After getting SPM result, everyone is so busy applying for scholarships and pre-university program. So do I. I've applied for PETRONAS education sponsorship program (PESP). My first choice is Chemical Engineering at USA and my second choice is Applied Chemistry at USA. After applying, the applicants have to wait for the result and Alhamdulillah.. I was invited to PETRONAS YOUNGSTARS DAY (PYD) for the next stage. I was so excited because from my seniors experience, they said that PYD was very fun and exciting. It was held from 22-26 April but my session was on 24th April. I went there with my mom and the venue was at KDU University College Glenmarie Campus.
Before PYD, of course the applicants need to do some preparations. There are some important documents need to be brought and make sure to complete the document they wanted us to bring. Don't worry, you'll be given a guideline. I also do some research about PETRONAS, what are their focus areas and read some experience shared by PETRONAS scholars. I also asked some tips from my seniors who are the PETRONAS scholars and they say to be confident, speak up and make friends with others too. Fortunately, I've joined some PETRONAS programs during my high school such as PETRONAS@school and they also come to our school for sharing.
I woke up as early as 5.30 a.m. so that I'll not be late. My mother and I stayed at a hotel nearby. My attire was a white shirt tucked in with a black slack, a black bawal, blazers and a pair of court shoes. From what I've learned for grooming session, this attire will make you look more presentable, sophisticated and smart so it made me feel confident in this attire. I've prepared all my documents and ready to go. I reached there quite early and met my schoolmates. As soon as we arrive, I had to say goodbye to my mom because parents and students had different briefing. We were ushered to floor 3A, where the auditorium was. When I entered, there were already one row occupied, so Shasha, Moh and I sat at the second row. I made friends with Zafirah and Maisarah. After that, we were told to register and took our breakfast. I was given a tag labelled 1-6 and sat at the front row.
During waiting for the briefing to start, I chatted with a new friend, Syakir from Shah Alam and he applied for accounting, and another friend, Arif from MRSM, thus I got Shasha to, my schoolmate and we are closed so yeah, I calmed down a lot. I am not bored at all because the students are friendly and there was nothing to be scared about as long as you know how to make friends, smile a lot and socialize. At 9.00 a.m we were given a briefing about PESP, the courses and countries, tips for CPSQ (which was a personality test) and TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment). I was quite nervous for the online assessment but PETRONAS already provided sample questions attached with the invitation letter and you have to do some past papers such as Oxford TSA and Cambridge TSA that can be found online.
After that, we headed to the computer lab for online assessments. The computer lab at KDU is so jaw dropping and so cooooollll. The students here must be enjoying the facilities. I was quite nervous because only participants who passed online assessment (phase 1) will continue to the interview session (phase 2). The first assessment is CPSQ which is a personality test. They asked about your personality, how you control your emotion and how you behave in your everyday life. So the key point is to be honest and know yourself thus don't take too long to answer. It was 45 minutes. The second assessment is Cambridge Thinking Skill Assessment which includes IQ test, Mathematics and English. The maths were not addmaths that require formula, but it was a logic math. You need to imagine a lot and solve the problem logically so open your mind and a little bit of practice from past years question might help a lot. 90 minutes for 40 questions and Alhamdulillah I had time to finish all questions.
After the online assessment, it was lunch break time. They served us delicious food, tho. Chicken rice ! But I did not eat because I'm too busy chatting and too full hehe. So I just finished my breakfast food and decided to eat that chicken rice after interview (if qualified). Sharp at 1 pm, the results was announced ! I was quite nervous but I calm myself down that whatever the result is, I what's best for me. Since the qualified names are arranged in alphabetical order and those with Muhammad and Nur were A LOT, I am anxious waiting for O 😂 Fortunately, I was qualified and my interview group was A11 which is the first session. I was grateful because I had to catch my flight too at 8 so being able to finished at 4 made my mom and I calmed down. Phew. My groupmates were Khalil, Jing Kai and Chin Kai.
At 2 pm, we were briefed about the interview session and given a case study to discuss. 30 minutes preparation were given. Time's up and we were called into the interview room. The interview started by introducing ourselves. Don't worry, the interviewers were kind and assuring so you just have to be confident and believe in yourself. We had to give our opinions and points on the case study given go 5 minutes. I was quite nervous at first by after some seconds, I became comfortable and was in the zone so I gave out my points. I hope it did not sound ridiculous or boring. After the individual task, we were given 30 minutes for group discussion. We had to tolerate with each other and bare in mind to speak up. Do not be too passive, dominant or too aggressive because they want teamwork and cooperation. We had to discuss a proposal based on the case study and present it after the 30 minutes was up. We had so much fun because the interview was not depressive or tense. At the end of the interview, we were required to ask some questions to the interviewers. I was reminded to ask questions to show interest towards PETRONAS. And at 4, the interview was over and we took some pictures as mementos. It's a wrap !!
After one month of waiting, patiently and anxiously for the result, the result was out on 26th May. My heart was throbbing when logging into the application to check the result and Alhamdulillah, I got the scholarship and also secure my first choice. I am so grateful to be blessed with this scholarship. I still in dilemma to choose between pursuing Chemical Engineering which is the program offered by petronas or medicine. I am so over the moon and very thankful. If I accept this offer, I will be pursuing my American Degree Program at Taylor's Lakeside Campus and if I succeed to maintain the cgpa, insya-Allah I will fly to United States in one year time. Wish me luck and I wish you all the best !!
After the online assessment, it was lunch break time. They served us delicious food, tho. Chicken rice ! But I did not eat because I'm too busy chatting and too full hehe. So I just finished my breakfast food and decided to eat that chicken rice after interview (if qualified). Sharp at 1 pm, the results was announced ! I was quite nervous but I calm myself down that whatever the result is, I what's best for me. Since the qualified names are arranged in alphabetical order and those with Muhammad and Nur were A LOT, I am anxious waiting for O 😂 Fortunately, I was qualified and my interview group was A11 which is the first session. I was grateful because I had to catch my flight too at 8 so being able to finished at 4 made my mom and I calmed down. Phew. My groupmates were Khalil, Jing Kai and Chin Kai.
At 2 pm, we were briefed about the interview session and given a case study to discuss. 30 minutes preparation were given. Time's up and we were called into the interview room. The interview started by introducing ourselves. Don't worry, the interviewers were kind and assuring so you just have to be confident and believe in yourself. We had to give our opinions and points on the case study given go 5 minutes. I was quite nervous at first by after some seconds, I became comfortable and was in the zone so I gave out my points. I hope it did not sound ridiculous or boring. After the individual task, we were given 30 minutes for group discussion. We had to tolerate with each other and bare in mind to speak up. Do not be too passive, dominant or too aggressive because they want teamwork and cooperation. We had to discuss a proposal based on the case study and present it after the 30 minutes was up. We had so much fun because the interview was not depressive or tense. At the end of the interview, we were required to ask some questions to the interviewers. I was reminded to ask questions to show interest towards PETRONAS. And at 4, the interview was over and we took some pictures as mementos. It's a wrap !!
After one month of waiting, patiently and anxiously for the result, the result was out on 26th May. My heart was throbbing when logging into the application to check the result and Alhamdulillah, I got the scholarship and also secure my first choice. I am so grateful to be blessed with this scholarship. I still in dilemma to choose between pursuing Chemical Engineering which is the program offered by petronas or medicine. I am so over the moon and very thankful. If I accept this offer, I will be pursuing my American Degree Program at Taylor's Lakeside Campus and if I succeed to maintain the cgpa, insya-Allah I will fly to United States in one year time. Wish me luck and I wish you all the best !!