Why take STPM?

Author
Walter Tay
6 min read·September 13, 2024

Table of Contents

My personal thoughts on why STPM

STPM is (very) widely recognized

I think a lot of people underestimate how well recognized STPM is globally. I've heard a lot of people talk about how "STPM is recognized worldwide" but I've not seen it explained in a clear way.

Today, if you do well in STPM, you can literally apply to any university in the world. This is with any university application system so whether that's Oxford, Cambridge, UCAS for other UK universities, Common App in the US, and application systems in Singapore, Hong Kong, or literally anywhere, you will be able to apply and get in with an STPM certificate.

A-Levels and IB are expensive

For most students, STPM isn't their first choice. Or even their second, third, or fourth choice. Most students who do well in SPM take A-Levels or IB because of the perceived prestige and global recognition. But it's expensive. A-Levels at Taylor's can cost up to RM33,300. That's more than 3x the cost of a 4-year degree at UM, USM, UTM, etc.

There are other options like AUSMAT, but those are also quite expensive (around RM30k).

For entry to local public universities, it depends on the degree you're taking. For more popular degrees, A-Levels and IB are accepted. But I also rarely know of people who get into local uni with A-Levels (could be selection bias, maybe people who do A-Levels are more likely to go overseas because they can afford it).

See example entry requirements for UM:

UM Entry Requirements

Diploma and Foundation are less flexible

  1. With a diploma, if you're planning on getting a degree after, your options may be limited. Some universities will accept your diploma as a pre-uni qualification, but many of the stricter universities might not. For example, see this Twitter post that went viral about how someone got perfect grades with a diploma at MARA but failed to get offers for multiple local universities.
  2. With foundation, you're still doing a pre-uni program. It's cheaper than A-Levels (RM2k local, RM10k-20k for private uni), but you're still not getting any "breadth" from your pre-uni experience. You're doing a very narrow set of subjects. This limits your options post-foundation. It's harder to switch to a different degree if you change your mind. And it's also harder to switch to a different university if you don't like the one you got into.

Diploma programs can also be costly. See example programs at Taylor's University:

  • Diploma in Communication: MYR 30,532 for a 2-year program.
  • Diploma in Hotel Management: MYR 31,718 for a 2-year program.
  • Diploma in Culinary Arts: MYR 34,578 for a 2-year program.
  • Diploma in Information Technology: MYR 30,344 for a 2-year program.

Caveat: I personally think diploma and foundation are still good direct pathways to a career or local degree. So don't discard this option if you think it suits you.

UEC is not recognized locally

This is a big deal. UEC holders are not eligible to apply for entry into local public universities. This means you have to pay a lot of money to get into a private university in Malaysia, or you have to go overseas.

Matriculations is great for local uni, but not for overseas

Matriculations, or Matrics, or Matrikulasi is great for getting into local unis.

It is probably 5x easier to get into your preferred local uni (e.g. UM) with Matriculations compared to STPM. I don't have any exact numbers or surveys on this (data in Malaysia tends to not be very transparent) but what you can do is if you meet 1000 UM graduates, you'll see that 5 out of 6 them got into UM through Matriculations. It's interesting also because the intake for Matrics and STPM is roughly the same (40,000 students take Matrics and STPM every year, so 80,000 students in total). However, if don't need to get into UM (honestly the other unis are also good) and are willing to go to other local universities, STPM is still a really good option. It's just a bit harder to get your preferred choice with STPM if you don't do well.

Downsides:

  1. Matriculations is harder to get into for non-bumiputeras because of the 90:10 racial quota. This has changed slightly recently with Anwar's new guaranteed admissions to Matriculations for top scorers, but the current racial quota (90:10) remains unchanged (enshrined in Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, which recognizes the special position of Malays and other Bumiputeras). And honestly, if you are a top scorer, why would you do Matriculations when you can do STPM and have the potential upside of getting a scholarship to study overseas?
  2. Matriculations is not well recognized outside of Malaysia. There are very few universities overseas that accept Matriculations, and the ones that do aren't generally ranked at the top (they are still good universities though).

More on why I like STPM

  • It's affordable (< RM1000 in total)
  • It's local (you don't have to fly to KL or go to Labuan for Matriculations)
  • You get access to local universities through UPU
  • You get access to overseas universities (UK, US, Canada, Singapore, Japan, literally anywhere). It's also arguably more recognized than most programs. Someone I know got 4A* for A-Levels, but failed to get into Imperial College London after interviewing. Another person I know got in to Imperial with 4A STPM even without an interview.
  • It's rigorous. You actually learn a lot. Instead of being tested on everything in one go, you're tested more frequently (3 semesters). Which means you'll have much stronger fundamentals before starting university.
  • You can try again if you get bad grades. You can repeat semesters (ulangan) without having to wait another 1 or 2 years unlike the other pre-uni programs. If you get a C for one semester, you can try again after semester 3 without having to repeat the whole of Form 6.