All you need to know about Malaysian Matriculation (Matric/Matrikulasi)

Many of you don't know what is Malaysian Matriculation(in Malay, program Matrikulasi Malaysia) or commonly known as Matrik. So, I am writing this to give you the insight into this programme.

Matriculation programme is actually a pre-university programme under Ministry of Education Malaysia and it has 2 programmes with 2 different durations, 1 year programme(PST) and 2 year programme(PDT). The latter(PDT) is only for bumiputera, if you are Chinese or Indian, you can only enrol into the 1 year programme(PST).

For your information, 90% is reserved for bumiputera and 10% is reserved for non-bumiputera. So, you will have to get a very good SPM result and kokurikulum mark if you are non-bumiputera in order to secure a place to study this programme. Well, let me put you into perspective, I am a non-bumi and I got 9A1B in my SPM year 2018 and 7 something for my kokurikulum, I did not get offered for first intake and second intake. Lucky enough, I got offered for third intake  after I appealed twice. So, don't get upset if you don't get offer for the first intake, you can choose to appeal.

Students are selected via a meritocratic process, merits will be calculated by taking into account 90% of your academic results and 10% of your co-curricular performance For Science steam, yhe subjects that will be taken into account are Mathematics, Additional Mathematics, Chemistry and either Physics or Biology (only the best subject will be taken into account).  For Accounting stream, the subjects are as follow, Mathematics, Additional Mathematics and Prinsip Perakaunan, Ekonomi Asas ,Perdagangan, Sains etc.(best 2 subjects will be taken into account).

There are 2 streams, mainly Science stream and Accounting stream. There are 3 modules in Science stream. I am not going to talk about what subjects you gonna learn in these 3 modules, but Mathematics and Chemistry are compulsory in all 3 modules. The subjects are as follow, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science and Mathematics. For Accounting stream, there is only one module. You will study Mathematics, Accounting, Business and Economics. Other than those subjects, you will also learn Pendidikan Moral, Pendidikan Islam (if you are a muslim), Pengajian Am and English. Pendidikan Moral, Pendidikan Islam and Pengajian Am will only be taught in one semester, either semester 1 or semester 2 depend on your timetable. English, on the other hand will be taught in semester 1 and semester 2. English in semester 1 helps you to prepare for Malaysian University English Test (MUET) which is compulsory for every student. Kokurikulum is compulsory as well but only for 1 semester. Students are selected via a meritocratic process, where your merits will be calculated by taking into account 90% of your academic results and 10% of your co-curricular performance. 

We only sit for one final exam known as Peperiksaan Semester Program Matrikulasi, in short PSPM every semester. Like other universities, Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is used to assess students' performance with 4.00 being the highest point. If you ask me is the exam hard, I would say it is hard because Matrik is an intensive programme, you learn a lot of things in a short period of time. Everyone can score if you put effort into it. Yes, many people have a misconception that Matrik is easy and many students take the exam for granted and did not score well in the exam, I kid you not.

Pros:

1. Matrik is extremely affordable, you only have to pay once. The entire programme fee is about RM500, you don't have to pay for your accommodation. On top of that, you will get allowance of RM200 on monthly basis from the government if your family monthly income is below RM10,000(not sure about it tho, I could be wrong).

2. Matrik is the quickest route to public university besides asasi (university own foundation programme). Other path to public university is through STPM which is a 1.5 year programme, Matrik is half a year shorter than STPM.

3. Matrik students have wider selections of courses and universities. You can apply for the course you like and your dream university, of course you must meet the requirements set by the university.

4. You get to be friend with other races. If you are from SMJK, this is a golden opportunity for you to befriend with other races.

5. Lectures here are very caring and dedicated. Lecturers will check student progress from time to time by having a quiz or test in class and make consultation compulsory for students that don't perform. 

Cons:

1. You have to be very independent. In Matrik, you are on your own and you have to learn to to be independent. You have to clean your own room and wash your clothes, your mom is not going to help you anymore.

2. All matriculation college are situated at rural area, entertainment is very limited and no big shopping mall around it. You can only go out from the college ONCE every week and return to college on time due to the strict curfew. Staying at the college hostel is compulsory and you can't go out from the college freely. You have to get permission from the college if you wish to go out on the day that you are not allowed to go out with a reasonable reason.

3. You can't go back home every weekend but parents are allowed to visit you on weekend.

4. Matrik students are busy, classes start at 8 am and end at 4 pm usually and the timetable is very packed with only 1 hour lunch break everyday. Sometimes you have to attend extra class at afternoon or even at night.

My semester 2 timetable

5. It is very competitive when it comes to course application. Courses like Medicine and Law are the most sought-after courses among students, these courses require interview. If you are a 4 flat student, you are not 100% guaranteed to get your desired course because you are not the only one who scores 4 flat. There are many students score 4 flat from all matriculation college across the country. So, don't be surprise if 4 flat students can't get their desired course and university. The place for each course is very limited.

6. Forget about matrik if you want to study overseas. Study STPM or GCE-A level instead, these 2 are internationally recognised. Matrik only recognised by some universities outside Malaysia.