I am an STPM school leaver, so I don’t know anything about the job market, HR secrets and the like. Entering tertiary education is the foremost issue on my mind. Before I got my STPM results on March 11th, it mattered hugely, terribly to me that I should get straight As. Why? Because I see those As as a Holy Grail? Because I am a nerd who must grasp at petty As to make up for my lack of capabilities in other fields? My reason is relatively simple: I needed those As to secure my admissions offer and full scholarship to a university in the UK.

This is my life’s dream. Never mind that it might be condemned for being based on prestige, etc. This is what I want, and it happens to depend almost wholly on my being academically excellent. Is that wrong? A lot, a whole lot of effort went into realising this dream, and here I am told that my As ‘don’t mean a thing’.

Besides, one thing about this whole conversation eludes me: why is everyone so focused on SPM grades? I have all the respect in the world for doctors and all the race of professionals, but this is a day and age in which nobody gets into medical school with SPM results. ‘Tiara’s friend’ the ‘Med Student’ said it herself – she got 5As in SPM, but proceeded to work herself silly in PRE-U to get the REQUIRED GRADES. Doesn’t that count, I wonder? Pre-u is just the same as STPM, but somehow escapes fire. No matter how you look at it, you need those grades, at whatever level. It is no use saying that you will be a great caring doctor with wonderful people skills and all the required knowledge and techniques, if you couldn’t ‘make the grade’ for medical school in the first place.

That said, I agree that not all mixed-grade students are ill-equipped to handle tertiary education, or a high-flying career. Similarly not all A students are the sort you’d want operating on you. I was an ‘almost’ straight A student in my SPM (11A1s and a B3 for Chinese) but I am not proud of it. I barely paid attention in class and studied very little, to say nothing of understanding the lessons; I seemed to pass on pure luck alone. Not too reliable, if I may say so myself. At that stage I would concur my grades did not mean much, but that is not to say that it holds true for all the top-scorers in the country.

And then there is the issue of taking extra subjects in SPM. I say why not, if the student can handle it. In spite of everything, the Lembaga Peperiksaan still doesn’t just give away the As – or there wouldn’t be anyone ‘underachieving’. I took one extra subject in both my SPM and STPM, both completely unrelated to my main field of study: Prinsip Perakaunan alongside SPM Science, and later English Literature for STPM. I can’t say that it hasn’t benefitted me in any way. Nor will I say that I took them just for the sake of that extra A. If, as one comment above so passionately states, ‘knowledge is its own reward’, then why limit students to subjects that will ‘help them’ in their chosen field? Isn’t it a good sign that these students are interested in a wide variety of subjects, if we’re looking for all-rounders? Even if the students eventually give up those subjects, like how I was completely repulsed by Accounts, it will still be an experience, which will definitely help them make decisions in later life.

As someone rightly said before me, the ability to function well under pressure, the ability to process and retain information, and the ability to handle numerous channels of input and output are just as much part of the almighty ‘attitude’ we’ve heard so much about. Even regurgitating for exams (not that I’m encouraging it) requires time management skills, perseverance, and a decent level of intelligence. Can you blame people for prefering a safe, stable life ahead – which can most probably be obtained through good grades – just because you prefer to ‘Strike out! Experience! Live!’?

Of course it is undeniable that extra-curricular factors matter, quite significantly. Unfortunately there are cases in which a student has to choose one to excel in, or risk losing everything. If he/she wants to become an architect he/she has good reason to doubt whether the university admissions officers will care that he/she was president of three clubs and captain of another two squads. In any case, when you are only intellectually average, when you are no corporate or tech whiz, you can have little use for examples like Albert Einstein or Bill Gates.

Just one last thought: to some species of people, weird as it might be, getting As is actually gratifying. Those people do sometimes go for the As just FOR the As, but only because it symbolises recognition for their work. Funny, isn’t it?

1. Do all these education systems measure everything in a person?
Answer : Absolutely not. No education system in the world can measure fully a person’s inner full potentials. Education systems measure specific areas of gifts/abilities. So when we evaluate the importance of the grades we get or our children get, we need to ask, what has this education system evaluated in us or taught us which general / specific areas of ourselves.
Different systems cover different scope and depths of life, so don’t despair, if it teaches you something great and useful, hurray, it is money worth it. If not explore other education systems, which will lead you faster to your career of interest. It is so easy to do this nowadays, unlike my times, with thousand so options anyway in this globalised world.
Those who get straight As, don’t think you have achieved THE thing in life. You are just being prepared for the future, how you are going to achieve anything depends on whether you have been prepared well in you personality, attitudes, social abilities as well as your academies. I congratulate those A students if they all well rounded, but I feel sorry for those whose non-academic aspects are not nurtured well because life can be very difficult for them.

2. Can one get along with poor grades in this world?
Answer : Yes and no.
“No” first. From the years of employing youngsters for jobs in my company, I increasingly despair over the deplorable state of abilities of nowadays youths. Can’t speak well, communicate in sms language, handphone ringing all the time while working, can’t add up (mind u, spm students”, poor courtesy, and proscrastinations. If the grades are poor, these academic disabilities will show up. What a shame, because Malaysia can’t afford such low grade work force if we a opening up in globalisation; the foreigners will have no respect for Malaysians.
“Yes”. Good grades, but must be well nurtured in other nonacademic areas of life. Then we will have a responsible workforce who has the knowledge, the systematic mind, the progressive mind, who has the confidence to take on the challenges. This is also a basic requirement for merit based scholarship, which can be really substantial.

That is the reason why in order for us to have a meaningful straight A’s student force, we need
1. a more wholesome education system.
2. meritocratic system.

But this is idealised thinking. Nothing is ideal in this real world. So the idea is, you may not get straight A’s in say SPM, or STPM, but some found their niches and go on to get straight A’s in their own field of studies, say in “Designs”? Find an education system which can fullfield your max potential. The saddest part of life for a person is not to know what you want in life when you reach young adulthood of age about 18 years.

Alex .

This was not condemnation of straight A people, I must reiterate. Nor was it on racial lines. So, please, before commenting, do get your facts straight.

Thank you.

The article isn’t criticizing straight A people. It’s criticizing those who think As are the Holy Grail, those who think that you are only worthy if you get As, and those who look down upon those who do not make As their entire life goal.

Like your comment so succinctly demonstrates.

I’m not saying im completely true..
There are some real ‘nerds’ like Amalina who study like freak until got 17A’s however got kicked out from UK..
Well..i feel suspicious about her results..
How can a person with such a lame english score straight A’s??
Well..as we know..Malaysia is full of discrimination..
of course ‘Things’ like that happens…
Chinese got 16A’s..they want a Malay to beat it..
They have to do something!!
Right??
Half right half false..
Perhaps?
Furtherover..
I m commenting to some people who criticise straight A students..
If u are so clever,U have your tactics and your ways of studying..U got your ideas..You are so intelligent..
WHY CANT U SCORE STRAIGHT A’s????????????????????????????
Thats the problem with those lamers..
Hahaha

pooR them..
READ IT!!
KNOW IT!!
UNDERSTAND IT!!

For the clinical subjects, one of the components that we’re graded on is attitude. It’s a subjective assessment, depending on the examiner’s impression of the student. But I suppose it’s simple, in a way, because you can tell whether a student has the proper attitude or not. Being professionally dressed, punctual, caring and attentive to the patient’s needs, eager to learn, some of those little things that enhances a doctor’s medical skills. The other components include knowledge and clinical skills, which are rather easy to pick up compared to attitude. It’s got to come from inside, that spark and passion for wanting to be a good doctor.

In defense of Tiara’s views, the grades achieved during high school don’t reflect the attitude required for being a good doctor. Attitude may be reflected by, for example, your co-curricular activities e.g. a testimonial from your scouts leader regarding your leadership skills and team spirit, or voluntary work, or your commitment in research projects, etc.

I agree with Ah Beng that private medical universities aren’t exactly cheap. However, it’s a common misconception that money’s the sole entry requirement, and for maintaining studentship. Of course, grades matter as well (because obviously no matter how compassionate a doctor is, they’ve got to possess the correct knowledge to diagnose and manage the patient’s condition properly). I’d like to point out that it’s not the only thing they look at, though, because personal skills are also very important! Let’s say someone has the money and the grades for entry requirements – they’ll be struggling during the course if they don’t have the right attitude. When they pass and become housemen, it’s even harder – at least practical knowledge and skills can be picked up by just hanging around the hospital.

Just to clarify, I didn’t merit my entry into med school simply by having money. My pre-u grades got me in, and despite not scoring straight As in SPM, that didn’t hinder me from doing well in pre-u and subsequently getting distinctions in my first and second year subjects of basic sciences. When I did get in, I can assure you that I’m giving it my all because I’m earnest and passionate – and I hope that’ll make me a good doctor in the future.

Adding on to that: Unfortunately, since the government seems to be fonder of spending money on landscaping rather than making more improvements in healthcare provision, there are just too few places in medical courses at public universities. I agree it’s unfair that a poor person who has the ambition and passion to be a good doctor has to struggle so much to get into med school just because it’s so bloody competitive. There should be more places available, much more. More scholarships and more flexible loan arrangements, too.

As for a doctor displaying his uni grades… I don’t think there’s an option of graduating with “poor results”. Those who passed, they’ve grasped the adequate knowledge in the exams to be a safe doctor. If not, they repeat the exams til they do. Therefore, between two doctors with the same amount of knowledge, would you prefer the one that goes through things coldly and robotically, or the one that really listens to you and makes you feel at ease?

Thanks, Tiara, for enabling this discussion in the first place!

My point in that very long winded (and possibly off-topic) comment is that straight As in SPM does not guarantee a top-notch professional. Your comment “While you mentioned that you have a friend who’s only got 5As in SPM (and btw, I assume he/she is rich? Otherwise studying medicine is impossible w/o some kind of funding), I hope he/she did not eventually graduate with a 2.2 in medicine.” is rather shallow if I might call it that.

You don’t know if Tiara’s friend went on to pre-u and proceeded to get much better results thus, enabling them to study medicine. There are factors which we are not privy to. Maybe her mate did end up slacking through pre-u and buying their way to a medical degree. We don’t know that but to assume that they did is just silly.

I have mates who are in Monash (arguably one of the most money-minded universities around) and they have been slacking in their studies. Regardless of how much the university wants their money, they have a reputation to uphold. Their credibility will be under attack if they allow a large number of sub-par students graduate. So even if someone did manage to get a place in a university based on how much monetary contribution their parents gave, their grades must still be above a certain level or they’ll get the boot.

As you have said, it is the well-balanced folks that will come up on top. People with excellent results but poor people skills and vice versa may not fare as well as those with average but well rounded abilities.

Do you ask your family doctor how many As they got in their exams?

Also, despite what you think, money doesn’t guarantee you entry into any college you want. There are many other factors.

The bottomline is…in courses requiring a serious amount of tecnhical know-how, results really matter, over and above anything else. If there was ever a ruling for doctors to display their results outside their clinics, even the friendliest and most empathetic doctors would not get many patients if he graduated with poor results. Nobody wants to die!

I have a friend with 7As in SPM. He is now doing medicine in IMU. The degree amounts to at least RM 250k for a 5 year local programme. If I was poor, can I afford to get 7 As? If I did, I would neither get a scholarship nor enter into a local university. I could opt to do a law degree at some private colleges, but that’s not my real ambition. SO there, I wouldn’t say that rich people ‘buy’ their degree, but what I’m certain is that they could afford NOT to score straight As if a private medical college will realise their dreams anyway. Poor students can’t! Straight As is truly a prerequisite is he/she wants to be a doctor.

Btw, I notice there is a general misconception that straight A students are only good academically. I don’t think this is true. Academics and extracurricular activities/personal communication skills are not mutually exclusive. It is these well balanced students that will win the rat race.

Stumbled across this site while looking for information about US scholarships and found it to be a good and interesting read.

In regards to Ah Beng’s insinuation that Tiara’s mate might’ve bought their way to a medicine degree, I find that to be highly insulting as I did not do all that well in my SPM but yet I managed to graduate with a law degree from a fairly decent university. I only managed to scrape by with a meagre 5As in my SPM and I got into Sunway College’s MUFY program before studying my ass off that year. Maybe Tiara’s friend did the same thing. Getting an average score in SPM does not mean one is doomed to mediocrity for the rest of one’s life. There’s many debates going on today about how the number of As you get in your SPM is not that relevant when you enter university.

In today’s Star, I came across a letter from a frustrated mother whose daughter got a whopping 10 As for her SPM but she was brushed aside while applying for a Petronas scholarship. Why? Because of the typical Malaysia (or even Asian if I might be so bold) mindset that more = better. So what if her daughter only took 10 subjects and got all As in them? She should be punished for not being kiasu and taking ALL the subjects offered in the SPM curriculum. In case there’s any confusion, I’m being sarcastic.

When I was doing the SPM, I was advised to only take the subjects that will help me to gain a better understanding of my choice in careers e.g. Biology, Chemistry and Physics if I want to be a doctor or engineer or make a nice vat of homebrewed whiskey in my room. You’re not supposed to take every single subject you can lay your hands on! Where are you going to find time to enjoy the last years of a (relatively) carefree life?

BTW, after spending the last 6 months job-hunting I have noticed that employers prefer applicants who have good personal skills as it makes them less of a automaton. Any Tom, Dick and Harry (or should I say Ali, Muthu and Ah Beng?) can get good grades if they study hard enough. Good people skills are the rare quality which makes one applicant stand out over the rest. Why hire someone with the best possible score but just blinks at you when you say something, when I can get someone with average results but will make a lasting impression on your clients (and thus cementing in their minds that this is a good company and therefore they must come back!)?

I might’ve waffled on a little there….

As far as I know, my friend isn’t rich. She is intelligent – far more so than many doctors I’ve seen! So you see, SPM grades aren’t a reliable indicator of ability sometimes! Indeed, exams like the SPM really only measure how well you can take a test; not much otherwise.

Should the SPM be the ONLY indicator of ability? Of intelligence? Of the ability to learn?

Heck, I got 5As for my SPM and I’m heaps more capable and smarter than many of my straight A friends – because I truly understand what I learn, not just how to take a test.

Also, people skills are CRUCIAL for doctorhood. It’s not just about treating the disease; it’s about treating the person. If the doctor has no people skills, they won’t really care about you, and that would mean losing out any important details or clues that could result in a proper diagnosis.

Education is important, undoubtedly. However, education != schooling, and education != grades, and it can be argued that grades, especially in the Malaysian system, are not actually a very good indicator of intelligence, but more a mark of memorization and rote learning. You don’t learn critical thinking skills in schools here – yet that’s one of the skills you need most to survive. And how the grades are given are very subjective.

An example of the discreptancy: in school, I wasn’t exactly the “best” Islamic Studies student. I had an unorthodox way of thinking, and the teachers didn’t like that, and it didn’t help that I wasn’t that good in verses (there were questions where you had to put the correct “punctuation” on the verses, for crying out loud). So I’d often get Cs – Bs if I was lucky. For the PMR (my god what a useless exam) and SPM, I just wrote my mind on whatever I felt was right, not really thinking about whether it’s considered “Islamic” or what. I got As both times.

And look at the English paper…that’s child’s play! So many people get As on that paper but can’t communicate effectively in English to save their lives.

There are people, that you mentioned, who are very bright but may not score all the As. So that’s another way to show that your grades aren’t necessarily a reflection of who you are. And the examples you gave are for university results, which are a completely different ballgame than things like the SPM paper.

My point is, there are other ways to get an education, and it’s not worth stressing over As; they don’t dictate your life. If you don’t get a job at any of those companies, so be it – carve your own life. Life is more than just As or your employer.