ASEAN Selection Test

 ASEAN Selection Test 

Congratulations on getting the offer to the selection tests! The journey you shall embark on will be a survival battle of endless preparation and information hunting, so brace yourselves. But don't worry, it will all be worth it in the end because not only do you stand a higher chance of getting the scholarship but also because when you go to your normal lessons you will find yourself unbelievably smarter than before and your grades (especially in maths) will have improved tremendously. Anyways, in previous years, they have 4 different tests:

1. Maths Test

2. English Comprehension 

3. English Essay

4. Some sort of General Knowledge/Aptitude Test that I hear is kind of like a Raven's Test

HOWEVER, for the selection test I participated in, we did not have the last Aptitude Test. 

Registration

Always finish any last-minute revision in the car. As a 14-year-old at that time, I was young, naive, and too idealistic to think that I could possibly have any time to revise in the hall when waiting. My selection test took place at a KLCC ballroom, and oh.my.god there were so many people. They booked about 4-6 ballrooms if I'm not wrong and there were about 100 in each. Once you go through the door and scan the MySejahtera (ugh Covid) you have to fill out the health declaration form (ugh covid again), then give that form to the personnel. Then you queue in a long line full of extremely smart people whilst shouting inside telling yourself to calm down and just get your IC and selection offer email out. Afterwards, I stepped into a large hall and put my bag at the back of the room and was allocated to a seat. REMEMBER you MUST turn off your phone and anything else that might go off in the middle of the test, and only bring your pencil case, water bottle and IC to the table. 

Maths Test

I suppose you have read multiple articles elaborating the insane difficulty of the designed-to-humble-you-and-break-you maths test. Well, I beg to differ. It is rather challenging and most probably a lot more difficult than the maths you study in school, however as long as you prepare well, you should be able to answer most if not all the questions. Do note though, that there are no MCQs so "tempak"-ing your way to Singapore will not work, only hard work will get you to the interview. 

• tbh I don't really remember how long it was because I was way too nervous and in autopilot mode, but it should have been around 2hrs and 15 or 30 mins. Do not be mistaken by the long time allowed, answer the questions as fast as you can and skip any question that looks impossible, because otherwise, you will not be able to get to the last question. 

• unless they changed the rules, Sec 1 and Sec 3 applicants will not be allowed calculators, however, pre-u students are, so you might want to get used to not using calculators beforehand

• there were about 36 questions, progressing from easy to hard to making-you-almost-say-what-on-earth-hard, but don't panic because I'm pretty sure everyone finds it as hard as you do

How to Prepare: 

• for me, my sister's old secondary school actually taught the Singapore maths syllabus, so I studied the Sec 2 and 3 syllabi (took summary notes) and did some questions from it. If you have plenty of time and are the type to overprepare, you can read on the Singapore Sec 4 syllabus and some add maths too. 

• you can also practice some maths olympiad questions because the questions in the test are not as straightforward and direct as normal math tests so problem-solving skills are essential

• lastly, don't stress yourself out, maintain your work-life balance and don't worry too much. You can do it!

30 minutes break

So during the break, you can go to the toilet, eat some snacks, and/or simply stare into space and revive your dead brain cells. One small tip: if you are going to be in one of those large halls, don't bring food that will make a lot of noise because otherwise, you will see 100 heads turning to look at you simultaneously.

English Test

Comprehension:

• around 1hr 30-45mins (sry I have serious memory issues 😂), there is way more than sufficient time to answer all the questions and check, so no rush. 

• started with MCQ vocabulary questions (sentence with blank, choose word), so yay you can tempak and get some right 😝. Personally, this part was the hardest because although my English is decent, vocab isn't exactly my strongest suit.

• then it got to normal comprehension questions where you read paragraphs and answer questions - which were quite easy

• last was two huge paragraphs with blanks and you had to fill in the most suitable word - low-key confusing but not too hard nevertheless. 

If your English is fluent and you normally score pretty well, you should be fine, but I would suggest you hone your vocabulary. 

Essay Writing 

Crucial note: Breathe when writing, try to stop your heart from beating at 200/min but at the same time, write as fast as you can and don't hesitate. 

• 30 minutes. Yes, you read that right. Try to write as fast as you can but do keep calm and level-headed

• for me, there was no word limit, but I think you have 2-4 (can't rmb exact number) pages to write and you can't write more than that (I don't think it's possible to write that many pages in 30mins). Although there is no word limit, do try to stay concise though.

• my topics were: 1. Describe an embarrassing situation in front of your friends 2. Advantages and disadvantages of home learning

I don't really have any advice, but I guess maintain a positive voice throughout your essay. If you have a topic like No1, remember to discuss how you resolved it, and if you chose one like No2, be critical, but convey your gratefulness. I also don't have much advice regarding preparation except reading more and practising fast handwriting(bc of covid I think everyone is used to typing).

ABSOLUTELY VITAL NOTE: Things you write in your essay will be mentioned in the interview stage

FINALLY DONE!

When I walked out, I was shocked to see a couple of people hugging their parents and crying...? (idk it seemed so but I'm not sure), but I just want to say: Don't Worry. It is hard, but as long as you prepare and stay calm when answering the test, you'll do just fine. When you are done, try not to worry about it for too long (advice I told myself but did not end up following 🌚), and reward yourself with a good relaxing afternoon and/or night. You will probably have to wait 3-4 wks until they send emails to people who pass this stage (might be longer cus I had my test in oct so they were prob rushing the selection process)

To all of you who are preparing: good luck, and believe in yourself!

Note: All mentioned above may only be applicable to the selection tests held in 2021, procedures may vary in coming years.