Academic Journey 4: Applying for MARA Education Financing

Bismillah...

The current MCO 3.0 has been extended to 28th June and here I am at home, trying to figure out what else to do to make the most of my free time. In the previous lockdowns I was busied with my study and scholarship applications. When I wanted a short break from all that, I obsessively purge and reorganize every nook and cranny of my space at home. By early of this year, I have nothing much left to sort out. I was just done with my 45 minutes stretching and full body work out. While waiting for my Nasi Lemak to arrive, I think I could start with a few lines on this post.

Practiced my Kanji and did jigsaw puzzle yesterday~

As of today, I still haven't got any email from MARA. However, I manage to contact the person in charge last Friday. I was very lucky to get through on my first attempt, Alhamdulillah. Well, there is nothing much to do other than wait, actually. I explained to her my situation in which  I need the offer letter for study leave application 3 months before the university admission date. She was kind enough to reassure me that she will try her best to speed up the process. 

Well, what makes the whole process very complicated is that the requirements and timeline for MARA, UCL and KKM study leave does not align with one another, you know.

For MARA the sequence is like this,

Application → Issuance of Financial Affidavit (FA) to be submitted to the university to get Confirmation of Acceptance (COA) → Issuance of offer letter, financial statement and agreement

For UCL,

Application → Result →  Issuance of CAS (The COA) 3-4 months before admission. FA or deposit is not required

For KKM study leave application, the scholarship offer letter is a prerequisite. So there is no way I could submit my study leave application 3 months before the admission because UCL has fixed the CAS release to be 3 months before admission. You see, there is nothing much I could do in my position other than be patient and pray for the best hahaha 

Now lets proceed to how to apply for MARA...

For the one that I applied in March, there has been major changes in the application process from the previous ones. Here are the infographic and full pdf guidelines. Well, it was written there that the application was for those who are currently studying and for those who will start in May but I submitted mine anyway. I wasn't being adamant or whatsoever. It was just that I only knew that September intake is suppose to apply in June somewhere in May when I discovered the GREP MARA FB Page. I was worried that my application would be rejected after I found out about it but Alhamdulillah, it was accepted for consideration.

I was actually surprised to see the online form because it was the simplest of all the applications that I had undergone. Besides my personal details which includes my income tax number, it also asked for my parents details, my dependents, my SPM results, the course that I'm applying and in which university. The following are the documents that need to be uploaded as a zipped folder. When I went back to the portal to upload my IELTS result, there was a new instruction to name the folder with your full name and IC number.

As you can see, for IELTS it was mentioned there that it should be emailed to MARA. I emailed it immediately upon receiving the hard copy result. Well, I did check the portal every now and then but after not seeing any changes since I submitted my application, I stopped doing so. I thought the sole purpose of the portal was only for application and all updates will be conveyed via email. AND I WAS WRONG! Luckily after about 2 weeks or was it 3 weeks of no response to my email, I decided to check the portal again. And there it was, a change in my application status and an instruction to upload my IELTS result into the portal! I think this might be one of the factor that caused the current delay. The ones whom I knew have received their FA have completed all the required documents when they submitted. 

That's about it! My batch of applicants don't have to go through any psychometric or personality test, no medical check up is requested so far but maybe later it will be and we haven't received any instruction for guarantors too. But ya, we have to bear with this long wait in uncertainty although many steps are omitted. 

In previous years, MARA did allow course and university change but from what I saw in the Telegram chat group, those who have received FA will have to reapply in the next round if they opt to defer or change the course or university. So, I guess you will have to firmly decide to which course and university before applying with the current system. 

That's all for the application process. Again, please pray for me! I will share what are the subsequent tasks after I get through this stage, inshaAllah...

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Academic Journey 3: Preparing Financially To Study in UK

Bismillah...

Here we go again with another MCO in Malaysia but this time the cases are even worst. We hit 9k cases 2 days ago, but luckily today it's down to 6824 cases. Alhamdulillah. However, a very frightening outbreak is happening in Labuan and the cases recorded have been more than 150 cases for the past 3-4 days. I'm worried for my family in Labuan; keep reminding them to stay at home and praying hard for Allah's protection from afar.

As of today, I have not received any news regarding my MARA application and still patiently waiting. The results are slowly being released via email and MARA is prioritizing those who are about to enroll in May and July. I just hope by the time the result is out, I still have ample time to prepare for my departure to UK. Alhamdulillah, I have settled all the other documents to apply for study leave but there are still two required documents that I have not obtained which are my scholarship offer and my Unconditional Offer Letter. I have written to the university and emailed them again today after about 3 weeks. The process is quite slow as universities are dealing with high volume of enquiries. I just wrote to them again to inform the urgency. I will write another post detailing how to apply for study leave, InshaAllah.

While there is not much to do at this phase, I decided to meticulously study how much money should I prepare and to my surprise, I will need to prepare more than RM 10k to be safe. Here is the rough breakdown 

Student visa: £348

Immigration Health Surcharge: £470

Accommodation deposit: £250

One-way Ticket: ~ RM1500

Student Visa and Immigration Health Surcharge

I can't detail how the process is like yet but I will update in a future post, inshaAllah. But the process will differ depending on which university you are applying to. Here's the info page in British Council Page and this one from GOV.UK.

For the TB test, only a check up from an approved clinic will be accepted. In Kota Kinabalu, the appointed center is KPJ Sabah, the fee is RM 190 and you can contact this number to make an appointment 088-322000. Here is the link to the TB testing guide. I emailed KPJ to ask whether I can bring over a chest X-Ray from another medical check up since I'm going to do one for MARA anyway. The answer is no. You will have to undergo the whole process all over again hahaha

I just learned that IDP offers free consultation services that cover almost all aspects of studying abroad. I thought they only help with IELTS application hahaha. And you might be waived from the unibersity application fee if you apply through them so I guess you should give it a shot as the services are free of charge. Well, there might be some charges for document verification, courier service etc.

Accommodation

Well, London is famous for its high rental cost but I have no idea how much is HIGH. And when I went to do my research, the rental fees are shocking! There are rooms that cost £150 per week but they are quite far from the university which means I will still have to spend a lot for transportation. Those nearby cost £250-£400 per week, undeniably comfortable too.

I finally applied for the university halls and I specified my preference for halls that house postgraduates only. I also opted for a single room; at this age I am willing to pay more for comfort hahaha But the thing is I might be taking an unpaid leave instead of Cuti Belajar Bergaji Penuh (CBBP) as this was a requirement by MARA in the past. There are rumours saying that the current scholars are taking CBBP. I really hope this is true so I have one less thing to worry hahaha

For now, I haven't paid anything since the halls allocation will be done from 1st July. But after they emailed the result, you will have to respond within 3 days and pay the £250 deposit. You will not get a refund if you decide to cancel.

Another option that I found quite affordable is actually the MARA house but an 8 weeks deposit is required and that alone is around RM9000. And the traveling time to UCL is approximately 35 minutes by bus so I rather spend a few more pounds to cut the traveling time hahaha 

Flight ticket and travel

I am not a fan of long flights thus I will definitely make a transit in the middle east. However, UK categorized countries into green, amber and red and all categories have different rules and SOP for transit and quarantine during arrival. Here is the link and it is frequently updated. I will most probably buy my flight ticket a few weeks before because it will be such a hassle if suddenly the country at which I choose to transit switch to a different category.

The GREP Telegram members are currently discussing about whether or not to apply for My Travel Pass. But when I checked just now, it seems like it is not required for those intending to study abroad. And then again, this is subject to change.

There are so many uncertainties since I haven't got any news from MARA. Whatever the result will be I will have to accept with an open heart despite all the efforts I made. That is all for now. I hope this will be helpful for others in the future. I will keep on posting on my journey, inshaAllah

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Batu Punggul, Nabawan: 12-13 Sept 2020

Bismillah...

I almost forgot to write about this trip. But this one deserves a post on its own because I think this place is awesome and it is a must go for nature lovers! The picture below is the picture that a friend of mine shared when I asked for the contact. You can try any of the number to arrange for the trip.

  

My advise is to first look for the location in Google maps so you can plan your journey because we only did so before we go! I was surprised it was actually very far from Nabawan. We would've left earlier if we knew. We had dinner in Warung Satay Lembah Brunei. I always wanted to stop here because it always seems like a full house every time I passed by. And wow! I think they have one of the best and juiciest satay in Sabah! And do try the char kuey teow too. We didn't stop to fill Baby Dragon's tank in Keningau and that proved to be a grave mistake. We were lucky enough to find a place that sells fuel at the side of the road that night!

The budget breakdown was like this:

Entrance: RM 45 per pax

Boat: RM 70 per boat (Roundtrip)

Homestay: RM 35/room

When we arrived, we were surprised by the condition of the homestay and had a big laugh hahaha The 8 of us literally shared the same space and there was no partition to separate between male and female. So kami pun redha haha it was passed midnight when we arrived, anyway. All we wanted to do was sleep and get up early for our climb the next morning

It was rainy season when our friends went to climb here so they didn't get the chance to ride this boat. It was a 10-15 minutes ride and the boat was very thin and unsteady so I guess it is not suitable when the water level is high and the current is strong. The scenery along the river was very nice! This is one of those untouched parts of Sabah thus it will surely take your breath away!

This is the starting point of the climb. Easy trail from where the boats docked to here.

The climb reminded me very much of our climb in Gunung Senyum during my undergrad. Climbing a karst has its own unique challenge and those with fear of heights and faint hearts should be mentally prepared. It took around 30-45 minutes to reach the top. The earlier the better because it gets really hot as the sun rises. In this kind of formation, there are very few vegetations for shade and the heat will be reflected by the rocks thus it gets even hotter. 

So here we are, all of us on top. We had a good weather that day. Just the right amount of clouds when we reached the peak hahaha

Alhamdulillah, syukur nikmat \\(",)

(Malaysia maju, rakyat selamat~ that song we listened as kids lol)

And before we head back, we took this picture below. This was the shallow part of the river. The boat was pulled and stalled there just for this picture lol The instagram era~

And the guy who took my pic went,

"Kak, tiada orang ambil gambar pegang botol mineral.."

"Eh dik! Pegang botol mineral la baru real. Panas pulak ni, haus!"

Hahaha that's called generation gap

One generation that takes pictures for the likes while one takes pictures for the memory hahaha

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I am Muslim first.... Part 3

Bismillah....

Alhamdulillah, it is now the 5th day of Ramadhan but my first day of fasting. The possibility of Raya with family and friends, however, currently looks bleak with the rising number of cases everywhere. So, I decided to go back to Labuan tomorrow with accompanying my mom for vaccination as a reason for interstate crossing. It was a decision made in a hurry right after the announcement that I have to make all the arrangements in two days which include a swab test (RTK is suffice but I got myself a PCR), a written police permission for interstate crossing and also my ticket back. As I was walking under the scorching sun on my way to the swab test area I thought, "This used to be easy~". Indeed, we won't realize something is such a blessing until we lose it, right? But, I have to mention here that although the process is tedious, Alhamdulillah, for my case things were running very smooth. I just dread the swab....

So, what's your Ramadhan routine for 2021?  I don't know if it was just me, but I was fighting back tears on the evening of 1st Ramadhan when I passed by the mosques, looking at how full the parking areas were. It was such a solemn sight last year when all of us were in lockdown during Ramadhan and I even had several Tarawih prayers in the oncall room! This pandemic is a long, hard battle. Some might have it even harder than the rest of us. But we are slowly moving towards win, inshaAllah. 

I've written several times that Ramadhan is a month where I'll miss UIA very much. But I guess those 6 years have shaped the strong foundation for my yearly Ramadhan routine. I will stop all night sports activities for the whole month and will replace them with a brisk walk in the evening. I don't listen to music when I run because I like to listen to my breathing and also the sound of nature (although sometimes interfered by the chatters of uncles and aunties lol).  Yet, during my Ramadhan evening walks I will listen to podcasts in Spotify or talks in YouTube. I'll make sure the volume is not too loud because I still want to have the birds chirping, and the rustling sound of leaves as the background. At night, I'm trying my best to be steadfast with the Qur'an 30 for 30 series. I started with juz 14 of the 1st season because that was where I stopped. Will try to catch up with the 2nd season, inshaAllah.

Well, we are so accustomed with this Ramadhan routine so the whatsapp group will be flooded by all the resources for Ramadhan. We love planners since forever! So for this year I'm trying this one from Qalby. Here is how it looks like. I actually prefer a printed version but I'm trying to be paperless here so I'm making use of this PDF version on my tab.

And there is also this Qur'an 30 for 30, 1st season ebook. After I listened and made my own notes, I'll spend a few minutes reading the explanation in the ebook which gives the concise summaries. And I also love this Doa ebook which I downloaded into my phone for easy access.

So what I want to share actually are these 2 videos that I was listening to during one of my evening walk by Ustadh Wael Ibrahim. I jot down the notes here and my own thoughts on them for easy reference in the future.

Tips on how to be a productive Muslim

WHY we must be productive

1. Life is too short to waste

“O Son of Adam, you are nothing but a number of days. Whenever each day passes, then a part of you has gone.” — Al-Hasan Al-Basri

In reality, our days are numbered and we have no idea when will be our last. Thus, time should not be wasted into things that are not beneficial because we are here to equip ourselves adequately before we are to meet the Creator. If we waste too much time, we might have very few to bring with us~

2. Quality time

By being productive and by having things or work done on time, we will then have spare time for other things that matter like time for family, time for hobbies, enough rest etc

3. Leave a legacy behind

This doesn't mean having your name on the wall of fame. Leaving a legacy here means being remembered and of course we want to be remembered as GOOD. But if we haven't been spending time productively, that's most likely will not be achieved.

HOW to become productive

1. Keep your eyes on the WHYs. 

The list of WHYs to me is never exhaustive and it is personal. I agree that if we are very clear with our WHYs it will be a driving force that will keep us steadfast

2. Fight one battle at a time

I'm a super monotasker since forever so I could really relate to this point. There was a point in my life many years ago when I realized multitasking was not getting me anywhere. I started on multiple tasks but very few were completed and they were not up to the standards that I myself have hoped for. That was how I started to focus on one battle at a time. That was when I totally start to understand that being busy is not necessarily being productive

3. Ignore the pain from great effort

I think this is something that many people find very hard to adopt even myself. We are more incline to comfort or quick gratification thus we ignore anything that could possibly inflict pain although that is the only way to greatness. This is, I feel, a very profound reminder. Nothing great is easy. The greater the challenges, the more rewards await at the destination.

Tips on how to make positive changes in our lives

E- Environment

Find a healthy environment that encourages you for the better. Avoid an environment that exposes you to negative activities or even negative emotions because we will eventually 'become' who we surround ourselves with.

S- Structure

Have a structure and system in place. Rasulullah s.a.w was a man of routine, he planned and strategized his day that every second of his time was always filled with something beneficial for him, the religion and the ummah. It's easy to waste time when one does not plan.

I- Implementation

Put things into action. Implementation of knowledge is power.

 العلم بلا عمل جنون والعمل بغير علم لا يكون

"Knowledge without action is madness and action without knowledge does not exist"

P- People

Have a support system which will help us grow in knowledge and character as well as people who will help us care for our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.

I'd wanted to schedule this post for later since I just posted 2 days ago but then again I should share this earlier so you can download as well as benefit from this sharing earlier in Ramadhan. 

That's all for now. I'll try to share as much as I could on the things I learned this Ramadhan here and in IG story, inshaAllah. 

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Academic Journey 2: Applying to UK Universities

Bismillah...

So lets continue with my academic journey. First of all, it should be mentioned that this is my second time applying to UK Universities so I'm already familiar with the process and the requirements. At the end of 2014, I applied for MSc Clinical Pharmacology and received offers from King's College London and University of Glasgow. But 2015 happened to be not a good time to leave my family thus I did not continue with the whole process. 

This time around, I applied for the following courses and I disclose to you the results;

MSc Clinical Pharmacy, International Practice and Policy, University College London - Conditional Offer

MSc Clinical Pharmacy, University of Exeter - Conditional Offer

MSc Clinical Pharmacy, University of Strathclyde - Conditional Offer

MSc Control of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine - Rejected. Well, it is always frustrating to face rejection of any kind but I guess since LSHTM is a research institute, I think it was my lack of experience in research that made me not a strong candidate for the course.

MSc Epidemiology of Infectious Disease and Antimicrobial Resistance, University of Glasgow - Conditional Offer

So, what should you prepare to apply for UK universities.....

1. Build your CV!

I was told that it is not difficult to get a place for postgraduate studies in UK and that must be true since I always manage to get offers but I think if you are aiming for the world top universities, your CV is very important. I did apply for UCL in 2014, paid for the £50 processing fee and did not get any reply! Was it my CV? I don't know~

It was while writing my CV in 2014 that I started to realize that doing well in your 8-5 job does not add anything into your CV. My CV was very brief because I have no extra projects, I was not a committee in anything and I was not involved in any volunteer programs. I stared at the screen long and hard. It was crystal clear I was an extremely ordinary candidate who had nothing extra to offer, who only had her achievements in the past to impress the readers. And then when I did not proceed with my study plans that year, I started to build my CV. It took me 6 years to reapply for a Master Degree but actually I was intentionally, deliberately preparing for it all along. I always have it in mind and was waiting for my 'right time'.

Again, I think CV is important when you are aiming to enroll into a top ranked university. Logically speaking, it should be one of the thing that will help them identify that you are the stronger candidate than the others, right?

2. Personal statements

This is something that a local graduate would not be familiar with but since this is my second time so writing them was not as hard as the first time. But I did take my time to write, review and edit my personal statement for UCL. Basically, the admission committee would want to see our motivation, our suitability for that particular course as well as our future plans. And it really helps if you read through and understand the course requirements so that you can tally your writing to what they are looking for. I didn't use the same personal statement for every university because the course modules differ greatly. 

There are many samples available online and there are even sites where people will leave constructive comments on what area need to be improved in your personal statement. 

3. Referees

Most universities will ask for at least two referees; one academic and one professional. You can either upload the reference letter into the application portal or the referee can email the reference to the university. But for UCL and LSHTM, the university will send an email to the referees and they must respond within a given period of time. Your application will only be processed after your referees replied to the email. 

I nominated my mentor in university as my first referee and my current chief pharmacist as the second referee. Alhamdulillah, both of them were very supportive, they responded to the emails immediately so my university applications were settled with ease. 

4. Application fees

Well, the thing about applying for overseas Master program is it will involve a lot of money. My IELTS Academic UKVI paper cost me RM895. I applied to two universities that charged application fees. UCL's application fee is now £90 and I paid £50 for LSHTM so that's roughly around RM800. The application fee does not guarantee you a place and you will not get a refund if your application is not accepted. So this is one of the thing that you must consider and be prepared with if you want to enroll into top institutions. 

5. English Requirements

Of course, the universities would want to know our level of English proficiency. For the courses that I chose, most universities required a minimum of band 6.5 overall with no less than 6 in all sections. But for UCL, the requirement is GOOD which means we will need a minimum of 7. So I've written a lengthy post on my IELTS experience and tips before this one. 

When should you sit for IELTS? I registered because I needed something to nudge me to work harder but actually, MARA would want to see the result. Although you can sit for it later and send the result to MARA after the application is closed but then you have to bear in mind, what if you don't score it the first time? I met more people who had to take the test more than once. I don't think it was poor mastery. I think it got to do with the answering technique. Most of us haven't sat for a written exam for years so it make sense that we no longer know how to score with the correct technique.

6. Additional documents

Some universities may ask for additional documents. For example, for the University of Exeter MSc Clinical Pharmacy, there is a special form for the employer to fill to verify our current practice as a pharmacist. UCL asked for the Pharmacist Registration Certificate. Luckily, our license is now in English. If it was not like it was in the past, we need it to be translated by a certified body. You don't have to worry if you missed these additional documents because the university will send you an email to request for it.

I think I've touched all the basics and most important stuffs. 

Why I insist on going to the UK? Yes it's an opportunity for travel but most of all, I want to experience the system. I want to see for myself how different it is from my own setting and is there anything that I can possibly apply back home. Why I'd waited for so long? Of course, there are things to sort out like loans hahaha but I don't want to have a Master just for the sake of having another academic qualification. I'd waited until I really know what I want in my field. But please don't wait for too long hahaha Except for Chevening, most scholarships have age limit and it happened that I have reached it this year so this is the last year I'm eligible to apply for them! Oh tidak! So I really hope I passed this MARA GREP thingy.. Please pray for me!

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