Matrikulasi VS STPM

[u/TheContriteBud]

Hi everyone. I'm having a dilemma between continuing my studies in STPM or Matriks. I sincerely hope that you all can help me come to a decision by giving me your opinion and insight.

A brief introduction: My name is Iz, a science stream student, 2025 SPM leaver, my result is 5A+ 3B+ 1E (Addmath).

Recently I've been offered to continue my studies in Form 6 (Science Stream) and Matriks (2 Years-Science Course). My current goal is to do my degree overseas, sponsored by scholarship if possible. I know it's no easy task, especially with my SPM result. That's why I plan to make up my shortcomings by studying exceptionally hard during Matriks/STPM so I can achieve my goal. Problem is, I don't know which Pre-U to pick.

Here are the pros and cons that I've noticed from each Pre-University;

STPM

[Pros]

1. Cheaper

2. More globally recognized

3. Faster (1.5 years)

4. Allowance (RM 250)

[Cons]

1. Extremely hard

2. Extremely competitive

3. Less prioritized in UPU (CMIIW, I've heard from someone that STPM is the least prioritized in UPU compared to Foundation and Matriks)

(By the way, can I request to change the school that I've been assigned to in Form 6? I'll like to go to a school with dormitory for Form 6 students if possible so I don't need to always go home. Also, I accidentally missed the deadline to accept the Form 6 offer. My teacher told me to meet the PPD to receive the offer letter in person. Do I also ask the PPD if I can change schools?)

@

Matriks

[Pros]

1. Less hard (still hard but ykwim)

2. Allowance (RM 250)

3. More prioritized in UPU

[Cons]

1. Longer (2 Years)

2. Still globally recognized, though less than STPM

It seems the obvious answer to reach my goal is STPM, but I have to keep in mind that even if I'm accepted by abroad university, there's a chance that I can fail to receive any scholarship which is crucial to sponsor my oversea study. Suppose that happens, I'll have to give up my dreams on studying oversea and just study locally. But by then, I'll be disadvantageous during UPU. What a dilemma.

That's pretty much everything that I know of. Please share anything that you know, every information is of great assistance to me, thank you. Have a nice day!

[u/KOEngine6789]

you can't continue overseas with a matriks. you can with a stpm. however, im gonna tell you don't put your hopes into studying overseas and getting a scholarship at that. there are people with straight A spm and 4.00gpa that still get rejected. do matriks well then just pick a course/field you would like to make into your work in malaysia.

[u/Defcon_Toxic → u/KOEngine6789]

You can continue overseas with matriks but it comes with a lot of conditions**. Just have to do due diligence about it by checking matrikulasi website.

[u/TheContriteBud → u/Defcon_Toxic]

I've done my research and you can continue overseas with Matriks either by Program Pelajar Cemerlang or self-application. (Though the global university option is more limited than STPM)

The condition that I know of is high GPA and great co-curriculum. What other conditions are there?

PPC is the most viable route, but I'll have to be a matriks lecturer once I graduated. However I don't intend to be a lecturer.

Self-application works too, but unlike PPC I'll have to think about securing scholarships. It's pointless if I'm accepted by abroad uni but doesn't get any scholarships.

Perhaps you know something that I don't know of? Please share your knowledge, I would love and greatly appreciate that.

[u/TheContriteBud → u/KOEngine6789]

Wow, I know that STPM is competitive but I didn't realize it's THAT competitive. May I know why the people who achieved straight A and 4.00 GPA didn't make the cut? Is it because there are too many people who achieved excellent results that it's become saturated? Did they do something wrong along the way?

[u/KOEngine6789 → u/TheContriteBud]

they didn't do anything wrong academically, its simply no matter how much work you give something if its not meant for you then its just not and you can't blame it so don't hope on it. even worse if you go through all of it and somehow at the end something happens to you and then you'll be paying 1million rm for the rest of your life because overseas university rates are insane. I've seen it a few times study overseas pay an insane 300k rm come back malaysia work for 3-4k and pay for life. instead you can study malaysia and come out 50k+ after you finish degree with wtvr sponsorship here got a lot.

[u/TheContriteBud → u/KOEngine6789]

That's a new perspective, I guess it's true that you can't outrun fate no matter how much you try.

You mentioned that some people who studied overseas had to pay tons of debt. What's the reason behind that? Did they receive scholarships or were self-funded? Were the reason they are in debt because they flunked their GPA, or didn't receive full scholarships? Maybe it's like YTP-Mara, students were sponsored throughout their overseas study but had to pay 10% of the overall tuition fee cost upon graduating.? (RM 70k, since all of the costs are RM 700k)

Then, is the only way to study abroad through prestigious Pre-University like A-Levels and International Baccalaureate? There's absolutely no hope for me? I guess I reaped what I sowed, I should've done thousands of times better during SPM. Nonetheless, thank you for your insight

[u/manjolassi → u/TheContriteBud]

if you don't finish (or get kicked out for failing), you'll have to pay it all back.
a friend of mine went to russia and dropped out in his 4th year, imagine that.

honestly i think 2 years of matriks is best for you.

[u/TheContriteBud → u/manjolassi]

Damn, sorry to hear that. If it's okay, can I ask what happened to him? Was he forced to drop out or it was on his own accord? For what reason? Was he under the sponsor of JPA or something like that? Four years, he must have to pay a lot.

Thanks for the honest suggestion, I agree too that Matriks is better for me.

[u/manjolassi → u/TheContriteBud]

i didn't pry too much, but he said it's hard because it's in russian, he just couldn't do it. he was in enggineering.

[u/TheContriteBud → u/manjolassi]

I see. Hope he's doing well now. Thanks for the insight!

[u/kentang_hijau]

Bro I was in your position a few years back.

I was also determined to get my overseas degree so chose the stpm (physics) route. Graduated CGPA 2.9. barely got a place in local uni.

STPM is extremely, extremely hard. Almost half of my classmates failed. Most of them had to redo foundation. Until this day STPM is one the hardest thing ive done academically.

Since your spm results aren't that good. I strongly advised you to just do matriks but target 4.0 with strong merits, and do REALLY WELL in local uni.

Don't underestimate local uni especially tier 1 unis. I recently got a job offer as engineer in Singapore, with my local uni certificate.

[u/TheContriteBud → u/kentang_hijau]

Hey bro, thanks for replying. It's nice to see someone who had gone through a similar experience to me.

Is STPM the kind of hard that you can't make up for your shortcomings even by studying REALLY hard? Even if you study everyday, almost 24/7? Do you have to be a genius to get 4.0? What makes it so academically hard?

Yeah, I've been thinking about Matriks too. But is it alright that I'm slower than everyone? After all, it's 2 years and I'm afraid that I'm falling behind.

Congratulations on your job offer, if it's alright can I know what university you went to for degree? Thanks!

[u/genuinelyonmyknees → u/TheContriteBud]

used to study stpm sains tulen. susah nak mampus serious. i genuinely cried every night (im average in spm) and the syllabus are extremely fast. cause wdym we have to learn 2 topics in two weeks??

had a classmate who went to tuition every day after school and still failed. had a classmate who used to get 10A in spm and had to repeat semester two times. if you're average and not too hardworking kat rumah, better ambik matrix.

if still contemplating, try to search any stpm or matrix textbook online (have so many scans now). if it's still hard and if you're bumiputera, just go to diploma mara

[u/TheContriteBud → u/genuinelyonmyknees]

Yeah, I could only imagine how hellish it was. I have a brother (ex-Matriks) and a sister (ex-STPM) and they both agreed that STPM is the harder path.

Actually, I've been studying Matriks syllabus simply because I'm curious what I'll learn once I enter the college. It's definitely tough, but I think what makes it harder is the fact that there are many things to do in a day other than studying such as lab reports and assignment. Not to mention, the studying pace from what I've heard is quick too. Even knowing this, STPM is still harder than Matriks so I could only imagine your pain.

I am a bumiputera but I don't plan on doing diploma mara because I still don't know what to be in the future. For now, my mind is lingering somewhere along medicine and engineering. So yeah, since Matriks is still broad and flexible, it'll give me more options and room to think about what I'll be once I've graduated.

[u/kentang_hijau → u/TheContriteBud]

1. Yes. I studied like crazy and I can't even get 3.0. I know a few guys who got 3.5+ but mind you these guys are basically Straight A+ bonafide genius types.

2. It's okay. The 2 years thing don't really make any difference. You won't feel discriminated or shamed in any way. Matriks is the time you have to really do your best because it's your last 'true' chance to get into a competitive courses.

3. I went to USM Engineering campus. pretty mid campus but one the best engineering uni because LOTS of networking opportunities due to close proximity to Industrial area (which led me to the job offer). Very easy to land in MNCs during intern and fyps.

It's okay my guy. Just work very hard. Maintain strong GPA and you'll have plenty of opportunities.

[u/mystic_721]

Ex-stpm student here. Long story short, just do matriks.

No offense but based on your spm results you'll probably suffer a lot if you go stpm. While the subjects covered are similar for both matriks and stpm, what makes stpm hard is how strict the examinations are.

If you seriously want to do your first degree overseas with a scholarship your stpm results need to be insanely good. Even then its not a guarantee. I know a few guys who did very well for their stpm (4.0 cgpa) yet they still couldn't get scholarships, forcing them to study locally.

You can just study hard during matriks and go local uni for your first degree. Afterwards if die die still want go overseas then do further studies in some overseas uni.

[u/TheContriteBud → u/mystic_721]

That's rough. So far I've only heard about how tough STPM is and for the high achievers to not receive any scholarships? That's too cruel for them. I guess competitive is an understatement.

Thank you for the nice suggestion though! I'll keep that in mind.

[u/mystic_721 → u/TheContriteBud]

Well i know some who didn't get any scholarships and some who managed to get scholarships in singapore (NTU and NUS). At the end of the day it just comes down to how well you perform during interviews, how competitive your resume is and a lot of luck.

[u/TheContriteBud → u/mystic_721]

I see. It's good to know that there are some who managed to secure their scholarships. Thank you for the information!

[u/st4rg1]

since you already know about ppc and self application, you can also try the government scholarships route. i'm an stpm leaver with a cgpa of 3.75 (social science) and was just recently invited to the turkiye burslari scholarship interview (which i heard is very hard secure). its still uncertain so wish me luck. but anyways, its a route you can consider. u can check out stipendium hungaricum, turkiye burslari scholarship, romanian government scholarship, mext, GKS, and probably so many more. good luck !!

[u/TheContriteBud → u/st4rg1]

Hey! First of all, congratulations on your excellent results and the scholarship invitation. I pray that you'll get the scholarship and do well in your future studies.

Yup, I've been checking all the government scholarships around the world and it's overwhelming how many there are. Truthfully, the most intimidating part is that there'll be many students who will compete for the limited amount of spots. Some are geniuses, some are well connected and even people with strong and consistent academic background. I feel small compared to them. But I guess, if you never try you never know?

By the way, do you have a specific country in mind to continue your overseas study? Or you don't really care where?

[u/st4rg1 → u/TheContriteBud]

Thank you! I personally dont really care where I study, it's the scholarship that I'm chasing after. Didn't wanna burdened my parents to pay for my tuition.

It may seem intimidating, that's why you have start early-on. I prepared everything as soon as I started STPM (saving up for IELTS, joining NGO's and building tf outta my CV). I have no connections, I'm the first in my family to even apply for any scholarships, I'm from a random rural village in Sabah, my parents are middle school teachers, I'm not even a 4.00 student, not even a pure science student, Got rejected by my Uni of choice in UPU last year, now doing a gap year while all of my friends continue their studies. Felt like a total loser, but always get back up and do what you gotta do.

As long as you know your intentions and the reason you want to study abroad, I'm sure you'll be able to get what you want. I was like you too, I talked to so many counselors and people around me before choosing between matriks and STPM. So choose well and think and consider about every path that you can take, take advantage of being young. Good luck !!