Done with SPM, now what ?? : A Guide For Further Studies and what to expect

SPM is over, now what ?
i'm done with SPM in 2005 , went to uni in 2006, graduated in 2011, now i'm currently working in a firm
i'm no expert but i just wanna share what i went through to be where i am now.

the 2011 SPM results was the best recorded in five years .
congrats . 559 scored straight A+'s  in the 2011 SPM .
so if u are planning to score a a scholarship for medicine without straight A's in hand. think again . ur chances are pretty much slim.

On scholarship
there are a lot of scholarship around. depends, on what course u are taking. big companies like maybank and such are giving out scholarship depends on the area u wish to study. not to forget scholarship negeri like yayasan sabah , yayasan johor etc. make sure u are sabahan and of sabahan parentage to score yayasan sabah scholarship. sad to say i can't even apply for this as my parents are semenajung and i was born in sabah. my advise if u are johorean stay in johor ,make babies in johor , so that your child can apply for negeri scholar.

and if u do not manage to score any scholarship before hand, fret not, just remember to score in your first semester and apply for a JPA scholarship. i also do not know about this before hand. i guess i'm just not aware about it . what i'm trying to say here , there are so many ways to obtain scholarships or loan so don't make money an issue to not continue your tertiary studies.

Loan 
ok enough about scholarship, what if your results are not that fantastic to score one???
PTPTN loan . this is the answer for u
everybody i know who applied for PT confirm dapat . serious
but if u think your parents can support u, don't take PTPTN. after u finish off your studies, even before getting a job, u already owe rm 20000. that's a lot. while studying, u don't see it , u only see it afterwards when u have to actually pay for it. haha. but it's only rm100 per month. rest assured u'll be paying until u die .

what did i do ?
my way to tertiary level education
my results were mediocre. and when everybody filled in the form for matriculation program, i did not. my advice is if u don't think u can score n do well matriculation. DON'T GO for matriculation. i'm serious . even though u are promised with a place in the local university, but if u do not do well enough , u will get 'lelong' to any courses left to be filled. true story.

after SPM, i applied for local u . Filled in my upu form. And hoped for the best. i didn't apply for anything else. i had no back up plans. my first choice was architecture in uitm , second choice was something else can't remember , and the last few choices was chemical engineering /engineering and the last one was law.
thank god everything worked out . manage to score an interview for architecture in uitm . and finally landed a place in uitm studying architecture. syukur, everything was smooth sailing.

also make sure the course u applied for is accredited. so that all the years u spent on studying won't go to waste.

in order to choose the best course for you. please make sure u do a background check on what u will be learning and the working life after. most of the time spm leavers just pick and choose a course that they think are suited for them . one thing for sure , get advise from people taking the similar course u intended to take , get advise from the professionals. i think lack of advise and exploring job scope of what u intend to do in life leads spm leavers into taking up the wrong course. most important of all , do what u love to do. not what your parents dreamt of u doing. or else u will be wasting your time .

job market 
u might wanna be a disc jockey , pilot and what not . by all means chase your dreams. but don't forget to check the market demand. Some of my pilot friends still haven't scored a job till this day. but look forward ,your expertise might not be needed now, but maybe there is a demand for it in the few years to come.

conclusion 
the decision u make after spm pretty much gonna be the thing u'll be doing for life .
and whatever your spm result was , itu tak menjanjikan apa apa kat dunia ni. it's just a stepping stone. hard work and determination are all that matters. CGPA is the last thing people look at . not your bloody spm result. unless, spm is the last exmination u ambik -__-!

**my thoughts and experience might differ from others. this is just something that i went through . insight on what u'll be expecting after spm.