Polytechnic or Junior College?
Both Polytechnic and JC have their pros and cons. A simple guide to help you decide which is better for you.
This article was originally published on the SGExams website on 19 July 2019. It has since been updated by the author.
In my 4 years in secondary school and 3 years in Millennia Institute (MI), many around me have joked (semi-seriously) about going to a Polytechnic simply because it’s perceived as more “relaxed” or “slack” as compared to ‘A’ Levels. Some do then go on to enroll in a Polytechnic, but come back complaining about the various sufferings that a Polytechnic student goes through. Turns out polytechnic students don’t have it easier than their Junior College (JC) counterparts after all.
In Singapore, the harsh reality is that for most students, going to a university — preferably one of the autonomous universities, or even better the “Top 3” NTU, NUS, and SMU — will be the path you need to take to live a semi-comfortable life. The choice between going to Polytechnic or JC will have to take this into account.
With that, here are some of my thoughts regarding common polytechnic myths, with a little of my own opinions scattered here and there.
“Polytechnic so much more relaxed than JC! No need to wear a uniform, no need to wake up so early everyday!”
Polytechnic students work on a different basis as compared to JC students. What a JC student experiences is essentially what a secondary school student experiences…but on steroids.
I will touch on the differences in scoring systems: cumulative GPA for Polytechnic students VS final ‘A’ Level Rank Points (RP) for JC students.
Because almost every single test counts towards your Polytechnic cumulative GPA, once you screw your GPA over and it drops below an ideal level, salvaging it is gonna be a colossal task. Your stress levels are spread out over your time in a polytechnic, and there’s no test where you can go “oh you know what, I can’t be bothered, I’ll just fail this.” You need to be constantly ready for anything that gets thrown your way, be it assignments, project work, or everything else in between.
Many people I know burn out very quickly under these circumstances. Even till today after graduation, you can see the tiredness in their eyes from the toll their courses had on them.
In the ‘A’ Level route, it’s essentially the same as your O Levels. Everything that you’ve learned for the past couple years will boil down to a few hours in an air-conditioned hall, your competitors all around Singapore furiously scribbling on their papers around you, all to get a coveted place in one of the “Top 3” universities.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s immensely stressful, and I’ve seen one too many people break down over the stresses of the ‘A’ Level examination. However, when you look at the life of a JC student, you realise that in the grand scheme school grades aren’t all that important as compared to a cumulative GPA system. Yes, you still need it to promote, and some opportunities are prioritised for the top scorers. But if your focus is simply a good score on your ‘A’ Level certificate, screwing up a test or two in your first year isn’t going to affect your final score.
The opportunity to make mistakes (and learn from them) is something extremely precious that you are largely unable to find in a polytechnic environment. It’s something that creates a safe space for you to improve, so that your final score will be good enough to safely land you a spot in university.
Going back to the Polytechnic lifestyle, the abundance of project work and group projects will allow you to hone your skills as a team player — assuming, of course, that you’re not the one leeching off your teammates. I believe that being a good team player is something that employers look for nowadays, and Polytechnic does an excellent job of nurturing people who are able to work in teams.
On the other hand, it is the same abundance of group projects that drive many of my friends from Polytechnics insane. In theory, group projects are simple: get together in a group, complete a task for your module, and submit the final project. In practice, however, miscommunication and negligence make these projects more torture devices rather than tools for learning.
That said, the study life in a JC isn’t all that rosy either. Endless hours in front of your notes, exam papers, and the (hopefully) occasional glance at your phone make your eyes want to dig themselves out and run away. While largely individualistic, students do form study groups and help each other out. Cultures largely differ based on schools, so I won’t go too much into it. The dreaded Project Work (yes, it’s an actual subject) results in much hair-tearing and caffeine-downing and — in my opinion — is the only way JC students can peek into the life of a Polytechnic student. Staring at your laptop screen, then staring hopelessly at your teammates, all while thinking about the looming national deadline, isn’t a fun thought, much less experience.
P.S. Polytechnic students do need to wake up at ungodly hours too. Perhaps not as often as JC students, but it does happen.
“I love this Poly course! It’s my passion & interest and I wanna further my studies in it!”
You’ve found an area you’re interested in, awesome. However, this doesn’t mean you should dive deep into a Poly course immediately. Personally, I’ve seen way too many Poly students go into a course thinking they’re interested, then burning out or losing passion a year into the course (or even within a single semester!)
Never go into a poly course purely based on interest. Read up about its modules, talk to seniors about the course, go to open houses to see if you’ll really like the content and the style.
While the Japanese concept “Ikigai” implies that you should work in a field doing what you love, reality often makes that concept hard, if not impossible, to follow. Sometimes, keeping your hobby a hobby is much better than working in it and burning out.
“But ‘A’ Levels is just ‘O’ Levels all over again, but in 2 years. I’m pretty tired already, no thanks.”
The ‘A’ Levels is a whole other beast as compared to the ‘O’ Levels. For ‘O’ Levels, you could potentially just practice and rush in the last month and still score decently well. But for the ‘A’ levels, you need to actually understand the concepts and learn various skills that you otherwise wouldn’t have learned in your secondary school days.
In JC, it’s intense, fast-paced, and not for the faint of heart (and neither is Polytechnic!). Consistent hard work is key, and there basically isn’t any room for you to slack off (perhaps a little during December holidays, but that’s about it).
Your seniors taking ‘A’ Levels may have been going on about Project Work (PW) and/or General Paper (GP). All I can say about both of these subjects is to be mentally ready. PW will likely suck the soul out of you unless you have teammates whom you can work very well with. Do it well, but don’t spend too much time on it. Your other subjects are still more important. As for GP, forget everything you know about comprehension and composition writing, and get ready to get into a new world of English. Literature will likely help you for GP to a certain extent.
Yes, the stress and intensity is unreal. But working hard, adapting to the ‘A’ Levels and scoring well is well worth it considering that statistically, more ‘A’ Level students get offered a spot in the “Top 3” universities.
The ‘A’ Levels and Polytechnics offer vastly different skillsets and require very different abilities for you to do well in each. But as someone who took the ‘A’ Levels, this route has been well worth it.
“So, after all that talk, where should I go?”
Having a good ‘A’ Level certificate will be much better if you don’t know what field you want to work in. Your typical subject combination contains H2 Mathematics and at least one H2 science subject, which will pretty much unlock most, if not all, courses in university. All that’s left is a competitive RP that allows you to shine above the rest to secure that spot.
If you’re extremely sure of the field that you want to pursue in the future, then a diploma would be ideal for you. However, you should note that a diploma will necessarily narrow the courses you’re eligible for in the university.
This simple guide can help you better decide if JC or the polytechnic would be better for you:
- If you know for sure that you want to work in a particular field in the future, and you know for sure that a particular course is for you, do a little more research on it. Find out what modules the course requires you to take, talk to some seniors about it, attend open houses. Try to get a little more experience in that particular area. If you’re still passionate about that course, congratulations, go for it!
- If you know that you want to work in the Business or Engineering industry in the future, but aren’t sure of which specific specialisation you want, you may want to consider Common Business/Engineering Programmes. Last I checked, they’re available at all of the Polytechnics.
- Otherwise, if you aren’t sure of what you want to do in the future, ‘A’ Levels is the way to go. Enroll in a school that offers ‘A’ levels (typically a JC, but there’s also MI). You get at least 2 extra years (at least 4 for guys…‘ello NS) to decide what field you want to further your education in. With an ‘A’ Level certificate, you have many more choices when you’re applying for a university due to subject prerequisites. However, if 2 years is genuinely too intense for you, MI offers a 3 year ‘A’ Levels course. A 3-year course has its benefits, but that’ll be for another topic for another day.
I hope that this article has been helpful for you for your next step in life. Good luck and have fun :)
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