Junior Kolej Mara Banting ( 2011)
Okayy, atas permintaan one of my teachers, MR. Axxxx so, I come up with this guidelines.
Ketahuilah bahawa your teacher sangat prihatin terhadap his students, especially for bdk2 mrsm Tun Abdul Razak, Pahang. So this is not really guidelines, but something to look up for, especially for those yang interested/eager/excited or maybe have no idea, what the heck is IB and where the heck is KMB. Even if you had google walkthrough, well maybe you just need some details or explanation, here and there. So keep reading on,
Where is KOLEJ MARA BANTING @ kmb?
Basically just google it. You will find it much more easier rather than followed the map given along with the offer letter. But, the map is pretty okay I think, unless you can't read it, (like me) ask better person to analyze it for you. And 1 more thing, it is not located in Banting, but nearby a Government clinic of Bukit Changgang.
What is IB ?
International Baccalaureate. If you brag about you're getting into IB school to any local students, your mak cik, pak cik, ckgu sekolah lama, MOSTLY will asked you back,
" What is IB?" haha, don't worry. It is a fact that Malaysian rarely known what is IB stands for or whether it is a good level , until you replied
" IB just like A level" YES. Then only they will nod and plaster a smile on their face! My point is, don't bragged about IB, because not many people knew about it. Both are good courses indeed, but IB takes you in a longer route, I mean you have to finish your diploma within 2 years, while I think most A level students finish theirs in one year, isn't it? I think so.
Course
Majority of the students are taking MEDICINE, followed by ENGINEERING, Biotechnology and dentistry. But in 2011, one class of ikthisas being introduced. I don't really know much about it, but I heard they learnt environmental science instead of Bio/Chem/Phy.
Luckily, during my time all the JPA students had been destined to go abroad to UK for all courses. But started with my junior-time, all the medicine and dentistry- JPA students are bound to Ireland. While the rest still bound with UK. I think it is pretty safe for them, because they do not need to compete for placement, which a struggle for all the non-JPA students, including me. But Im not sure for Petronas scholar.
Subject
Take note, you are required to take 6 subjects, 3 Higher levels and 3 standard levels which you will be learnt in 2 years in KMB. The real IB exam, ( which will determine whether you can get into university or not) will be held at the end of 2 years. So basically it is just like SPM or O level, where you need to learn from A to Z, then only you sit for the real exam. Bad news, you cant escape, because there will be a semester exam every 6 months, just like ordinary college or U in Malaysia. And trial exam @ Mock IB will be held 1 week before the real IB.
1) Language A1
Regardless of what course are you in, you are compulsory to take Language A1. Language A1 is a subject of your mother tongue. Aha, you need to learn Malay A1 SL. Jangan ingat nak pergi oversea, x belajar Malay. You are completely wrong. But I would say it is an opportunity for you to unleash your potential in literature. Yup. You only learn SASTERA.
2) Language B
Okay, you are compulsory to learn English HL for medicine and biotechnology students while for engineering student you need to take English SL. But if any of the engineering students interested of taking English HL, it should all right!
3) Pure Mathematics
Okay, all the engineering students are compulsory to take Mathematics HL while non-engineering students can choose whether to take Mathematics SL or HL.
4) Biology HL / Physics HL
For engineering students, you are compulsory to take Physics HL. So, the non-engineering students including dentistry, biotechnology and medicine are compulsory to take Biology HL .
5) Chemistry HL
All students regardless of their courses are compulsory to take CHEMISTRY HL.
6) Social Science subject
You are free to choose one of these subject, either Business and Management, Economics or Integrated Technology and System. All is only available in SL level.
So, for example, if you are medicine student, your subjects will be
Malay SL, English HL, Math SL/HL , Biology HL, Chemistry HL and Business/Econs/ITGS SL.
Enough right, 3 HL and 3 SL, or if you are risk taker go ahead with 4HL and 2 SL.
Grading/ Band
So, if last time A+++++ is the highest grade you can score, then you can assume it will be equivalent to a " 7 ". So A will be a "6". And 5,4,3,...1. To be honest teacher won't expect you to get A "7" because "6" is actually good enough. But if you can get a " 7 " , it is a bonus! Personally, I only got 7 twice ( excluding the IB exam) for all the semester exams in KMB. To get honour roll @ bdk mrsm called it "penghormatan pengetua", you need to get 36.
So, 6 subjects x 7 = 42. But later on you will be introduced with EE ( just like mini thesis ) and TOK essay which contribute to bonus 3 points. So the real score for IB is 42 + 3 = 45.
Placement
This is the most controversional issue especially for non-JPA students. You have choices to choose which country you prefer to go abroad to, including IRELAND ( for medicine and dentistry) , Twinning Ireland - 2 and 1/2 in Ireland and 2 and 1/2 in Malaysia, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada ( for engineering and Biotech only), Czech republic, India and Malaysia. Its a complicated story to tell but one thing for sure, you need to be excellent in semester exam and pass the interview to get the your dream country.
I guess thats all from now. All this information is based on my experience in kmb. Now Im waiting for my IB result, pray for me, okay!
Any enquirers, you are welcome to ask. Thank you.