Post SPM 3 - Scholarships And Loans

Salam Alaykum,

I have been writing a few posts, but didn't get the chance to actually publish it.

What I did after SPM is actually a blur to be honest.

'Lepas SPM boleh tidur sepuasnya'

- they say just so we struggle during SPM.

Well, it's partially true. We'll get to rest a lot. For at least 2 to 8 months according to respective time we enter pre-university.

But Allahu, to get to pre-u is hard. Having to wait for UPU results and apply scholarships (for those who excel) isn't something that someone would say as fun.

Alhamdulillah, my SPM results were satisfying enough, allowing me to apply to a few scholarships/sponsorships and loans.

The first offer I got was IPG, which was the first phase for me to become a primary school teacher. I applied for English and maths teacher as those were the subjects i was best at.

IPG UKCG 2018
i went to the first stage which was UJIAN KELAYAKAN CALON GURU (UKCG), where we had to answer a few questions about personality. There were like 100++ questions and i laughed at some, honestly. Among the questions were to test whether we were patriotic/OCD/LGBT and have the qualities to become a teacher. Next we had to do SEGAK. It was easy in my opinion, we only had to do a few pushups and 5 types of situps, but one one for each type so it wasn't that hard if you are physically fit. However, there were still those who couldn't do it so make sure to be fit! The most tiring was the bleep test as we had to run and i mean, who actually runs when they can sleep during holidays.. ..

Anyhow i think i did pretty good for the UKCG, i even passed more levels during the bleep test than the other 9 students but i guess it just wasn't my rezeki.

To put it into words, i didn't qualify to the next level which was the interview.

YAYASAN TENAGA NASIONAL

I was qualified for the local studies for Biasiswa Ijazah Sarjana Muda and i applied for computer science. I knew computer science was pretty hard to get a scholarship according to my family, my sister said that she only had one girl in her batch who took it!

In all honesty, the interview was really not that hard compared to other interviews according what my friends had claimed (team building and stuff).

We started with an aptitude test if i'm not mistaken and then proceeded to the interview rooms.

The interview was done individually and there wasn't that much of high orderly thinking questions, mostly personal questions.

However i guess it wasn't my rezeki as again, i was left on the waiting list.

Update!

I finally got a call back from YTN and I did manage to secure a place, heavy-halfheartedly, I already had set my heart for another program I was offered and I got the callback quite late which I only had like four days to settle before registering on 4/6/2018 so I kindly refused the offer, Alhamdulillah still thankful for what was offered.

PETRONAS EDUCATION SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMME (PESP 2018)

They told us that the interviews take place at KDU University College at Glenmarie, Shah Alam each year. We arrived as early as 8am there.

If I'm not mistaken, only students with 9as and above can apply so imagine sitting in a hall full of smart kids! It was so intimidating!

There were two stages, the first one was a computer test and the next was a group iv session.

Alhamdulillah, i passed the first stage. It was kind of sad seeing friends had to leave early, as some people had come from Perlis and other states just to attend. It's a Cambridge based test and in the interview offer letter, they'll give examples of questions which are kinda hard.

Personally, i was really gelabah when i answered it, because the sample test i got from online had 50 questions (i'll update the link later) but the real test only had 40 -_- it had maths questions but the harder questions were the English questions in my opinion. The maths questions were mostly basic.

As there were more than 100+ applicants, we were divided into two groups for the next stage. I was in group B so we had to wait till 3pm for our iv session.
Before that, we were quarantined in a hall according to our groups and they told us to make our own cheers using the lyrics doremifasolatido to make it not that boring.

Next, we were given a study case. One for individual sharing and next group sharing. Which means that we'd have to share our ideas as an individual and then we'd have to discuss as a group to find an initiative to help petronas according to the study case.

Anyhow, it was really eye opening as i was in a group with non-malays as i had been living with malays my whole life (exclude my early years at uk) and they were all so awesome. Didn't get the chance to exchange contacts as everyone was rushing to get home but i think at least one of my group would get the sponsorship as they were all so good during the iv that even i was convinced by their points!

It was really tiring as it ended at 1830. Imagine 10 hours!! And i arrived home around 10pm as my house was far from Shah Alam and congestion!

Unfortunately, I didn't get an offer, although I was put in KIV earlier. Nevertheless, it was really a great experience!

YOUNG TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (YTP MARA 2018)

This was a convertible loan by MARA and I applied  MARA0602_2018 as first choice which was Persediaan Komputer Sains Korea at UNIKL MIIT and MARA0901_2018 which was if not mistaken, A-Level Engineering at  MFI as second choice.

What we had to do first was Psychometric Test online and for my program, there was no interview so whoever succeeded and qualified will be offered the program, insha Allah.

Alhamdulillah, I was offered my first choice and accepted it as it was gonna be a big leap for me to learn a new language (Korean)! I'll be registering on 24/06/2018 at UniKL MIIT and I have mixed feelings about this, excited afraid but hyped! I even downloaded some apps on my phone to help me to learn, and Hangul is not really that hard to read, well, to understand is another thing haha.

Anyhow, I hope anyone that reads this prays the best for me!

In the end, I just want to clarify that it doesn't matter whether we deserve/obtain scholarships/loans/sponsorships or not, it matters that we are happy with what we have. There are so many things to be grateful for that we always tend to overlook! But I'll be continuing about that in my next post!

Till then,

xx,