<p>Agneisse! Gasp!
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<p>Ah yes, the new streaming system. But then again I suppose EM1 ≈ higher MT + standard everything else and the new system really just tries to increase flexibility between EM2 and EM3 in a mix-and-match fashion. (I realise I’m being very un-PC :P)</p>
<p>Yeah, pretty much. I didn’t really see the point of EM1/EM2/EM3 as catch-all labels anyway.</p>
<p>^
now that really has the ability to freak someone out!</p>
<p>Preparation-wise, you want good O + A Level marks and good ECs/relationships with teachers from sec 3ish onwards (since sec 3/4 is when you get the most competitions + leadership positions) so start a little before then. Though your sec school is also indirectly influenced by your primary school so I suppose preschool/K2 isn’t too far off (get into a good primary school) or P3 (go into GEP) or P4 (EM1) 
</p>
<p>^ now that really can freak someout out!</p>
<p>haha thanks! but isn’t the EM1, EM2, EM3 and all that gone now? now there’s just HMT and non-HMT - or what i heard from my cousin.</p>
<p>I’d say the crunch-time starts from Sec 3 (which corresponds roughly to High School freshman year in the US) and does not let up until the moment you submit your applications.</p>
<p>it’s not too late to start in jc</p>
<p>always wished i started earlier, like in sec 1. for much of my life i was the guai kia who did homework very nicely but nothing else. then i realised too late that CCAs and stuff were impt, and that there’s this whole package thing you need for applying to scholarships and colleges.</p>
<p>^ Aiyoh, get into Princeton already (on OMS some more)… dun complain =p</p>
<p>by the way, does O level results carry a lot of weight? i sorta flunged physics and chinese then…</p>
<p>Well they are like your Grade 9 and 10 results so I suppose yeah.</p>
<p>I’m writing my essay now and it’s tough work… <em>gasp</em></p>
<p>But hey, it did make me realise quite a lot of stuff that I didn’t really know about myself…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>you can try this site for basic essay help:
[Undergraduate</a> Admission Essays](<a href=“http://www.essayforum.com/undergraduate-admission-essays-2/]Undergraduate”>Undergraduate)</p>
<p>
imo, predicted grades > prelim grades >> o level grades
of course, it depends on your definition of “flunk”</p>
<p>Ehh, I’m thinking it’s more prelim grades > predicted grades… at least for RJ and hwach, since a large percentage of the people (sorry I’m not sure how much) get all As for predicted…</p>
<p>similar sort of qn: do they cut you some slack if you do badly for internal exams since they are normally harder? eg. internal exam i had a C for HCL (ip sch) but A2 for O levels HCL.</p>
<p>When they ask for 4 years’ worth of results, do they mean grades 9 and 11 too? Or is it assumed that IP/O-level results represent grades 9 & 10, and A-level/IB/predicted results represent grades 11 & 12?</p>
<p>^ I assumed it meant that (O-levels represented 9-10, while A-levels represented 11-12) - seems to have worked out pretty well.</p>
<p>^ Hmm. But what about, say, Cornell that states in its FAQ that it wants yearly transcripts in addition to predicted/final grades ([Cornell</a> University Undergraduate Admissions Office - RESOURCES](<a href=“http://admissions.cornell.edu/resources/faq_answer.cfm?num=10]Cornell”>http://admissions.cornell.edu/resources/faq_answer.cfm?num=10))?</p>
<p>Would you still send in IP and A-level grades only and make some comment about it in the space given on the CommonApp?</p>