In Continuum.

Clarification

Three things about examinations that are the most petrifying for anybody who has taken it before. The first has to be the time you have to dedicate to all the studying prior to the examinations. The late nights are going to encourage hordes of pimples to emerge on your skin, and that is not to mention the high levels of caffeine that is going to be observed in your body. If you have a social life, that too goes out of the window because you are not going to get any of those if you intend to score well for the papers. The opportunity cost for having fun is just too great when the examinations are looming in sight, and a sensible person wouldn't want to risk anything at all.

Next would be the night before the papers. People usually have a wrong perception that the papers themselves are the scariest aspect of it all. However, the truth is that during the papers, people don't usually think about how daunting the examinations are, how much is at stack while you are sitting there with a whole bunch of other examiners. When your brain is desperately trying to squeeze out information that was squeezed in a few nights ago, not a lot of brainpower is devoted to being frightened, or being nervous at all. The night before the paper, or even the moments before it begins is probably the worst of it all. It is exactly like the roots of all forms of fear in this world, the fear of the unknown. You stand outside the venue and you wonder how difficult the paper is going to be, and then you start to wonder just how bad you are going to do, or if you are going to lose to that egoistical classmate of yours. All of these adds up, and your palms become sweaty even before it officially begins.

The third and the last: The Results. Let's face it, it is on the back of everybody's minds the moment the papers are over, no matter how much you try to convince yourself that the results are too far away to be of your concern. The results is the whole reason why you took the examinations in the first place, and it wouldn't make much sense if you are going to ignore it forever. The bunch of us that took our finals a couple of weeks ago, went through the same exact pre-results breakdown, when the news of the results being released was spread around the communities. Though the letter from the school clearly stated that it'd be released only on the 24th, it was released a full week earlier on Friday night, and the bunch of us were caught off guard. I was on my way home when I received the message from a friend of mine, and a million different combinations of my results came surging through my mind.

So the results were released, laughs have been had and tears been shed. Some people were overjoyed, while others were dismayed because their results did not meet their expectations. I on the other hand, was overjoyed for myself and disappointed because of my friends in a way. I mean, there are people who never work hard enough throughout the semester, and some of them actually expected themselves to do well in the papers. Yes, I am overjoyed with my own results because I have never been a straight A student in my life. The last time it happened, I was in Primary School, and scored that for my PSLE. But even with straight As back then, it didn't get me very far in my high school days because I ended up in Maris Stella, which was the worst SAP school there was - fact. Anyway, aside from being happy about my own results, there were a lot of panicking souls out there, people who are unsure of whether their results can make the cut or not. So I hope this entry can clarify things for the lot of you out there.

This is the way you calculate your GPA. Every module that you take has an attached credit hours. If you took music like myself, that'd be three credit hours. If you took Economics, that'd be four credit hours. For each module, multiply the credit hours by the numerical grade that you obtained, then divide by the total credit hours of your course. For example, if you obtain an A, your numeric grade would be 4. If you are in BAC and took four modules, your total number of credit hours should be 13 - like me. Adding the results together, it should give you your overall GPA.

This is the requirement for the school in terms of your results. For every semester, you have to get at least a 2.0 in order to proceed to the next semester. Though it does help you move on in the school system, getting a 2.0 minimum for every semester is not going to work, because at the end of the three years, you are still required to obtain more than 2.0. Anyway, if you do not make the cut this semester - which means your overall GPA is less than 2.0, then you will be issued with an academic warning. This academic warning thing is like a letter to you that warns you about your current academic state, and acts like a Post-it you stick to your t-shirt just in case you forget. So the next time you go clubbing, at least you are going to remember that you screwed up in the last semester, and would be advisable to head home to the books instead.

The second and third time you get below 2.0, that is when they issue you an academic probation. I'm not exactly sure about this part, but it more or less works the same with the first warning. But I think in this case, you'd have to retake certain subjects, or the whole semester. That'd delay your graduation time, and screw up your whole timetable basically. The last time you get less than 2.0, the school is going to issue you with a dismissal, which is pretty much a letter to tell you that you have been fired from the school because of your poor grades. The school pretty much works like a business company at this level, and people who are not contributing may work better if they are not part of the family altogether. It may seem harsh that they are not accommodating enough to these people, but at the same time you have to understand where they are coming from as well.

This system goes out of the window however, when you've entered the school on criteria. There are people who are in the course because they didn't do so well in their previous schools. They are in here with a criteria, and it is usually more stringent than the rules others are playing by. Some have to obtain at least 2.5 instead of 2.0 for every semester, and that is the case for a friend of mine. However, if you do not score at least a 2.5, then it may result in an immediate dismissal from the school - that I am not too sure, but it may be the most likely outcome.

To those who did not obtain the results that they desired, here is a little consolation. At least you guys made it to the next semester, and with every coming semester is a new chance to get yourself back together. Like I said before in an entry long ago, with every failure there is a triumph, and it all depends on how you grab hold of that triumph with your hands. The next semester is going to be much harder than this one, but take comfort in the fact that we are all in the same shit. It is not going to be easier for anybody, or harder for anybody else. We are all going to be in this shit, so let's just go through it together. The next semester would be another chance to score better, or to prove yourself all over again. So take this opportunity and grab it tighter this time. Because tomorrow is another day, and everything finds its own way.