ASEAN Scholarship Selection Process

Hi everyone, I’m Katelyn! I’m a pre-university ASEAN Scholar for the year 2022 (I just received my email a few days ago :D). I’m writing this blog to share some tips and my personal experience during the selection process which will hopefully be helpful to other aspiring applicants, I know the other blogs on the ASEAN scholarship were a lifesaver for me. 

This post is divided into four segments for easier reference:

 

1.        Introduction 

2.        Application Process

3.        Selection Test

4.        Selection Interview

 

Well, that’s all so let’s get started!

 

1.        Introduction

 

The ASEAN Scholarship is a scholarship offered by the Ministry of Education of Singapore for students from ASEAN countries and China. It is offered for three entry levels: Secondary One, Secondary Three and Pre-University, depending on the country (for example, it is offered for all three levels for Malaysians and Bruneians, but only for Secondary Three for Indonesians). The level that you should apply for depends on your birth year and school level, and more information about the eligibility criteria can be found on the Singapore MOE’s website linked here:

 

https://www.moe.gov.sg/financial-matters/awards-scholarships/asean-scholarships

 

For any additional information, you can visit the Frequently Asked Questions section:

 

 https://va.ecitizen.gov.sg/cfp/customerPages/moe/explorefaq.aspx?Search=asean%20scholarship  

 

or you can comment your queries down below and I will try to answer them the best I can if I have time.

 

Also some background information about my selection process:

I am a Malaysian studying in Brunei, and I was supposed to take my selection test and the interview in Kuala Lumpur but because of COVID-19, I sat for the test at the Singapore High Commission in Brunei and the interview at home. I guess that I was a special case and I am very grateful for the special arrangements that the MOE made on my behalf, I would not have made it so far without their assistance and consideration. 

 

2.        Application Process (the easy part!)

 

The application period is stated in the website, it is different for different countries. For Malaysians, it is typically from March to May. You can join the mailing list in order to be informed when applications are open (check the website for this).

 

The applications are all done online, I don’t really remember all the information that has to be provided but I think you need to give your passport number, IC number, parents’ details and information about your current school.

 

 Besides that, you will have to give your recent school results and list any recent co-curricular activities (CCAs) you have joined as well as any outstanding achievements. No official documentation is needed at this stage, but you will have to scan them later if you get the selection interview. Keep in mind there is limited space provided to list down the CCAs and academic achievements so make sure to give your most impressive ones. You cannot resubmit your application so do ensure that you fill in everything correctly before submitting.

 

After you have filled in and double-checked all your details, just click submit and you are done 😀. Now all you have to do is wait (my favourite part haha *sarcasm*) to get an email from the MOE to see if you are shortlisted for the selection tests. You should be notified at least one week before the test date (honestly, I already gave up on getting selected for this scholarship after waiting for so long HAHAHAH)

 

If you do not get an email, unfortunately, you are not shortlisted 😔. Don’t worry, you can apply multiple times for the scholarship as long as you meet the eligibility criteria! I am not very sure about the MOE’s shortlisting criteria but I guess you should have consistently good examination results (an occasional B should be fine) and good participation in activities. 

 

3.        The Selection Test

 

Ahh, the scary selection tests. I have heard about their notorious difficulty in the previous blogs I have read, and I would have to testify (in my case) that they are quite true. If you have been shortlisted for the selection tests, congratulations! Be prepared to spend half a day exhausting your poor brain LOL. The MOE will email you the details of the test – the venue, date, time, what to bring and etc.

 

For me, I sat for my selection tests at the Singapore High Commission in Brunei. I woke up at 5.30 am that day and spent 45 minutes waiting in the parking lot because my mum and I were scared that we would be late (gan cheong much?). My test only began at 7 and there was only one other candidate here in Brunei. She was applying for secondary 3 and I for pre-university but the invigilators mixed us up LOL (am I really that short 😢 )

 

I sat for two tests only – the Mathematics and English test – but in other years and as stated by the MOE in the FAQ section, there is also the third General Ability test which is basically like an IQ test as I have heard. It might have been because of the COVID-19 situation that it was cancelled so I do not know if it has been discontinued or not. I sat for my Mathematics test first, had a short break then did the English one.

 

The Mathematics Test

The Mathematics test was two hours long and had 27 questions with some sub-questions (i.e. 9 a, b, c). For pre-university, calculators are allowed (check the models approved by the MOE) but I am not sure about secondary one and three. 

 

Overall, the pre-university test was basically an unholy combination of all the toughest GCSE ‘O’ level Mathematics D syllabus past year papers. I feel that most of the questions require higher order thinking and require you to find creative solutions to the problems given using formulae that you already know. Some of the easier questions are more direct for example, solving simultaneous equations or using the sine rule and cosine rule. 

 

To prepare for the pre-university test, I recommend doing GCSE ‘O’ level Mathematics D past year papers to familiarize yourself with the formulae and their application. There were no Additional Mathematics type questions as far as I remember in my test (no differentiation, integration, binomial theorem and etc.) so I don’t think you have to be worried about that. Just be prepared to think outside of the box and apply whatever you have learnt when doing the test. 

 

Another tip I would like to give is don’t take your sweet time (I was taking sooooo long to carefully draw a diagram and in the end I didn’t finish 3 questions) and of course check your answers with whatever time you have left, that is if you have any. 

The English Test

The English test was split into two parts:

Part I – Comprehension (1 hour 30 minutes)

Part II – Essay Writing (30 minutes)

 

Part I

 

The comprehension was actually quite easy compared to the Mathematics paper. A passage was given and I had to give the contextual meanings of five words and five phrases from the passage. 

 

The other comprehension questions were very direct, all the answers could be found from the passage, the only twist being that I had to answer in my own words. So, all I had to do was lift the answers and give suitable synonyms and maybe change the phrasing slightly. The last question instructed me to give a summary of a few paragraphs from the passage, again in my own words. 

 

Overall, I think the comprehension is mainly testing your vocabulary and grammatical skills. As someone who speaks English as my first language, I had no problem with it. I think that reading a lot would be helpful as well as doing some English ‘O’ Level past year papers as practice.

 

Part II

 

30 minutes to write an essay?? What?? That was the first thought in my mind at first when I read about the English test in other blog posts, but honestly it is completely do-able. You have two topics to choose from and you are instructed to write up to 300 words. My topics were:

 

1.        Should students be banned from bringing mobile phones to school?

2.        Write about two challenges that your nation faces.

 

I wrote the first one, having written many Malay essays on it before so I had all the points in my head ready to go. I wrote 7 paragraphs, probably way over the word limit, but I had no time to count all the words accurately so I just put a modest estimate of 400 words 😅.

 

My advice is to not spend so much time choosing your topic and list down all your points before starting to write. Try to practice writing some essays before the test and getting someone to read through them. 

 

For both English tests, prepare a list of ‘bombastic’ words to use when answering the questions/writing the essay that you can easily refer to before the test. Just be sure that you know how to use them!

 

4.      The Selection Interview

 

To tell you the truth, I was more scared for the selection interview than the test HAHAHA. It was something I had never done before whereas I have sat for countless examinations throughout my schooling life. 

 

My interview was conducted online on Zoom, but usually in non-COVID years it is conducted face-to-face. It was scheduled on the 11^thof November (singles day LOL) at 12 noon. I had spent the whole morning pacing back and forth, replaying mock interviews in my head over and over, thoroughly fraying my nerves. At last, at exactly 11:38 I joined the zoom meeting on my laptop, my heart beating in my chest. 

 

There were four people on the screen, but only three of them asked me questions. They were very nice and friendly and made me feel a lot calmer answering the questions. I stuttered a bit throughout the interview, but I felt like I made a good enough impression on the interviewers. They asked mainly casual questions to get to know you better and probably gauge your conversational skills in English. My interview only lasted 13 short minutes, though it felt much longer. Here are some of the questions I remember them asking me:

 

1.        Can you please introduce yourself?

2.        Why choose Singapore?

3.        What do you know about Singapore’s education system for junior college?

4.        What do you like to do in your free time?

5.        Are you prepared to work hard and maybe sacrifice your hobbies while studying in Singapore?

6.        What is your ambition?

7.        Where do you see yourself five years from now?

8.        Will your parents miss you?

9.        Do you have any siblings?

10.  Do you go back to Malaysia often?

 

And lastly, they asked one ‘creative’ question, probably to test your maturity level. Mine was: “If a certain area in Singapore does not have enough petrol stations, how will you plan to build more of them?”

 

To prepare for the interview, I searched up some common interview questions and thought of the main points of my answers. I did not prepare and write down fully structured answers to memorize because I was afraid that I would sound robotic. I also practiced a bit with my parents on zoom to get used to talking to a screen. 

 

My advice would be to just be yourself and answer the questions honestly and sincerely (but maybe not too honest LOL: if they ask you what you do in your free time, don’t answer “play video games” only). Just don’t pretend to be someone else completely in front of the interviewers. 

 

After the interview, all you have to do is wait for your results! This time, the MOE will inform you if you are rejected or not (you will not be informed if you are not shortlisted for the tests or interview). The acceptance/rejection letters should be sent out 2-3 weeks after the interview. 

 

I was super anxious during the weeks after the interview, checking my email at least 5 times a day and getting disappointed when there was nothing. Thankfully, my wait was totally worth it when I finally saw the [Congratulations] in my inbox. I would like to thank my parents  for supporting me throughout this journey as well as my grandpa (Ah Kong) for telling me about this scholarship in the first place and encouraging me to apply. Well, that is all for now! Hopefully the information in this blog is useful to everyone reading this and good luck to those applying, I hope to see you in Singapore soon 😆