Starting JC? Here's 5 tips to ace it!

While two years seem short, there is so much that a junior college student can achieve.

It is crucial for one not merely to be fixated on the 'A' Level examinations but to strike a balance between academic excellence and holistic development. In the long term, this can help one's pursuits beyond junior college. Hence, here are five tips to help you!

1) Initiation

2) Exploration

3) Self-identity

4) Priorities

5) Collaboration

1) Initiation

- Have a motivated mindset to be proactive in learning new things and to take the initiative to make your JC journey useful for your future!

- Step out of your comfort zone by experimenting with new things and making mistakes. By learning through failing, we grow, mature, and become better!

- Getting used to taking initiatives in junior college is an excellent habit to cultivate self-directed learning, which will eventually be the main learning mode in your future tertiary education and beyond.

A message of encouragement

Don't be afraid to step into the unknown. The decision is yours to make.

"A spark is a little thing, yet it may kindle the world.

” Martin Farquhar Tupper

However, do practice safety and avoid unhealthy influences!

2) Exploration

- Avoid spending the entire two years only studying. While 'A' Level examination is the final destination at the end of JC, this is also now a suitable time for you to experiment with different activities.

- These activities can include event-planning on a Co-curricular Activity (CCA), school or even community level, volunteering, networking sessions, job attachments, and competitions.

- All these accumulated experiences can enrich your portfolio, which will be used during post- 'A' level tertiary educational institution or internship applications.

- Beyond simply exploring, take time to engage in post-activity reflections, and crystallise what you have learned from these experiences. This can show the future interviewers that your participation was meaningful and not superficial.

A message of encouragement

Accumulate life lessons from exploring the unfamiliar. You can start by gaining exposure through meeting new people, joining new activities, and trying out new things!

3) Self-identity

- It is crucial to find and develop your self-identity; What defines you as a person? What are your values and principles?

- This can help you to eventually craft your Unique Selling Point (USP) so that you will be able to distinguish yourself from people and being successfully chosen or accepted.

- A commonly asked question would be, "Why should we choose you and not others?" Start by asking yourself this; "Why me?".

A message of encouragement

"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation." Oscar Wilde, De Profundis

Take time to know yourself, your values, your beliefs. Never let the external noise influence your internal self!

4) Priorities

- While gaining exposure is important, you still have to be clear about your role as a student and fulfil that role ultimately. The goal is still to do well for the 'A' Level so that you can be brought to your dream job or institution.

- Therefore, be mindful of not taking up too many commitments to prevent yourself from being overwhelmed and compromise your quality of work or ability to be responsible as a result.

- It is impossible for you to complete everything at once. Rank the commitments you have chosen to take up in terms of factors like urgency or impact. Sometimes, it is inevitable that we have to give up on some to achieve the greater good.

A message of encouragement

It will be good if you can take time to reflect and plan your priorities to be effective! Do the right things at the right time.

5) Collaboration

- While there are fewer subjects to study in junior college than secondary school, the content tested is much heavier. Moreover, you are expected to manage all the different subjects concurrently.

- You can make the studying process less tedious by tapping on the resources available around you. For instance, make study notes together with your like-minded friends. Such collaboration relieves workload, introduces more ideas, and diversifies perspectives.

- For people who are afraid to clarify their doubts with their teachers alone, organise a group consultation session instead. This again facilitates the exchange of ideas, making learning more enjoyable and less lonely.

- Collaboration is a crucial skill that is applicable when one enters the workforce as well. Junior college provides a constant avenue for you to learn how to collaborate and reap its benefits.

A message of encouragement

If you have not learned how to communicate and collaborate with people, now is the time! Two or more heads are better than one.