require assistance and advice on this. [A-Levels]
-
Hi all
i would need assistance on what kind of practical does A levels have. (private candidate). No, i do not have a previous stint in a junior college, on the contrary, i'm from a polytechnic.
--------------------------------
Let me give you all some background knowledge first before you jump the gun and start commenting the reasons why i should or shouldn't take a levels.
i graduated from RP with a 3.83 cGPA, in Biotechnology.
i do have good record from my stint in NCCS
- published as first author in 2 oncology journals
- contributed in 3 more additional journals
I'm not gonna list down more, but i believe that this is enough of a proof to show the level of commitment and knowledge i have.Next you may ask, why am i interested in A levels. the main reason would be getting into medicine and to be honest, i really have no choice in this (or at least, no other choice that suits my preferences).Overseas university for medicine is too expensive, without a bond or scholarship.Local Universities rejected the applications. ( no surprise in there )Duke-NUS route? too long. i have to serve NS, and after that 4 years of under grad, then additional 4 years in Duke NUS? no thank you. * I've set my mind on this. do not bother trying to convince me on this route *okay, so best option i have now is to take A levels and score straight Aces,already decided to take the following subjectsPhysics H1, Maths H2, Biology H2, Chemistry H2, GPi've followed the syllabuses for all the subjects and have finished covering Biology and Chemistry all together (made my own notes and finished a handful of assesment books and TYS), with practice of an essay and comprehensions for GP (every weekend, continuing all the way to the start of papers).----------------------------------------so, back to the question that i asked earlier, those with JC background is what kind of practical do they give? what kind of tests/experiments would i be running?let's say biology,real time - PCR, gel electrophorosis; along those lines? -
medicine practice TCM also very good, if u did not succeed in A lvl to qualify medicine, at least TCM even did not succeed also could cover you with a lot of gd personal practice, gd health.. ...
-
lol. but to succeed in A level i need to know about the type of practicals they do
-
This is easy. Do u know that both Biology and Chemistry comes with a learning outcomes booklet? Read it up, you should be able to underscore all the possible experiments that Cambridge might set from it. :)
-
Look under the section "Cambridge Exam Papers". Download all the practical papers available and peruse them.
http://infinity.usanethosting.com/Tuition/#H2_Planning_and_other_goodies -
Originally posted by Ace_Serena:
This is easy. Do u know that both Biology and Chemistry comes with a learning outcomes booklet? Read it up, you should be able to underscore all the possible experiments that Cambridge might set from it.
true, i do highlight those possible experiments. but i'm trying to figure out how far does the experiment goes you see.
e.g. it can range from looking at cell morphology under a microscope to doing a PCR experiment coupled with gel electrophrosis and deducing the outcome.
anyway thanks for info.
@ultimaonline. looks good i'll take a look at them. thank you
-
Hi,
One has to be realistic in applying for Medicine faculty. Thousands of bright JC students get rejected every year.
You lose out to top JC students in two ways : you do not have an H3 subject. You do not have JC CCA records, unless your poly CCA records were superb. You have to enquire with MOE whether they consider your poly CCA records.
Unless your journal articles were ground breaking, the committee for assessing your entry to medicine may not put much value to them.
You may still try to obtain a private A level cert by applying to MDIS, PSB, BMC or other institutions to conduct experiments in their premises, or take their A level courses.
I am not sure how much weight the committee for medicine entry puts on a private A level cert.
Do consider other options too, eg. a Biomedical degree from MDIS etc.
All the best.
-
Originally posted by Chemguide7:
Hi,
One has to be realistic in applying for Medicine faculty. Thousands of bright JC students get rejected every year.
You lose out to top JC students in two ways : you do not have an H3 subject. You do not have JC CCA records, unless your poly CCA records were superb. You have to enquire with MOE whether they consider your poly CCA records.
Unless your journal articles were ground breaking, the committee for assessing your entry to medicine may not put much value to them.
You may still try to obtain a private A level cert by applying to MDIS, PSB, BMC or other institutions to conduct experiments in their premises, or take their A level courses.
I am not sure how much weight the committee for medicine entry puts on a private A level cert.
Do consider other options too, eg. a Biomedical degree from MDIS etc.
All the best.
hmm, you may look at it that way, or one could also see it in the way that i have an extra diploma qualification.
i have a seat for NTU's biological science already. like i said, i'm not keen to going the long route of Duke NUS.
but you do raise a good point about the H3 subjects and CCA records.
1 of the papers that i published as first author, idea behind it was ground breaking, but requires a bigger sample size (even at NCCS, being the biggest centre in singapore that deals with 60% of the cases, there isn't enough data)
-
You most probably will not get a chance if you take H1 Physics. You need to take H2 Physics. Moreover, you need a contrasting subject such as Economics. Are you confident of scoring A in Economics (or History, or Literature or...) and A1 in GP? (4H2s, 1 contrasting subject) Many HCI students ace their H3 Chem or H3 Bio.
You need to talk to MOE official or NUS or NTU officials about these.
Doctors job is not that glam. My fren's daughter who is a trainee doctor has many 24 to maybe 30 hours shift (hardly any break). Doctors save lives, but look at unhappy patients everyday, get into contact with multiple strains of bacteria and viruses and body fluids. And you need to have a humble and gentle attitude to aceing the interview. Do you have the tenacity to handle all these? Do you have the right attitude or a lofty attitude?
Was your CCA record excellent? Did you help out in hospices, hospitals, or Red Cross etc in your poly days? BTW, the medical interview criterion has changed so you may like to talk to Ultimaonline for more updates.
-
CCA record wasn't that spectecular, other than internship at national cancer centre doing research work, i did go on doctor morning rounds. my final year project was with NUS TMSI where we did marine biology and i'm currently whilst waiting for NS i'm doing research work at A*star. Basically, i have job exposures, but not much of charity work as i spent much of my poly days studying.
I bought all my books for H2 so if i ever decided to drop to H1 i wouldn't suffer. I could pick up economics / literature for the contrasting subject, not that great in history / geog.
Yeap, i'll definitely get in touch with a MOE official / NUS or NTU official about this.
About the doctor job, i'm not there for glam, glory or money. i've seen it up close during the stint at NCCS, i did a few 24 hour duty with one of the doctors there. Although that i may have merely tasted of what it has in store for me, i am already interested in doing it. i may not know of the quailties that they truly seek for, but first step here is to pass the A-level bar exams.
anyway, thank you for your guidiance on this issue.