First Year Experience in UPM
Posted by MeEhaF Le'FaZ
A year had passed and I am here to share my experience while I studying for my first year (first and second semester) in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). When I got to know I secured a place in UPM for Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), it was sad news for me. It's my last choice and I get it.
I registered on 1st July 2006 as I don't have any other choice. I was lucky to get a new hostel and I was happy for that. The orientation week was really a living hell. It was full of politics and I was surprised how this kind of talk can be given to a university student. The stupidity of the seniors can be seen the way they organize a thing. I believe that they should choose good, brilliant and intelligent student to be our facilitator during the orientation week but in UPM, it was really a sad environment. The facilitators were smoking in front of the juniors, showing a negative attitude to the newcomers. Their communication skills were really bad. I still remember, in the hall, the facilitator said:
It was a bad example and I have no idea why the university chooses this kind of people in assisting the newcomers. The activities organize by them also were really childish. It never shows maturity as a university student.
A week passed and the lectures begin. I was looking forward to go for lecturers as a university student. I still remember, my first day and my first lecture were Biochemistry under Faculty of Biotechnology and Biochemistry. The lecturer came and he spoke in Malay. I was stunned. He said he is a doctorate and expert in enzymology and he can't speak proper English. His notes were fully in Malay. It was very difficult for me as I already learn Biology & Chemistry in English during matriculation and I found it easier to understand. It was my first lecture and I was giving up hope.
There are also lecturers that are very good but mostly??? I don't want to comment more on lecturers. The facilities provided were first class. Wireless network, library with latest sets of books, nice lecture hall with new computer and projector and also the shuttle service were amazing.
Finally, a year had passed and I can conclude that, don't ever give high expectation if you choose to enroll public university. The much more expensive school you are, the much more quality of education you are enjoying. I would appreciate if some of you guys can share your university life here so that we can make comparison and let the world see the differences between public and private higher learning institution in MALAYSIA.
A year had passed and I am here to share my experience while I studying for my first year (first and second semester) in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). When I got to know I secured a place in UPM for Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), it was sad news for me. It's my last choice and I get it.
I registered on 1st July 2006 as I don't have any other choice. I was lucky to get a new hostel and I was happy for that. The orientation week was really a living hell. It was full of politics and I was surprised how this kind of talk can be given to a university student. The stupidity of the seniors can be seen the way they organize a thing. I believe that they should choose good, brilliant and intelligent student to be our facilitator during the orientation week but in UPM, it was really a sad environment. The facilitators were smoking in front of the juniors, showing a negative attitude to the newcomers. Their communication skills were really bad. I still remember, in the hall, the facilitator said:
"kau orang semua tak de otak ker bising macam ini.
Bodoh betul la kau orang ini"
Bodoh betul la kau orang ini"
It was a bad example and I have no idea why the university chooses this kind of people in assisting the newcomers. The activities organize by them also were really childish. It never shows maturity as a university student.
A week passed and the lectures begin. I was looking forward to go for lecturers as a university student. I still remember, my first day and my first lecture were Biochemistry under Faculty of Biotechnology and Biochemistry. The lecturer came and he spoke in Malay. I was stunned. He said he is a doctorate and expert in enzymology and he can't speak proper English. His notes were fully in Malay. It was very difficult for me as I already learn Biology & Chemistry in English during matriculation and I found it easier to understand. It was my first lecture and I was giving up hope.
There are also lecturers that are very good but mostly??? I don't want to comment more on lecturers. The facilities provided were first class. Wireless network, library with latest sets of books, nice lecture hall with new computer and projector and also the shuttle service were amazing.
Finally, a year had passed and I can conclude that, don't ever give high expectation if you choose to enroll public university. The much more expensive school you are, the much more quality of education you are enjoying. I would appreciate if some of you guys can share your university life here so that we can make comparison and let the world see the differences between public and private higher learning institution in MALAYSIA.
Labels: MeEhaF Le'FaZ, Tertiary Education, University
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It is unfortunate that your first year turned out to be disappointing. Nevertheless, this provides you insight to how M'sian public universities can be improved and I believe our generation in line have to fight and strive for the good of our children.
Posted by
jjme |
Sunday, June 17, 2007 12:05:00 PM
I do think this is a very honest post.. i dont know if it's suitable here tho. No offence.
Posted by
Anonymous |
Sunday, June 17, 2007 2:42:00 PM
Hi there...Your last choice is a DVM from UPM and u get that?...I would kill to be in ur position!! U must have got really good results in ur matriculation.Well,let me introduce myself first.I'm a STPM student with a CGPA of 3.64. I came from the same batch of students as urs..applying for public Us in 2006. Being a great animal lover, my first choice was the DVM program. But I failed to get that...instead they gave me my 3rd choice..B.Sc Chemistry in UPM..I was devastated.Being a vet has always been my dream n my target in the last few years. But then, maybe that dream was not meant to be after all.So, I enrolled in UPM for the Chemistry program at the same time as u. I can relate to most of the things that u experience there. (bad orientation experience, Malay-speaking lecturers).Unfortunately, I got an old hostel to live in and I had a hard time adapting to it.
Life in UPM, to me is about...studying, studying, studying...3 exams in 1 sem??!!..Give me a break...No wonder ppl say the P in UPM should stand for Peperiksaan. Soon, I realized tat this is not the student life tat I want...there should be more to being a Uni student than studying alone...wat more in a field that I'm not quite interested in..I want to experience the true university student life. So, I left...after only one semester. I quit..even though i got a CGPA of 4.0 in tat sem...I enroll in a lesser known college after tat in an unrelated field(business)..Stupid??..Impulsively made decision?..I'm not sure...still trying to figure it out.But wat I'm sure is that, after studying 1 sem in my new college, the things that I have learned and experienced here are more than anything that I hav learned in all those years of schooling, not in terms of studies, but in terms of soft skills and character building. I became a bolder and more active person. A new person.
Now, my 1st sem there is coming to an end and I will be sitting for my finals soon. I m still trying to figure out whether I made the right decision or not. Anyway, I juz want to share my experience with u..Being a DVM student, can u share more of experiences with me so that I can know what I have miss?..Even though I cannot fulfilled my dream, at least I can still hear from sumone else who is living my dream (even though it is not urs in the first place)..
Rmb that being a vet is a honourable job n u should be proud of it..u are doing sumthing for the animals..They need good doctors, juz like humans.But, juz a little advice 4 u..If u dun like animals or this job, it may be better if u leave n pursue the courses that u really want..A job is sumthing that u will spent ur whole life doing. Cannot afford any regrets there..ya?
Sorry for my long post..^^
Posted by
littleblackpuppy |
Monday, June 18, 2007 3:06:00 AM
littleblackpuppy,
FYI i was product of UPM. Anyway, why u give up so soon in UPM. Since u score 4.0 flat for 1st semester, u should maintained in 2nd semester. Then by 2nd yrs, u can try to apply to change course to u beloved course DVM. By showing ur 4.o flat result, sure u can change the course easily. u only wasted 1st yr in UPM.
I have few friend which successfully done it in the past. Even if u r thick faceone, u should go & appeal to DVM dean to consider u for DVM admission. As long as u try hard, sure you can fullfill ur dream..
But be frank, since u gip up ur place in public uni for lesser known college, it was totally wasted. Bear in mind, in working society, de employer will look at the paper u have meaning the degree cert & from where...then follow by ur personality.
like my self, i being dumped into UPM i feel devastated for 1st semester. I did quite bad only scoring 2.6x. But after 1 semester, i realized that the one i need is just a degree cert so i work hard for it. Although i not bookworm, i still manage to grad with 2nd upper class.
When i started my job, i start to equipped & learn as much as i can of de knowledge available. I can said that i fare well comparing with my coursemate in uni.
Anyway, all de best for u.
Posted by
Anonymous |
Friday, June 22, 2007 5:06:00 PM
I'm curious... can you please share more about your studies and experience in UPM? You see, I'm aiming to be a veterinarian, despite the fact that my parents seem to think other wise. Anyway, at first I intended to study oversea, since it's quite affortable. I'd even made my decision on which U to apply for. But then, my mother told me just momments ago that they won't be supporting me, financially, if I were to study veterinary... Well, that pretty much burst my bubble of studying in Australia and I've to turn to local U instead. UPM is the only university offering veterinary courses, so I've heard, and along the way there are also rumors about collision among the different races often occurs there... that's why I'd chosen oversea U's over local public in the 1st place. And your blog has also let me know more about UPM and why my first choice was no doubt better. Yet, I can do nothing if I don't have my parents' support and will have to settle for locsl U.
I'm still unsure of what to do after SPM next year. I really need someone to guide me. My parents prefer me to study in the local matriculation program and they intend to pull a few strings to ensure that happens. I really don't like their ways of doing things, it's not honest! I'm thinking of going for form 6 studies but then I'm totally clueless about the pros and cons of it...
Well, I think I'm way off topic here... sorry about that. I'm just happy to find someone that is studying veterinary and perhaps can guide me a little about the requirement and things as such about it. Your blog really helped a lot. Thanks! ^^
Posted by
Yeo |
Monday, December 17, 2007 11:38:00 PM