What exam means to you?

[fyire]

Ahhh.. exams... was fun I remember it being like trying to walk a tight rope, only instead of walking, you're actually running on your first try too...

Skipping classes for the entire semester, then walking into the exam hall 5 minutes late (timed that one properly too) and smiling at the examiners who will be scowling at you, and finally, making sure to be out not later than 1.5 hours later (for a 3 hour paper).

[Chai]

I think most exams test how much you know, not how intelligent you are.

I will never forget how badly I fair in written exams, any written exams. From essays, to subjective questions. This is why I will NEVER study EVER AGAIN.

[djspinnet]

Exams are NUTS.... nuts.. compared to Trinity College London's Associate Diploma in Performance... depending on the examiner.. it's pure pain. And it doesn't help when the pass mark is 70%.

1) You must time your repertoire and state the time required to play each and every piece, and tell the examiner that. And you must actually play within a deviation of a minute or two of your actual stated time.

2) The examiner will take apart your performance from your playing, articulation, body expression, even to how much you bend towards one side while reaching the far end of the piano, or how much your butt was jutting out of the chair

3) The examiner's report then gets sent over to UK for the chief examiner to validate and put his signature on that paper...

4) You then get your results.. and this's only for Associate Diploma. The two higher level diplomas are Licentiate and Fellowship... it's no wonder that there are no marks given for Fellowship Diplomas. Only Pass or Fail.

Having gone through this... paper examinations is nuts.. really nuts.. close one eye still can pass.

[ZuePhok]

Originally Posted by djspinnet

Exams are NUTS.... nuts.. compared to Trinity College London's Associate Diploma in Performance... depending on the examiner.. it's pure pain. And it doesn't help when the pass mark is 70%.

1) You must time your repertoire and state the time required to play each and every piece, and tell the examiner that. And you must actually play within a deviation of a minute or two of your actual stated time.

2) The examiner will take apart your performance from your playing, articulation, body expression, even to how much you bend towards one side while reaching the far end of the piano, or how much your butt was jutting out of the chair

3) The examiner's report then gets sent over to UK for the chief examiner to validate and put his signature on that paper...

4) You then get your results.. and this's only for Associate Diploma. The two higher level diplomas are Licentiate and Fellowship... it's no wonder that there are no marks given for Fellowship Diplomas. Only Pass or Fail.

Having gone through this... paper examinations is nuts.. really nuts.. close one eye still can pass.

and it's freaking expensive to fly those examiners all the way from UK to msia

haih..couldn't believe last time i was this stupid..paid for the trinity classical guitar exams if the examiner was an angel, I wouldn't mind. but it had always been grannies or bald men who speak thick british accent!!! and they didn't even bother to send me christmas cards or CNY wishes (i did say hi to them when i walked in)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

n on a side note, I always respect students who took up the STPM's challenge (not exam or scoring the best score sake)..

[The_YongGrand]

Yeah, music exams are quite expensive. And we will have to wait for a long time for the results. I took the ABRSM Grade 5 Practical in '04...

I took the STPM exams last year. It's so difficult. Ouch.

[doraemon]

u need to past the exam, then only can get the piece of paper wat ppl call degree...if u're just diploma...u need to continue exam to get the degree, then only u can get a better job

[u suck.com]

the only importance of exams is learning how to learn and be desciplined to learn, that's all

it doesn't mean anything, but unfortunately it determines if u can get into higher edu

[fyire]

Originally Posted by u suck.com

the only importance of exams is learning how to learn and be desciplined to learn, that's all

it doesn't mean anything, but unfortunately it determines if u can get into higher edu

- Learning how to learn
- Being disciplined to learn

Are those two not the most important things in whatever you might be doing? Is there a single day where the learning ever stops permanently, and will any boss out there be willing to hire somebody without discipline, no matter how smart they may be?

[peaz]

I agree with fyire here.

As much as I hate exams as I do, *I personally think it's a total waste of time* but as Adrian said, it is a necessary evil. Without exams, how in the world is any employer able to filter through literally thousands of job applications for any positions at all? You can tell a thousand tale about your true ability. But it's not until you perform the task that the employer can see if they are true or not. Thus, the only way is via paper degrees or paper results.

True.. paper degree and certifications hardly paint the true picture. Which is actually why some companies (multi nationals) will actually take a closer look at you IF you are able to show some proof of past experiences, extra curricular activities, leadership roles even in clubs or societies. All this, packaged together with an ok looking paper will bring you much further than just a nice printed paper with the word "1st Class Honours" on it.

[Chai]

Finally I'm seeing something that make a lot of sense... Can't disagree with that.