If you are facing this dilemma whether you should further your study in junior college or polytechnics after receiving your O level result, I would like to congratulate you and your parents for the academic achievement you have attained at this stage of your academic pursuit and then, share with you my view on how you can make your choice to sole the dilemmas.
A wise way to solve this happy problem is to consider the factors that would affect your decision-making on this issue and then derive a sound decision based on these factors. One such factor that you will need to consider is whether you have made a career choice or not. As the education path through the polytechnics will define your career more definitely, it is therefore logical to suggest this route to polytechnics for students who have more or less set their choice of profession because the courses at the polytechnics will equip students with the relevant skills and knowledge to help them to embark on their career. For those who are still searching for their visions of life, pursuing for further studies through the junior college would be appropriate as you can widen and deepen your general academic knowledge to enable you to have a higher level of entry point in your academic studies when you finally know what you want to do after the A level examination.
Another factor which is not significant to this writer but very imposing on student is the perception of degree of difficulty in their study in junior college or polytechnics. In general, many students at this stage of their lives are not likely to have an inkling on what they want to do in the future and consequently, they may base their choice of path of study on their perception of difficulty of study in junior college or polytechnics. In reality, both educational paths are equally difficult and tough and it is not right for them to take the polytechnic route as most students assume it to be easy for them. Students are fearful to enrol in JC as they are afraid of new subjects like Economics and General Paper as they are unfamiliar with them. What they can do is to start on JC Economics tuition and JC GP tuition as early as possible so that they are able to comprehend these subjects. Students should be prepared to study harder and know that both education paths are equally challenging.
Students should also consider the factor about the probability to enter local national university like NUS, SMU and NTU. Although the academic challenge is higher for JC than the polytechnics, there is a higher percentage of the students’ cohort who will admit to university from junior colleges than from the polytechnics. Furthermore, if you have failed to score well to gain admission into local and state university through A level examination, you can try gain entry again as a private candidate but this is not possible if you fail to do well in polytechnics.
In retrospect, the decision on the path of educational route is a complex and difficult to make but this writer hopes that this article is of good use to the students. If you or your parent would like more clarification, please feel free to call me at 96890510 for personal advice.
