Tips from ex-Students
If you could use this page to pass on advice, personal experience, encouragement and tips to your juniors then it would be great. Facing ’the unknown’ is often scary – as I’m sure you know. If someone can hold your hand, it is often very reassuring. Thanks. If you would like to write about the IMU interview also, please feel free! Somebody came across my blog doing a search for “imu interview”
IMU Interview – past students experiences – doc
Going to have an interview at PMC? (tip: Read and learn from this in your first semester!)
19 Responses to "Tips from ex-Students"
March 14, 2009 at 7:03 am
Thanks wen.
It may also help if students who are still to take their exams ask specifics about study techniques etc.
March 14, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Salam.
Tips?
Well, do a lot of exercises (which means past years, as A lvl questions books are not widely sold in bookstores).
But i really discourage memorising answers for past years. Keypoints are ok, bcos we need guidance in what to answer and how detailed shd we answer.
And yes, have an internet connection in ur hostels. It will help, not to surf net for other purposes! but to visit tis blog. Really, i used this blog A LOT during my study week. Can ask my hsemates.. =)
March 14, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Thanks for that.
I’ve thought of a few Q’s which may or may be useful :s
Did you make a study timetable? How far did it plan for? Was there any problems with it? Do you think you did ‘better’ study/revision because of it? Did you abandon it?
Should you re-write notes? What do you do if you find something missing, or even a contradiction in your notes?
Where and when was the best place to study? Study on the floor? table? bed??
Is it better to study alone or with friends? How approachable are friends or classmates who you possibly rarely speak to, towards requests for help?
I agree about doing Q’s and esp. past years papers as being the BEST way to revise. This year INTEC might relax a bit about giving out mark schemes seeing as this the end of an era! This syllabus has been taught since Sept 2000, first exam in June 2002 right up until June 2009.
People obviously have their own style, and I know students have been struggling, and coming to terms with these issues for many years already – and usually with success, but for some these questions are daunting and they seems to be no answer to them. This page is for them.
Students: Please feel free to ask Q’s here. Your seniors are still a little bit free right now and still remember this little blog, so now is I guess their optimal time to be asked.
March 14, 2009 at 4:48 pm
my timetable is not so detailed since i have difficulty following it strictly everyday…so i jux decide what subject, which chapters, and how long i should spend on it. it makes me feel better..haha..knowing what i should do everyday, better time management, and wouldn’t look so “stressful”.
best place to study?quite subjective..to me its my hostel table with all the books and other basic necessities (water, food etc). can wear shorts and no student id hanging around the neck (awesome!!). library is jux too cold and people walking around sometimes can be distracting. hmm…definitely not on the bed..i ended up falling asleep. not advisable to study on floor too.
study with friends might turn into a chit-chat session (in my case..shame ><), and weaker students might feel some pressure studying with students that can grasp concepts very fast. so i normally study alone, then go for group discussions. INTEC students are generally helpful and friendly =) feel free to ask questions in a polite manner.
i believe that everyone has a different style of studying that suits him best. discover it the sooner the better as we are learning new things all the time. but don’t forget to enjoy yourself. life is not just about getting good grades in exams ^.^
March 14, 2009 at 5:28 pm
“enjoy yourself. life is not just about getting good grades in exams ^.^” – wise words, and good study technique does’actually include periods where you don’t study 
WARNING WARNING – Burrrrr burrrrr burrrrr!
Doin’t ‘extrapolate’ that last statement!
Any more personal advice/tips?
They can even come from current students who haven’t yet taken their exams but have good study technique.
March 16, 2009 at 5:37 am
study timetable?
yes i did, i wrote down all the units of all subjects and divided my day into morning , afternoon and night.
i filled up the time allocated with units of subjects according to how much time shd be spent on it. and fortunately i managed to adhere to it.
a re-wrote my notes, especially chemistry . eheh…
then i can understand what i wrote in the class more.
best place to study will be the library cos the bed in hostel is very inviting and too tempting to be ignored. hence i always stayed at the library until almost 6 in the evening.
the uppermost floor in INTEC library is the best because there are a lot of books and tables to be utilised. then i dont have to bring my own heavy textbooks to INTEC but merely use the provided books on the shelves.
it is not advisable to study with friends.
i end up talking rather than studying.
*shame on me*
=)
March 16, 2009 at 7:41 am
AkMaR
Thanks for sharing that. It is heart warming to see ex-students coming here and still contributing & helping others.
It would be very sad indeed if after graduating they took the approach macam kotak polystyrene yang mengunaakan bunkus makanan i.e. buang selaps makan *cringe – don’t laugh* .
March 20, 2009 at 4:11 pm
i think its my turn now~ LOL..anyway, sharing is caring eh? (ppl alwys said that n i think its true~!)
based from my xperience from the past not only for alevel but in spm too, i think the key to succes is MOTIVATION.. i mean ur own self motivation n desire to succeed!!..
ok here goes some tips that u guys can do..it mayb different 4 each individual but u can choose which suit u most :
1. make ur own timetable- wut i usually do is to write down which topics shud i study in a particular day.. ex: i usually divide into 3 sections morning,afternoon n nite- there’s no need to study only one subject in a day as u might get bored.. cehh it implied to me.. mayb u can study benzene reaction in the morning, bio in the afternoon, math at nite (i usually study one or two topics that i think i nid to covered)
2. study continuously n u can speed up ur study when exams are juz around the corner
3. do past year papers A LOT.. as we can familiarize wit the type of questions that might be ask
4. get the facts correct ( esp chem!) n if u dont understand ask ur lecturer or discuss with ur fren
5. make notes for every subject ( only simple notes with important keypoints)- i’ll always do this n it’s certainly help me a lot..seriously!!
ex : esp for chem,i always make a diagram for reactions or mechanism such as benzene rxn n the organic rxn. It really helps u know~
final preparation before the exam:
- read notes that u have done
- make a quick checklist for the topics that u need to covered n make sure u hav covered all!!
- discuss with ur fren about certain topics u r not sure or need more understanding ( sometimes ur fren mayb hav a correct understanding about that topic n u can compare wit urs too ) it works n u can actually remember better!!
- i recommend u guys to check out this site more frequently as it is beneficial..there r so many Q’s here n u can also ask mr allan directly when u get stuck in certain q’s. ( THANKS to MR ALLAN)
- lastly, for all muslim SOLAT is important. mayb u can do solat hajat n etc..remember USAHA + DOA + TAWAKAL ~
hehe actually the tips that i’ve given mayb already mentioned as above..but wut u can do n is to study smart~ manage ur time n manage ur study. n lastly but not least DUNT GIVE UP.
lastly but not least, GUDLUCK for everyone~ i know u guys can do it too~
p/s : mayb my grades may not be great, it worth to try it~
March 20, 2009 at 4:39 pm
hmmm…tips and advise..
im not sure whether wat i’ll type here will be of much help but..here goes..
never panic. take things one at a time and see everything in a positive light. keep telling urself that u can do it, and NEVER try to compete with other ppl on stuff like how many hours u guys spent studying the night before, or what u have, and have not covered for the exam, u know the usual stuff that worries us whenever ppl tell us that they’ve been up studying all night 
u’ll end up scaring urself to near death, unnecessarily.
study systematically. if u are studying something, or some subtopic and u suddenly remember that u have not covered or are not sure of some other subtopic, jot it down. don’t just stop in the middle of ur tracks coz it will totally disrupt ur focus on that one particular subtopic and then everything will be jumbled up. jot it down and check it later, but asap. but i guess u guys already know that. but that happened to me countless times
sort out ur past yearssss!!!! but bear in mind, past years’ questions are not EVERYTHING. make sure u are well prepared should the questions come out twisted in some way or another. but honestly for our jan paper, they helped us a whole lot.
stay in close contact with ur lecturers, should u suddenly have a panic attack at 12am and need to ask them questions on related topics. this blog is VERY useful to contact mr.allan during those dreaded panic attacks.
stay close to ur faith and religion, u’ll know where to turn to when things get overwhelming. and most importantly, believe in urself, have faith that if u’re good enough to be selected to study in intec, then u’re certainly good enough for that 15points (provided u’ve done all the work u think u should), BUT don’t get too cocky. heheh
ps: my ps is like neesa’s
April 2, 2009 at 10:02 am
#9 neeesssaa, March 20th, 2009
Thank you for caring and sharing
Yeah, Motivation is HUGELY important.
When issuing study tips etc, it is easy to assume the person being advised is already motivated. But often the hardest thing to do is get motivated in the first place.
Really, it’s a battle against yourself – the inner demons! which get stronger the longer you refuse to face them.
I’m not sure if you can make yourself like something {which yields its own motivational force}, but often, by making the decision “Right, that’s it. I’m going to do XYZ now” you get the reward of your labor and you feel happier and start to tap into that “effort success” feedback mechanism.
Motivation has (in MHO) some habitual characteristics. Which can be consciously built up, but need the initial step again.
Thanks for the tips.
April 2, 2009 at 10:29 am
#9 Natasha, March 20th 4:39 pm, 2009
I agree with the point you make, that it is often a source of panic to discuss with people what they know and u know etc when close to exams. If you study in a group, it’s good perhaps to study on the understanding that such ‘talk’ is avoided.
Think about sources of avoidable panic, and DO avoid it.
May 5, 2009 at 10:17 am
If I’m not mistaken, the a-levels exam is just around the corner, isn’t it? I don’t have very much to share really, apart from tips that would be a mere repetition of what the others have already said.. So… maybe some last minute preparatory tips then, ya?
1. If you haven’t made sense of those ‘unclear’ topics, do them now. Of course I hope you’re not in the position where you’ve kept them till this late, but if you have, get them resolved ASAP, no more delays. Some people think it’s too late to do that at this time, but I’ve always believed that as long as you’re not in the exam hall waiting to take the exam, then there’s still time =)
2. Continue doing past years. I’ll echo the other students on this one. It really really does help. Questions tend to be pretty similar and it gives you a better idea of what you have a grasp on and what still needs work.
3. Discuss with friends/lecturers. I honestly find this a good way to calm down before exams. Just a few hours before my papers I would go through formulas/processes/etc with a few friends. I know this doesn’t work for everyone (as Natasha said) but it has helped me several times, so yea, if it works for you.
4. If a paper doesn’t go well, don’t dwell on it. During my a-levels we had a few “nightmare-ish” papers too (i suppose in a way its to be expected). Focus on the coming ones instead because if you’re worrying too much about the previous ‘mess up’ (so to say), it might have a negative effect on the next. And well, just remember that you’ve got quite a number of papers ya? (like 8 (?!) for chem and bio, so you can still make up for any blunders you’ve made =) )
5. Get enough sleep! I have to admit, my sleeping pattern has always been a little crazy, BUT I did make sure I got sufficient sleep during my a-levels period (at least 6-8 hours) Really, the last thing you want is to jeopardize your chances of doing well because you were sleepy during the exam.
Okay, so yea, that’s it from me. Hope it helps ><
All the best, and most importantly, believe in yourself =)
May 5, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Thanks for that Shahira Hope your bringing the joy of your excellent cookeys to IMU. No need for pharmaceuticals – Shahira’s cookies is all you need.
A lot of Stu’s had a nightmare paper U4 and U5 in Jan09. As far as I can tell, the A grade was set at 50 out of 75 for U4 and 54 out of 75 for U5. A lot of stu’s were stunned after those papers (actually they shouldn’t have caused you problems but anyway…), but still 33A’s (or was it 34A’s?) and 4B’s was a superb result. So I’d agree, don’t let your feelings of how the paper might have gone affect your performance in subsequent exams. There’s nothing you can do about it anyway.
Self confidence is great. It comes when you ‘know your stuff’, but this revision period should have seen most if not all of you reach that point (if you hadn’t done so already, and I’m pleased to say a good number of you had reached that level some time ago).
SLEEP. I will hypocritically say GET ENOUGH SLEEP (when I was young I had been bitten by some kind of sunshine tolerant vampire as I have the most dreadful sleeping habits you could possibly imagine!) I dread people share the same problem.
June 18, 2009 at 2:23 am
what can I say here is enjoy studying a-level and study hard as a preparation for medical course which is harder.
June 18, 2009 at 5:35 am
Glad A-level has been an enjoyable experience
I heard from one of my very accomplished students, that he feels he’s going to fail one of his ‘final’ medic exams. Not ‘cos he didn’t study, but because the Q’s were, in his words, almost “impossible”.
If he, one of the studious and highest scoring student I’ve ever seen, says that then I believe it, and it puts A-level into perspective.
But if he fails, then it’s v. likely ALL other stus’ would feel the same. and so the passing standard would have to be seriously assessed – just like the U5 last week.
Well, although it’s v.v.hard to see so at the time, if you fail an exam or are forced to switch your planned direction in life, then there is not much point in looking back, just embark upon what ever path is available for you to choose from at the time, and skip down that path in happyness that is a significant part of life. Academic, family, or social wise.
peace
October 15, 2011 at 10:09 am
I have just uploaded 2 ex-INTEC students testimonies about the IMU interview to try and help the anxiety felt by the juniors. My big thanks to them for doing so 
If any other student would like to share their experiences of PMC / IMU / dll interviews, then please feel free.
Thanks again. All the best to you.
October 15, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Salam! is this whr we shd give tips on the interview? *sir, feel free to move this comment to the correct place*
For imu interview, they’ll give us a situation whr we’re forced to make a tough decision n will hv to justify that decision.
The situation i was put in during the interview was:
U’re in a plane and the flight took off 2 hrs ago. Suddenly a man had a heart attack and the nearest airport is 4 hrs from u. However, the weather was bad and it is vry dangerous for u to land. Ur destination is 10hrs to go. U are the pilot. What will u do?
Wanna try answr that?
There is no right or wrong answr (unless u said u’ll let the man die wout any help. hehh..)
The interviewr wants to know if u can make a reasonable decision.
another q (frm friend) is that we’re in a rush to an event, and we saw an accident by the roadside. do u stop, or not?
And what natasha said is true, be honest. Girls, beware… They might ask if we’re ready for the high demand carreer and if we think we’ll b able to take care of our family well. I was asked that Q.
October 15, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Salam
Leave it here Akmar.
I’ll compile it into a single file with the other IMU interviews
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March 14, 2009 at 4:48 am
1. study, understand, apply what you’ve learnt
2. DO past year papers and find out your weaknesses
3. overcome your weaknesses
4. mark scheme is useful to identify important points and key words
last minute revision tips:
–stick to the notes you are more familiar with and has most confidence in.
–look through the specification
–visit this blog frequently for updates^^