and as usual, let me know what you think either through messaging me on my social media accounts or leaving a comment below (anoymously if you'd like)!
Follow my instagram @ughjermaine
instagram.com/ughjermaine
youtube.com/jermaineleejiaxin
♥︎,
Jermaine x
