Tips for academic success from top students
Chuleeporn Aramnet
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- ONE OF EIGHT students who got the top score in university admissions this year gave three tips for academic success: Stay focused in class, ask questions of teachers, and join in extracurricular activities.

Supissara Pattarasinmano, from Satit Maha Wittayalai Sri Nakarin Virot School in Bangkok, who scored 89.85 per cent in the admission exam, said: "I love studying English and I feel my character is suited to study at the faculty of political science's international relations department at Chulalongkorn University," or CU.

After doing some research about the programme's subjects and career paths after graduation, she just went for it.

"Once my goal [was] clear, I studied very hard because I don't like going to cram schools. Most tutoring classes could have students learning from computer or TV screens, whereas I prefer to study with real teachers so I can ask questions," she said.

Supissara, who obtained a grade point average (GPA) of 3.76, credited her success to paying attention in class, reviewing lessons when at home and attending useful activities. She urged other young people who failed the test not to be too worried, saying that getting into a public university wasn't everything in life.

"There are still other options out there," she said, adding that parents shouldn't be hard on their kids because everyone has his or her own set of skills, so parents should help them discover and maximise their potential.

Another student, Sirada Tritreungtassana from Bangkok's Satit Sri Nakarin Virot Pathumwan School, said she and her family were overjoyed to learn that her hard preparation had paid off; she scored the highest mark - 91.6 per cent - in the admission exam.

"I want to study at the CU faculty of communication arts because I've always been interested in photography and the media. I plan to work in the film industry or an advertising agency," she said, adding that she hoped the CU programme, which has many subjects that should cater to her career needs and allows practical experience, would enable her to be a great communicator.

Another top scorer, Athitiyaporn Sabprom from Tak's Padung Punya School, said she was shocked to learn she scored 83.3 per cent, which will allow her to go to Chiang Mai University (CMU). She changed her original goal to apply for CU's faculty of arts to CMU's faculty of education to become a teacher like her mum. Despite obtaining a GPA of 3.95, Athitiyaporn was humble about her result.

"My school is upcountry, so I thought I might not be able to compete with Bangkok kids," she said, adding that she thus invested in studying harder, reading for more knowledge while also attending tutoring classes during school breaks.

"Don't dismiss yourself as 'you can't', because nothing is impossible if you make efforts" to do well, she said.

The official announcement of this year's admission test results went online from 6pm last night at www.aupt.or.th and www.cuas.or.th, as well as the official websites of 13 related agencies.

Successful students have to present themselves for interviews from June 15-17 or as appointed by their respective universities.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Tips-for-academic-success-from-top-students-30261737.html

-- The Nation 2015-06-06

What a lucky young lady.

Almost every student I've had dealings with said that asking a Thai teacher questions was the kiss of death.

Respect to these kids. Some hard work and clear goal setting that belies their years is great to see.

Shame it seems to be the exception rather than the rule though

Nice, but I have better advice for Thai students:

Don't copy

Don't cheat

Don't cut and paste

I taught two of the top three students for this year's test and they were great kids. Importantly, they were involved with many activities and were very well-rounded students. One of the students has done a lot of writing for the school paper and she made it known in one of her essays that she wasn't going to be pushed into a field that she didn't enjoy and feel comfortable with. Unfortunately, many Thai kids seem to get pushed by their parents into a field they don't care for.

I taught two of the top three students for this year's test and they were great kids. Importantly, they were involved with many activities and were very well-rounded students. One of the students has done a lot of writing for the school paper and she made it known in one of her essays that she wasn't going to be pushed into a field that she didn't enjoy and feel comfortable with. Unfortunately, many Thai kids seem to get pushed by their parents into a field they don't care for.

Small correction, most, not many, Thai kids get pushed in to the fields.

That is the problem of the general educational system.

It's always inspiring, and humbling, to hear from teenagers who have their act together and are excelling in school.

I think they forgot one point, don't criticize the military government.

another top tip seems to be "be a girl"