Received the message notification at 6.14am LOL. I thought it would come later in the evening.
I seriously had the urge to reply the message haha.
And I can't believe Roxanne and I are going to go to the same school again :P
Pretty apprehensive for the first day of orientation tomorrow... Hope it will all turn out well :)
This year NY is pretty competitive, some with 7 points after deduction couldn't get in. So I seriously had zero possibility of entering even though its just a point difference haha. But actually I'm satisfied with SA, its near my house and the school spirit seems strong. Heard that they work and play hard so that should be decent right. :)
I'm guessing the cut off for SA would be 8-9 points and NY would be 6-7 points for this year. Heard that AJ's cut off remained the same, 8-9 points. But I'm pretty sanguine that the cut off for these 3 colleges will increase next year because 2015's O level papers would be a tad bit more challenging. Again, that is just my speculation.
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If you're taking O's this year, my advice is to start preparing now haha. Well actually, the best time to prepare would be during the december holidays when you're still in sec 3. Just finish up most of the TYS themes you've learnt. I only did that for amath to be honest haha... And that was only because Ms Woo was persistent in helping us excel. But anyway, work hard from now onwards and do not wait till the last minute.
For languages, I can assure you that it cannot be mastered it a short period of time.
You have to constantly practice, especially for EL. I suggest that you write 1 or 2 essays per week and let your teacher vet through it. Make sure that your flow of thoughts is clear and straightforward, grammar is immaculate and have some vocabulary of a commendable standard. That would easily earn you 20 marks and above for your essay. But it also depends on what topic you get, so luck counts as well.
As for HCL/CL, to be honest I was not completely focused haha.. I just really tried my best during the last few months and I hoped for a mere pass in HCL. In the end, I got a B4 which totally surprised me. But if you want to really make sure that you do well, just prepare ahead.
As for emath and amath, you just have to PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. Timing yourself is also imperative. For questions that you made a mistake, redo it over and over again. Time management is super important. You must must check your answers by redoing the questions.
Humanities... You just have to understand the concept well and answer the questions directly. Don't beat around the bush.
Sciences. Keep doing TYS because the questions are often repetitive, especially for MCQ. Challenge yourself with other schools' papers if you have the time.
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I would say that one of the most important virtue to have during sec 4 would be resilience. Sec 4 life can be taxing and stressful, but only strong headed people can overcome it properly. So encourage one another! To be honest, the good friends I had in my class played a pivotal role in making my O level journey a smoother one. We went through those periods of doing time practices every week and that few minutes of our hearts racing while Ms Woo marked our papers in front of us. Trust me, it can be pretty intimidating watching her mark your paper LOL. But I guess after this journey eventually comes to a closure, you can finally say: 'been there done that' ;)
Hope you guys are happy with your JAE posting! For those who are appealing, good luck and I hope you'll get a place in your desired tertiary institution :)
