u/According-Pin-773

CUHK has rescinded its previous policy of giving conditional offers to A-Levels students. Coupled with the requirement for 95% UMS as the minimum entry requirement and 97% UMS as the entry for GPS, the bar has always been high.

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Through word of mouth, I heard news that MBChB only allocates 20 seats for ALL A-Levels students, locals or overseas.

This year, students with 4Astars and a UMS of 97% failed to get into MBChB, despite PASSING the 97 UMS entry barrier for the prestigious GPS program (a 97 UMS is apparently considered similar to scoring 4 subjects at 5**). Only those with 98-99 UMS were allocated seats for joining MBChB.

I find it ridiculous to imagine that getting 6 five stars in DSE indicates an entry into Med, but NOT a 97% UMS for IAL. Sure, 6 five stars is comparable to 90 UMS across 4 A-Level subjects, but the additional effort required to bump a score up to 97 UMS is simply incomparable.

I acknowledge that the current phenomenon heavily favours the Jupas route, and that competition has intensified due to accepting “overseas” students.

However, one cannot deny that despite the A-Levels students:
(1) Having studied a far more rigorous syllabus than DSE students for both biology and chemistry (this is agreed upon; the IAL syllabus overlaps MBChB Year 1 curriculum)
(2) Achieved impressive grades, far surpassing the minimum requirement for DSE applicants
They are still denied entry.
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So take this as a warning if you’re a younger student planning to apply for the MBChB route + studying Med school in Hong Kong. Pick Jupas, not non-Jupas. Unless you want to go overseas.

Telling your child that "it's out of love", does not erase:

- the self-doubt you inflict when you call them nasty names

- the trauma you cause when you yell and hit to get a point across

- the distrust within them when you violate their boundaries and confiscate their private diaries / devices / conversations with friends so you can "prove you're right"

- venting your frustrations on them and expecting them to bear it silently

- their inability to be vulnerable with others, because you called them a "wimp" / "useless" for crying, or simply yelled at them louder

- the lack of ambition when their failure is met with more rebuke

- their anxiety and perfectionism over how they can never be good enough (for you)

Filial piety only goes so far. Don't expect your child to forgive you every single time--if they do, it's because they are kinder than most. Kick, beat, and spurn a dog too many times--even it is bound to fear and hate the face of the abuser. Just so you know that we remember everything; forgetting is a choice.

It’s not the first time he’s mentioned it. He just yelled at my mum and I about how miserable he is after getting married and having kids, and how much he has to put up with. He mentions it at least once every week. He says he’s sacrificed everything for this family. He says if my mum can’t put up with him, she should just divorce him.

My mum is upset and keeps making angry faces at me, but I just want them to stop arguing. I am so, so, so tired of this.

Just yesterday and last week he shouted at me when I told him about all the occasions he’s said something hurtful, and he kicked away my mum’s hand when she tried to give me a tissue to wipe my tears.

He hasn’t physically disciplined me for a few years now but I’m still terrified when he shouts or makes threats like these. I am nowhere near able to be financially independent as of now.

I’m so sorry if this sounds vent-y. I’m not in a good state right now.

Hello teachers! I’m a student in Year 11 (will head onto Year 12 in a few months), and I’ve been working very hard on a personal project. It involves a novella with an exploration of certain dark themes (politics, implied and sometimes explicit violence, non-gratuitous smut), which is a culmination of my worldview and opinions I hold dearly.

My English teacher is an approachable and humorous British gent, and his command over language is simply amazing. I love his classes and frankly, he’s very “chill”. I’m very tempted to send a snippet of my novella to him (around 1K), one without smut but does include implied violence as a taster.

*For emphasis (edit, but was also included in the original): I’ll be sure to include a full disclaimer regarding all the potentially dark / NSFW bits so he can opt out.

I’m not sending the entire 5K draft to him immediately, because I know teachers are very busy, and demanding their spare time to look at my project might come across as selfish.

I have some beta readers online and within closer friends, but they don’t offer much in-depth analysis of my prose, structure or characterisations, which I really crave. But some have said that my writing has “commercial” prose, a strong internal voice and vivid atmosphere.

Do you think I should go forward with sending the snippet first? As impulsive as I may be, I’m a big scaredy cat.

I’m not sure how teachers view students who send them weird stuff like this, so I’d like advice on how best to approach this issue. Many thanks!

Final verdict after reading everyone’s valid advice: rest assured, won’t be sending it anytime soon

Hello English teachers! I’m a student in Year 11 (will head onto Year 12 in a few months), and I’ve been working very hard on a personal project. It involves a novella with an exploration of certain dark themes (politics, implied and sometimes explicit violence, non-gratuitous smut), which is a culmination of my worldview and opinions I hold dearly.

My English teacher is an approachable and humorous British gent, and his command over language is simply amazing. I love his classes and frankly, he’s very “chill”. I’m very tempted to send a snippet of my novella to him (around 1K), one without smut but does include implied violence as a taster. I’ll be sure to include a full disclaimer regarding all the potentially dark / NSFW bits so he can opt out.

I’m not sending the entire 5K draft to him immediately, because I know teachers are very busy, and demanding their spare time to look at my project might come across as selfish.

I have some beta readers online and within closer friends, but they don’t offer much in-depth analysis of my prose, structure or characterisations, which I really crave. But some have said that my writing has “commercial” prose, a strong internal voice and vivid atmosphere.

Do you think I should go forward with sending the snippet first? As impulsive as I may be, I’m a big scaredy cat.

I’m not sure how teachers view students who send them weird stuff like this, so I’d like advice on how best to approach this issue. Many thanks!

Be warned: I’m pretty new at this, and I’m fairly young. Haven’t found anyone in my close circle who would read my stuff seriously—therefore, I’m trying to find one here (a mentor-ish figure, or at least someone who will tell me which parts are horrible).

P.S. I’m also an awfully slow writer, so I’ve only completed around 3 chapters, each 1K long. I’ve edited most grammatical mistakes. Hopefully this isn’t a massive trainwreck.

This should be a fairly short read. :)

What I’d like to know (Feel free to add anything you’d like!):
- Whether the voices for my characters are working
- Is the prose too ornate? Be honest with me. I love playing with prose, but sometimes I get overboard and start waffling.
- Is my foreshadowing working?
- Do any of the characters disgust you? If they do, it’s working.

More on the content, because I can’t fit it all in the heading:
- Unreliable narrator
- Political + Wartime context (which will start coming in way more heavily in later chapters)
- Mature themes, NSFW (no gratuitous smut)
- Romance, but not overwrought and important to the plot
- Metamorphosis, but metaphorically

DM if you’re interested! I have a pretty idealised fantasy for my book—shatter it if you must. I won’t cuss you out.