Studying Overseas (Undergraduate)

Well, this post might not last too long in my blog..since this was meant for my brother who suddenly has this dream of leaving Malaysia ("out of the blue"?) to study.

Master/ PhD studies
Ok. Let me get this straight. To study overseas is neither difficult nor it is easy. To continue your master or phd overseas might be much, much easier than to do undergraduate at the same place/university. The reason behind my rather bold statement is that, the requirements for the master or phd studies at overseas might be more or less, similar anywhere in the world - talking about entering a rather established university - not an unknown private college. Takder interview, takder entrance exam, takder exam essay. (While in some other ways, they are all difficult at certain points :P of course <-tambah sikit, nanti orang salah paham. Maksudnya phd n master nih kat mana-mana pun susah, ok? Bukan difficult, tapi tough :P)
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Undergraduate Studies
Whilst, as for the undergraduate studies, there are few criterias, entrance examinations, interviews and language tests that you must take.

But the basic things you might need to know are:
1. The universities are recognized by JPA and LAN
You can check via phone to JPA or visit them in Putrajaya

2. The course in the university is recognized by JPA and LAN
People misunderstood that once the university is recognized by the government, so do all the courses offered (automatically). Sometimes, this isnt always true.

3. The course is applicable in Malaysia.
For example, law students should know that Malaysia only allows the practice of laws, from certain country. And some courses offered might not offer that much work opportunity once u've graduated, if u intend (or not sure whether) to serve the government or to come back working in Malaysia one day.

4. Scholarship -
The house rental in Kantou province, Japan for bachelor apartment might cost u around Yen37000 or RM1200+-, per month. While in Canada, the same apartment would cost CAD$700 (RM2100 ++)... The electricity bills etc, might cost you another RM300 to RM1000 per month (depend on the weather and lifestyle etc).
Unless you are a Paris Hilton or the child of some business tycoons, APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. Application fee that you have to pay while still living in Malaysia alone (including English tests, medical examinations etc) would cost more that RM1000.

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Criteria to do undergraduate overseas.

1. Eat your Ego.
You should be ready to be humiliated and feel embarrassed and not worthy like a scum on an old well. Even if you were the best student in your high school, the first year might not guarantee you to be among the half top ranked students. You might even failed few subjects. Nobody would think you're capable of answering any questions that they might have. You might feel very, very stupid. I've seen a lot of those who were actually gifted and were cream of the cream, crumbled in this situation. This wasnt their fault. Nobody told them (us) that we might be left out since
- the syllabus of their high school are very much high,
- and there's also language barrier to overcome, and
- the thinking method should be change as well. You might want to know both the "top-to-down" or "bottom-up" study method.

If youre a person whose pride is everything (tak boleh nak merendah diri, cepat melenting etc), then forget your intention of furthering study overseas.

2. Ability to Blend In
Things became dangerous if you are either of these
a) - someone who always think that 'mat saleh' or orang jepun are the best
b) - someone who always think you and ur country are the best, menyampah betul mat saleh busuk ni

a) -->
You might not be able to blend with the culture, but u would ended up being a worshipper, mat saleh celup at the end of the day, a person without real identity

b) -->
you might not be able to blend with the culture, due to the inability to accept their ways and systems. Banyak benda yang rugi tak dapat nak belajar nanti

**The best state-of-mind that u should have before u decided to continue your study to a university in foreign land are that, these foreign people have their own laws, education systems and unique cultures. Some might awe us while certain things might annoy us. Bear in mind, mereka juga manusia, kadang2 they do things better than us, kadang-kadang mereka nih buat benda macam orang tak betul, tak boleh pakai langsung. So ambil yang terbaik.

3. Dont give up
There will be very harsh ups and downs in your life. Take it easy. Kalau masalah biasa (kat Malaysia atau kat mana-mana) pun tak boleh hadapi, macamana nak hadapi masalah ALONE kat oversea. Most of the time, walaupun ada orang Malaysia juga, you would still be alone in facing your problems. Everyone have theirs already. Setakat tolong sikit-sikit bolehla.

4. Istiqamah
Istiqamah or consistent dalam study, tak score (or fail) pun takper. Teruskan istiqamah.
Kat oversea, once kita tak study satu semester, jangan harap nak lulus. No, no. Kalau lulus pun takat atas leher. Kat Malaysia lainla, orang dah bagi lulus ada hati nak mintak naik GPA. Memang tak malu.. Kat oversea takder kuota lecturer nak failkan berapa orang pun, tak macam Malaysia.

So nak tau istiqamah, senang jer... Tengok cara kita solat, istiqamah tak? :P

5. Hardwork
You might need to triple ur works just to pass certain subjects, compared to the locals there.

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So that's it. For my brother who asked me whether he qualified to study overseas or not, the answer is no and yes.
No, because you are not sure and you have to ask other person to think whether u are qualified or not.. You should know urself better than anyone else.

Yes, if you have all the criterias that Ive just mentioned then Insya-Allah. Allah will be with you if you want to be with Him. Show Him.

Honestly, in some ways, I think studying at local IPTA are way much better than studying at anywhere else (oversea), more life, more friends, more fun. Even some lecturers and students here exclaimed
"Ehh, why did u do phd here? I want to go to Malaysia to study one day. Malaysia is way better than here"
"I want to work in Malaysia, is there any vacancy in ur university?" ...etc

Hujan batu di negeri sendiri :)
Sometimes it's just a matter of perception. Unless you know why you "have" to study overseas, then you are ok to go.

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Homepage berguna untuk reference:->
1. Malaysia Scholarship

2. Semakan akreditasi kos dan universiti

Ada juga beberapa scholar offered by many parties, MOSTI, NSF, Felda, Yayasan, NST, BNM, Chevening etc. Pandai2 la cari dan merapatkan diri dengan Finance Dept :)
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Saya cuma berkongsi sedikit sebanyak yang saya tahu, so dipersilakan kalau ada nak tambah tolak.