Let’s talk about Poly today!
hmm.. Let’s see..
- It is pretty different from secondary school
- No more form teacher/standard recess time/standard time-table/uniforms and etc..
- Different schools (business/built environment/design/Engineering/nursing, etc)are located in different buildings. – Huge campus
- Lessons can be held in Lecture hall/ Classroom/ Workshop/ Laboratory
- Time table will not be the same for every week.. Today(8am – 11am), tomorrow(12pm-5pm) and etc
- Break time varies from 30mins/ 1hr/ 2hr/ 3hr in between lessons..
- No major exams like Olevel.. Exams are broken down in semesters
- Some courses dont even have exams (heavily project based)
- Have hands on experience and develop useful skills needed for that particular industry
- Students are required to be self-disciplined and independent
(lecturer will not chase after you to attend lessons. You have to be responsible for your own actions)
- Opportunity to have attachment with local or oversea company (3 to 6 months)
- Regarding project wise, it really depends on what course you enter..
For eg:
Creative media design – a course with no exams, purely based on projects and assignments.
Property development and facilities mgmt – a course which have tutorials, assigments, group work, projects and exams..
(it’s a mix of all)
- If you think that coming poly doesnt require you to memorize chunks of words and stuff, you’re wrong!
Some courses have powerpoint slides/notes or thick textbooks for us to study and to memorize for our exams..(depending on what module too)
- You will have a Final Year Project (FYP) which will be graded as 1 module in your 3rd year results.
- You will be assisted by a lecturer during your 6 months of FYP period..(fyp are done either individually or in groups)
- There are a whole lot of clubs or CCAs to choose from. (it is NOT compulsory to join)
- Hardly get to know other people from other schools if you did not join any clubs or ccas..
- Join a cca/clubs (have opportunity to go overseas – leadership training camp/exchange programmes/charity work/adventure trips!) <<same goes to JC!
- Most importantly, in order to get into local uni, you are required to perform well in your overall GPA( probably GPA 3.4 and above)..
- If not, you can choose to start work in the real industry with your diploma cert..
Oh, and not to forget.. It will be a 3 years journey in poly.. 
Feel free to add on in the comments section ya!
Cheers
Da jie
You hve briefly summarised the key pts without athe hard sell. All in all, concise and informative. Tks for sharing.
Do you associate with anyone from other faculties?
Omg, I’m scared now.
Can i ask what GPA is?
Thanks ! ^^
Hello =),
GPA stands for Grade Point Average! =) It’s cumulative in nature, and so, it requires you to put in effort in every semester and can’t afford to slack. haha
I feel if you are disciplined.. have true interest in what you are studying, don’t worry! You will do well! =)
Initially when I came to Poly during my first year, I do have doubts if I could maintain my motivation and determination to excel in the 6 semesters.. but time flies when you are kinda engrossed with what you are interested in
Not to be proud of my own grades, but to encourage those who are planning to join Poly or currently still schooling in Poly, I’ve graduated with a GPA of 3.93 and on my way to secure a SAF Scholarship.
Keep going! =)
Hi everyone,
Nice to hear from people from both JC and Poly. I’m currently a second year student in Aerospace Engineering in Ngee Ann Poly. Originally, I was planning to head to JC after my O levels, because I got the impression that better students headed to JC. Only after I atttended a few open houses and went for course counseling that I decided on Poly.
I’m not sure about the JC system so some of my comments may be wrong. (Please forgive me).
First things first, if you’re going to spend most of the time studying something, a student should study something that he is genuinely interested in. For example. if someone is interested in business, there is absolutely no point in studying something else like engineering.
Like what Da Jie said, JC is suitable for someone who hasn’t determined exactly what he is interested in. It provides a solid foundation for further studies.
On the other hand, when you’re in Poly, you’re immediately specialised, that means for a majority of the time, a student studies something that is related to his course. (For some diplomas, you can study something else in Uni that is not related to the diploma).
As for my course, Aerospace Engineering, most of the time we are studying about aircraft,helicopters, missiles etc. We also get oppurtunities to go overseas to fly Cessna 152 aircraft (after relevant training from some of our lecturers, who are former pilots) and get priority for pilot training. We get 6 months industrial attachment with aerospace companies and we have 2 full motion flight simulators as teaching aids. After graduation, we can obtain advanced standing with both local and overseas universities for aerospace engineering.(These are some of the things that we have in Ngee Ann Poly that JCs may not have).
I already had a strong interest in aviation, so I decided to enroll in this course. Choosing poly was one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made, even though at times my course is demanding due to the engineering concepts and calculations. But at least I’m willing to work harder because I’m studying something I’m interested in.
Bottom line is, if you’re absolutely sure what you’re interested in, Poly would be the “best fit”. Otherwise, JC would be good for building a strong foundation.
thanks for the post da jie! i’m thankful for the tips… it’s helpful for everyone who’s making their choices. I believe at the end of the day, these info are helpful and the readers are smart enough to make sound judgement for their own personal choices. So cheers!
The key thing is discipline. I scored 9 points for L1B4 and was deciding between JC or poly. I thought that both ways will lead to an entry to university, and in any case I would still land with a Diploma should I decide not to further my studies.
While it is true that both ways could lead to university, it takes a lot of discipline in order to keep up with your GPA score in poly to qualify for entry to the local uni. The spaced out time table, extra freedom and less emphasis on discipline as compared to JC may be detrimental to some.
If you are someone who needs constant motivation and pressure to excel, and very certain you want to head to a local uni, would suggest that you opt for JC. Otherwise, poly can offer a more vibrant and varied academic life. Looking back, I enjoyed my stint @ SP very much and had no regrets. The only wish I had was that I could have studied harder.
(1) Take for example, if a student L1R4 does not allow him/her to enter a course which they like/have interest in, what should they do?
(2) Is it possible if students start work after their ‘o’ levels? Will it be their best decision?
Does Polytechnic have prom?
who else get paid to study?? only in poly you get the chance to get sponsorship from company!!! i am doing dip in nautical studies and im getting paid to study!!! not forgetting that i don’t have to pay school fees and any other oversea trips arrange by the school are also paid off by my company!!!
in my course of studies, its very different from any other school as we do only 2 yrs of studies…. not forgetting the additional year which falls on the whole of 2nd yr will be done out in sea attachment..
To LCE:
It is nice to know that you have so much fun in poly, but it may myopic to say that Poly students have better chances in Institutions of Higher Study. Sadly to say, most top Aerospace engineers come from a very academic background (well, you can’t design a J35 or Orion Spacecraft without knowing tonnes of mathematics).
What I can surmarise is as such:
Poly – It is good if you want to remain in the local market doing mid-level jobs.
JC – It is useless if you have ONLY an A level, so you really have to do well, and get into the top universities in the world (a.k.a. top 30 in World Ranking, preferably top 10), and do a great job out of it.
I am glad that I took the JC path ‘cos we are fundamentally more prepared in terms of mathematics and physics, which are required in higher studies, regardless of the course you take. Furthermore, it has opened much more choices for post-education internships and jobs in different sectors and positions. In a sense, I like the freedom of being able to try different industries (finance, engineering etc) at different level (be it a technician or management trainee), something which I think may not be as easy if I had gone to poly (I did consider). I had a specific interest (aerospace) but I still chose JC and I am not regretting it. In fact, I think it brought me a step to what I want (power plant and airframes design).
P.S. Before anyone make comparisons or try to rebuke me, I have to say I did pretty well in my A levels, which is why opportunities are abound.
Nice to hear from the JC side. I do agree with you on some things. Wish u all the best in your designing career.
As for me, I’m heading for a career as a commercial pilot. Hope to be able to fly with u sometime.
Cheers! : )
is it true that if you go to poly you would have shorter years in uni?
no jass, it means u do not have to start school as early as our jc counterparts. you will usually be exempted for about a semester at the start but you end your studiees at the same time as the all others.
How big are classes in poly? does everyone attend the same classes/lessons?
Most people will not stop at just a Diploma or a GCE “A” Level certificate nowadays. Usually, they will go for higher education, such as a bachelor degree.
Which route, JC or Poly, offers higher chances of getting into a university?
I heard JC route has a higher chance of getting into local univerisities while the Poly route has less chances.
If the Poly route has less chances of getting in to local univeristies, how about overseas universities? Which poly is the best in terms of offering course exemptions and linkage with the top overseas universities?
I am feeling very frustrated now. Scare of making the wrong choice and jeopardising my goal (and my parents’ goal, of course) of at least getting a good degree later on.