When I started Form 6, I wasn't sure of my career path. Heck, I'm not sure if anyone at my age knew what exactly were they going to do with their life. If you did, I salute you. Anyway, I only knew that I NEVER EVER wanted to touch a Physics textbook again (my hatred for physics due to some inborn repulsion for anything mechanic-related---I'm a klutz around IT and machines, by the way). This is why I chose without hesitation to enroll in a Biology class.
The seniors were not lying. STPM is HELLISH. The pressure, the constant grinding, and the inhumane schedules (I might talk about it in another post but this is all I will say for now) are enough to eat at your soul. However, I do not regret my experience in Form 6 and I finally got an idea of my interests and passions. I decided on Health Science as a career pathway.
Naturally, as a product of Asian parents and the general Malaysian social stance, you study Bio? Sure become doctor lah! This is an unhealthy culture, parents wanting their children to become doctors, or the children themselves wanting to become doctors without even knowing WHAT BEING A DOCTOR IS LIKE. I have never watched Grey's Anatomy, but do not think that being a doctor is glamorous and oh-so-noble like in the TV series. TO ALL DOCTOR WANNABES: To get a feel of the current situation of the medical field in Malaysia, READ THIS BLOG by Dr. Pagalavan. There is even a special section for aspiring medical students. It is highly informative, truthful and factual. No sugar-coating at all. Excuse my rant.
Anyway, because my mind wasn't set on any career in particular, I applied for a mixture of courses:
- National University of Singapore: Dentistry (1st choice) and Medicine (2nd choice)
- Universiti Malaya: Dentistry (1st choice) and Pharmacy (2nd choice)
- Univeristi Sains Malaysia: Pharmacy (1st choice)
- UPU: UKM Pharmacy (1st choice)
1. NUS Medicine
The interview was held in Singapore. I received the email on the 7th of April, which told me that I had to attend two assessments, one on the 14th and one on the 18th of April. I had less than a week to settle flight tickets, accommodation and travel plans! Besides, that meant I had to stay in Singapore for almost a week! The currency rate exchange!! When I went to exchange Ringgit for Singapore Dollars, it was RM1 = $2.91. Daaaanng. The living expenses are simply mindblowing. My maths probably improved because I kept on multiplying food prices in Singapore by 3. One Milo Peng costs RM2.50 here while it costs $2 in Singapore...RM 6 for one Milo Peng, same taste, just made on different islands (what's that? Oh, it must be the sound of my heart stabbing itself). What's more, I had to prepare an online portfolio in that one week plus get two referees to write a recommendation letter. It was quite hectic to get everything done and ready. Thankfully, I got to know my classmate's friend, who was also attending this interview. She is from Sibu while I am from Kuching. That way, we coordinated travel plans and accommodation. I'm really very grateful to her and her cousins. Without them, I would have to stay alone in an expensive hotel for days T.T (my wallet would BLEED). I'm also grateful for the companionship, even though we have never met each other prior to this. BIG SHOUTOUT TO FLORENCE WOOHOO
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| That's her rocking those shades! Dang girl, can you not look so fine |
For NUS Medicine, there are two admission assessments: the Situational Judgement Test (SJT) and the Focused Skills Assessment (FSA). The SJT is a multiple-choice question paper. Most of the questions will give you various scenarios and ask you to rank the appropriateness of the actions/your opinions which are given. The questions' objectives are to test your knowledge on the appropriateness of actions and how it affects the patient/your colleague/your medical team. There are also questions which are not related to the medical field, but I'm guessing that these are to evaluate your character and core values. It doesn't test you on your medical knowledge, so you don't have to study for it! If you want to try for yourself, you can try out this practice paper.
On the day of the assessment, we went by taxi to NUS. NUS is also accessible by LRT but we were worried that we wouldn't arrive in time, best not to take chances! We were seated in this huge lecture hall, I could count almost 120 candidates, give or take a few. I also talked with a Singaporean candidate, it seems that out of 1000-2000 candidates who applied, 800 are shortlisted for assessments and 30% will be chosen. Quite a high passing rate, compared to some other universities, especially for competitive courses like Medicine! I cannot say whether these claims are true or not. It was rather tricky to evaluate the appropriateness of the actions/opinions, since you could rate all of the actions as appropriate or inappropriate, so I have no idea whether I did well on that paper or not. I think it was a useful assessment to evaluate the candidates though.
The FSA was a most interesting experience. We arrived early in the morning (by taxi again). This time, there were only around 40-50 candidates. We were grouped into three colour groups, further split into three sessions. Since one session had three colour groups, each group consisting of 5 people, that meant that one session had 15 people, 3 sessions=45 people. Anyway, I was in the first session, which was great because I could leave earlier to catch my flight home.
Firstly, we were led to a corridor with a lot of rooms. We were told to wait outside our respective stations, each station with an instruction leaflet informing us what we could expect inside the rooms. In a way, it was like a station game, only the pressure was amped up and the stakes much, much higher. Some stations were about role-playing (that was really fun) while one was like a conventional interview, basically an interviewer asking you questions based on your portfolio. The interviewer was very calming and kind, like he genuinely wanted to know you better. I liked that station the best, since it required the least effort hahah. There were tricky questions too, like: If you graduate from NUS, would you return to Malaysia to work or stay in Singapore? I suppose questions like these were to be expected, since I'm a foreigner applying for a spot in this prestigious uni.
After that, we were given a short break before continuing. The next task was about teamwork. I had to work with my team to complete a task, which we failed spectacularly. We were asked to evaluate our own performances. It was embarrassing, to say the least. Overall, I do not know whether I pleased them or not. I feel that my chances are quite slim, since they surely place a higher priority on Singaporean citizens.
However, after spending almost a week in Singapore, I could imagine myself studying here. It's clean, safe and the people are helpful enough, even though the pace is too fast for my liking. It's almost like a better version of KL.
2. USM Pharmacy
To be honest, I did not prepare a lot for this. I was in a stage of doubt. Why was everyone around me so sure of what they wanted to do except me?? I knew I wanted to delve into health science, and...that's it. For me, it was like I'm okay with any course as long as it is in health science. Personally, whatever God gives me I would gladly take it up because He provides. Apparently, interviewers don't like hearing that.
The interview was held at my hometown, Kuching. Nine candidates showed up for the Pharmacy interview. I was the 4th candidate in. I spent more than an hour waiting. As time ticked by, I grew more uneasy as every candidate before me went in striding with confidence but walked out tight-lipped and unsmiling. Soon, it was my turn. The moment I stepped in, I said "Good morning."
It was 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon.
The three interviewers nicely corrected me, but it was so embarrassing. I wanted to die right there. Next, they asked me a few questions:
- Tell us about yourself and your family.
- Apakah perbezaan antara Perubatan dan Farmasi?
- Why do you want to be a Pharmacist?
- Did you apply for UM and UPU? What was your first choice?
I made another two mistakes. I mentioned that I went to Singapore for NUS Medicine interview. Next, they found out that I applied for Dentistry as 1st choice for UM. They were puzzled. "If you are really set on Pharmacy, why do you have so many different choices?" They are really very particular on the ranking of your choices. The main problem was that I was unable to convince them that I wanted this course. It was a torturous 20 minutes. In the end, I walked out with their disapproving faces etched in my mind. The disappointment was so thick I could almost taste it.
It was my fault for not being more prepared, and they made sure I knew it. Truthfully, I was not so keen on getting USM, but rejection still hurts.
3. UKM Pharmacy
This time, I did my homework. By homework, I mean soul-searching. I thought hard about my reasons for doing Pharmacy. On the day of the interview, I was the earliest to arrive at Merdeka Palace Hotel. I registered early and saw almost 20 candidates on the list, but in the end I only counted 9 candidates including me. It could be that UKM Pharmacy's interview coincided with UNIMAS Medicine's interview (same day, same time), so some people had to choose between UNIMAS and UKM.
I was the first candidate in, so I put on my best smile and walked in. There were two interviewers. I gave them my portfolio, then they started asking questions. The first one was "Tell us about yourself."
Actually, most of the questions later were based on the answers I gave them. It felt more like a friendly conversation than an interrogation, and soon I felt at ease. It felt like they simply wanted to know you better and to get a feel of your character. When I said I like reading fiction, they asked me which authors do I like. They nodded and smiled a lot. The only odd question I got was "Apakah pandangan anda terhadap GST?" I recall seeing this question on another blog but I didn't think they would use it again this year. They have a time limit of 15 minutes for each candidate, so I was surprised when they said I could go when it was only 9 minutes or less. However, the other candidates' interviews also lasted less than 9 minutes so I wasn't too worried about it. I just wished I had more time to talk with them, because I felt that I hadn't made an impression. The curse of being the first candidate is that they will use you as a benchmark. It makes you more susceptible to comparison. Not a good thing.
Either way, all my interviews are finally over! I can kick back and relax, at least for a few months. Hope this helped you! Don't think that just because you scored well, you can coast through interviews on that. Remember: die preparing or prepare to die. You owe at least that much to yourself.
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