Pre-U(ni): Applications & Munsyi

picture by Andreas Levers

Part 1 of the new Pre-U(ni) series.

Part 1

To be really frank, I'm not in the mood today to write singsong tales about stuff. However, as someone who likes to share my joys and pains with everyone (why I opened a blog in the first place) today I'm gonna share my bumpy uni application story :)

picture by Gabriella Camerotti

Chapter 1: The aftermath of STPM results day.

For the first few days you would have thought that we were holding a mourning service at our residence - what to do, former almost straight A student got her bubble bursted on one fateful day getting something that um, well, doesn't look like a string of As. I was especially affected because I thought getting good results was what made me worth something out there. Some people probably think I should know better. I didn't.

The reality is an A minus and 3 Bs but I felt like I got a blank paper with a big F on it. In my eyes I have failed. While everyone else celebrated their hard work I was weeping at home, with barely any scholarship that I can qualify for (it's weird how once you are regarded as a top student, you think you have a good chance of being a scholar).

The reality is that after results were made known, I reconsidered my course options, had many rather emotionally charged conversations with mostly family, and many opinions to ask of (making the normally malu bertanya self very uncomfortable but gotta ask means ask lo, even if I went with fear and trembling).

Long story short, I ended up with these courses, in order of choice, in select unis:

1) Mass comm
2) English linguistics
3) Econs
4) Management/HR/Business admin (each as 4th choice in different unis)

As for law...I decided to shelve it for now, because I wasn't in a good position to qualify well for law courses, and also because the nature of my job is something I can't get myself to be super duper passionate about. Who knows in the future there may be opportunities to take a 2nd degree/rekindled interest in law/etc? I'll leave that to the future, though.

picture by COCOEN daily photos

Chapter 2: Munsyi

Yes, I just gave it away: I applied to USM Penang. And everyone who wanted a place in there needs to take this compulsory personality test known as the Malaysian Selection Inventory Test, or Munsyi as it is commonly known.

What is Munsyi?
It's a 3 hour long, objective, personality test that sole objective is to determine how suited are you to the course(s) you choose in USM. When filling up the application form online, there is a section where you get to choose your test center for this test. I went to SMK Presint 14(1), Putrajaya.

And it's a huge school.

There were about 80 plus people there taking the test. We were waiting outside the exam hall before the exam started. The exam consists of a few sections where you indicate either yes/no answers or agree/disagree answers on a scale between 2 extremes (think questionnaire rather then exam and you get the idea ). I met 2 classmates from my former primary school there. I barely recognized them because they look so grown up and different, but we did manage to catch up :)

The questions are straightforward...yet they are tricky because often they ask you the same question in a slightly different manner. One of the parents who was talking with my mom while she was waiting for me said that maybe the questions are like that to test our consistency. Oh well, I can only speculate for now what is the criteria for selection.

picture by Glenn Waters

Prelude to chapter 3

Question: Did you apply for any courses that requires interviews?

Answer: Yes, 3 courses - 2 in USM and one in UM.

Question 2: When will you know if you get called back for interviews?

Answer 2: Actually, now is interview callback season. USM & UPU interviews have been open for checking this week (except UM which as of today states that interview checks can be conducted from Friday onwards).

Talking about it, I'm working on interview answers right now so that my trip to Penang on the 1st - 3rd May can be of the most benefit - and not just another vacation (sort of). I wonder what sort of questions will a Mass Comm professor/lecturer ask me? Well, whatever they are I better prepare. Ciao :D