Should You Accept UPU Appeal Offer in a Course You Are Not Interested?

Last year, about 200,000 SPM candidates applied to further their studies at Public Universities (UA), Institute of Teacher Education (IPG), Matriculation Colleges, Polytechnics, Community Colleges and Public Skills Training Institutions (ILKA) in various fields such as science, literature, applied sciences, skills and techniques. Of the total, only 129,835 candidates were successful in the application. Meanwhile, the remaining 70,000 failed applicants, like every other year, submitted their UPUOnline appeal applications for courses that still had vacancies even though the course is not among their choice and doesn't have any job prospects after graduation.

The ultimate question lies here, if you apply for the UPUOnline appeal and you are successful in the application, will you accept the offer to continue studying in a course that is not of your interest? What if the course offered to you doesn't have many job opportunities after graduation? Have you ever wondered how it would impact your future?

Staying Motivated to get Good GradesYour academic performance during your university days are pivotal for various reasons. Your results will directly determine your chances of landing a good job in the Private Sector. If you are planning to work in the government sector after graduation, your academic results will be screened and reviewed thoroughly even before the interview stage. The Public Service Commission (SPA) will only choose eligible candidates and the competition can be very intense.  Apart from that, you will also need a good CGPA If you want to pursue your Degree or Masters.

Surely you are well aware that choosing a course based on your interest and strength is crucial in ensuring you get good results and honors degrees. Would you be able to stay motivated in maintaining a high CGPA in a course you are not interested in?  What more if you have to do so throughout your 4 years of degree studies. Studying will turn into torment.

Do note that if your CGPA drops to below 2.00, you will be asked to provide valid reasons in order to stay or you will be required to repeat failed subjects in the following semester. You might even have to extend or differ your semester if you are not performing well. If you still fail the following semester, you will be at risk of getting expelled. A point to note, if you are differing or repeating failed subjects, the fees will have to be fully borne by you. Education loans will not be provided for additional semesters.

Funding Woes If Academic Results are Sub-Par

Public Universities  don’t usually offer any internal scholarships or discounts. You will be fully dependent on funding from outside parties where it can get really stressful if you are not performing well, especially in a course you are not interested in. Even if you are in urgent need of additional support or personalised tutoring, lecturers at public universities are often busier since the number of students enrolled are also larger in almost every faculty. It would certainly be harder to reach out to them or to set an appointment.

If you are an appeal entry, you will most likely apply for PTPTN education loan. If you apply for PTPTN, you will know that there are certain requirements set. PTPTN loans are blocked if CGPA is below 2.0.  You will end up paying for your own studies and to make matters worse, if you decide to quit your studies half way through, you must pay off the entire loan lump sum. Even installments are not accepted. Here is everything you need to know about repaying your PTPTN loan.

You have to remember that courses with job prospects are often more demanding. If you decide to take a shot at applying for a course you are interested in at a private university, although it may be tough, you don’t have to worry as there are multiple internal scholarships offered by private institutions as a means to support their own students. Even if you get a lower CGPA with a certain threshold, there are many ways you can earn extra credit and score a scholarship or discount. Not to forget, lecturers and tutors at private universities are committed to help and scaffold you if necessary until you graduate.

Chances of Employment

You need to thoroughly evaluate the job opportunity for the course offered to you via appeal.  Not all courses of study offered at public universities have employment opportunities. Despite being aware of the market trends, public universities continue to offer these courses.  Courses related to history and heritage for example do not have many job opportunities except in the public sector but these courses are offered to ensure that history and heritage of the country is not forgotten by the new generation.

Based on MOHE statistics last year, the number of graduates who successfully completed their studies were 305,301 thousand people. Of that number, 72% are still looking for a job or simply failed to get a job after graduation. Many public university graduates are unemployed compared to private university graduates. Several factors contributed to unemployment amongst Public University graduates, one of which is courses of study that do not have employment opportunities in the private sector.

Of course you can try applying for jobs outside your field. However, have you thought about how you are going to compete against thousands of other applicants who have the required qualification? No doubt, employers will usually prioritize applicants with the right qualifications. Chances are, you would end up accepting an entry level job that pays you less than what you are qualified for or something that does not have a clear career progression pathway. Please be mindful that unless you get lucky, this can be a career suicide.

We encourage you to check the most popular courses of study to get an idea of what is trending in the current job market and are highly-sought after by employers. This will help you decide if you should accept the course offered to you via UPU Appeal. We urge you not to simply accept any course merely to enter into Public University.

Don’t Compromise, Choose A Course of Your Choice

Upon reading all the above, you need to ask yourself if it is worth putting your mental health, effort, time and money on line?

We will continue to advise you to choose a course of study that you are really interested in.. Don’t make the mistake of grabbing what's available because at the end of the day, you will have to go through all of the difficulties we have listed above.

Private universities come with a hefty price tag and if you are worried about financial expenses, it is a trivial issue with multiple solutions. If it is related to tuition fees, you can apply for PTPTN and other financial assistance from outside parties or the university itself. There are many scholarships and financial aid offered by universities such as first semester tuition fee exemption, excellent student scholarships and more. If you can't secure a scholarship, make sure you graduate with a first class so that your loans will be converted into scholarships. 

On the other hand, if you are concerned that the courses offered at private universities might not meet the needs of the current job market, you don't have to worry. Private universities strive to offer courses that meet the needs of the current job market. This is because the quality of a private university is measured by the marketability rate of graduates who are offered jobs right after graduation. Most private universities have industrial relations to ensure their students are market ready. They pride the employment rate of their graduates in all their marketing material. The higher the percentage of graduates who get jobs, the more parents will be convinced to enrol their children in a private university.

You will be surprised at the quality of education offered by some Private Universities. For example, University Teknology Petronas (UTP), UNITEN and MMU are Government Linked University (GLU) owned by Petronas and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). These universities are students' top choice for further studies. Most students prefer to go to UTP, UNITEN or MMU  because the programmes offered are much better in terms of quality teaching staff, international standard learning facilities and above all, job opportunities that await them after graduation. 

Other Universities like IUKL, ADMAL, TAR UC, Limkokwing, MSU and APU are universities that offer courses that are in line with current industry demand. IUKL focuses on courses related to infrastructure facilities while Limkokwing is a multimedia creative university where the majority of graduates are successfully offered exciting jobs after graduation. This is because employers need graduates who have skills related to technology and multimedia taking into consideration the rapid development of world technology. Most times, graduates in this field are highly sought after by both local and foreign job markets.

Before selecting a private university, there are certain aspects you need to look out for. This includes facilities, whether or not courses of study is recognized by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), quality teaching staff, graduate marketability rate and so forth. You can click here to read more tips on choosing a private university.

If you are interested in applying to a private university but unsure of which private university is best suited for the course you want to pursue, you can schedule a personalized 20 minutes FREE counselling with Afterschool  Expert Counsellors. Our counsellors will help you make the right choice according to your financial ability, interests and job prospects. Lastly, remember education is a massive investment for your own future, make sure that the investment made is really worth it. Good luck!

Afterschool.my is Malaysia’s no 1 higher education website that provides helpful information on courses, institutions and scholarships for students transitioning from secondary school to university level.