JMSS YEAR 10 ENTRANCE EXAM 2019 DISCUSSION

[Specialx69]

I Have mine on the 10th. Do we wear School uniform or not??

Mine is also on the 10th. What time is yours? Mines at 8:40.

[Mr. Universe]

I have a bad report card, does that mean I have no chance 

You don't have the worst chance but if you can make up for it with enthusiasm, a genuine passion for science, manner and overall co-curric stuff. Then you should be fine.

[Mr. Universe]

Jeez, I go away from this AN forum for 1 day ya'll msg as much as we did in 1 entire month if not less. BTW I got my interview e-mail today at 12:04pm.

My surname starts with S.
My school starts with O if anyone is wondering about these details.

[Appo]

Would it be best to wear smart casual or school uniform to the interview?

Wear school uniform, it reflects where you've come from and can always spark some conversation. I had quite a lot of badges at my old school and got to talk quite a lot about it with the Principal (I had Mr. Corkill for my interview) - it's a good thing because I currently attend JMSS -

Also things to note for people that were invited to the interview process:

• - Compile achievements, reports, participation certificates, credits, awards and prizes in a folio (photocopies) and create a spare plastic slip with everything inside as well (so you have a folio + slip with your accreditations). Don't disregard your efforts and participation just because you received a "Merit" award, they look for high participation, even if that means mediocre results.
  
  
• - Pick one science which you want to supposedly "pursue" in the future (it doesn't have to be 100%, just something that you show interest towards) and learn some famous scientists in that respective field. The interviewers like to see how "passionate" you are by asking who your science idol might be and what your favourite science is (something along those lines...).
  
  
• - Act confident and express yourself in the group tasks (you will do 1-3 group challenges and maybe some other activities if time permits). That doesn't mean talking over people, but instead talking with the others to show you respect everyone's opinion and you can positively contribute to the task.
  
  
• If you flunk the logic puzzle, don't be stressed or worried. As long as you attempt it and show your thinking process and try to formulate an answer, you should be fine (they aren't awfully hard, normally ranging from some sort of logic game to arithmetic and other math related stuff, it's an individual task and it only goes for 1-2 minutes so it's not that important).
  
• - When it comes to the 1 on 1 interview, a big no no is involving your parents in the decision for coming to this school. It's normally a put off for them as the school is looking for students that are proactive and not being forced by their parents (even if it is the case, don't say it).
  
  
• - Take iniative in the conversation, the school isn't there to interrogate you, in fact, if they just wanted to see your achievements/awards/academic record, they wouldn't even bother running interviews. Talk to them like normal human beings, converse with them, if one of the questions they ask you is open-ended, it's a great place for you to start a conversation to show that you're actively listenting/contributing in the interview and it isn't just a Q/A between you and the teacher. This is probably (I'm speculating now) where most people get dropped for, not being proactive in the 1 on 1 interview. Lots of people do get nervous in a situation which could define your schooling life, but you have time to prepare yourself and whatever happens in there can't be changed when you leave the room. Also, keep a clear line between a normal conversation and you ranting on.
  
  
• - Lastly, anything that makes you different, special, unique or interesting... tell them. There's a lot of interesting people at JMSS with multiple talents, skills and personalities. If you do music, tell them. If you play sports, tell them. If you can solve the rubik's cube in 10 seconds, tell them. Anything along those lines of co-curricular and extra involvement is always something they look for. The interview process is made to select students with a wide variety of interests and skills. Your 'intelligence' has already been tested for in the examination process, now it's time for you to sell yourselves.
  
  

Don't stress about the interview, as long as you stay chilled, don't tighten up or stay quiet, your chances will be high. Just remember, they want to see who you are, what you believe in and what you can bring to the school.

Congratulations once again, and best of luck for your preparations.

(for people that didn't get invited to the interviews, there's always next year as well, but you have to remember, JMSS doesn't make a good student, same as other selective schools, good students make selective schools what they are, if you work hard and perserve in whatever school you're in, you'll be surely able to achieve and suceed in whatever you may find interest in)

[Mr. Universe]

Wear school uniform, it reflects where you've come from and can always spark some conversation. I had quite a lot of badges at my old school and got to talk quite a lot about it with the Principal (I had Mr. Corkill for my interview) - it's a good thing because I currently attend JMSS -

Also things to note for people that were invited to the interview process:

• - Compile achievements, reports, participation certificates, credits, awards and prizes in a folio (photocopies) and create a spare plastic slip with everything inside as well (so you have a folio + slip with your accreditations). Don't disregard your efforts and participation just because you received a "Merit" award, they look for high participation, even if that means mediocre results.
  
  
• - Pick one science which you want to supposedly "pursue" in the future (it doesn't have to be 100%, just something that you show interest towards) and learn some famous scientists in that respective field. The interviewers like to see how "passionate" you are by asking who your science idol might be and what your favourite science is (something along those lines...).
  
  
• - Act confident and express yourself in the group tasks (you will do 1-3 group challenges and maybe some other activities if time permits). That doesn't mean talking over people, but instead talking with the others to show you respect everyone's opinion and you can positively contribute to the task.
  
  
• If you flunk the logic puzzle, don't be stressed or worried. As long as you attempt it and show your thinking process and try to formulate an answer, you should be fine (they aren't awfully hard, normally ranging from some sort of logic game to arithmetic and other math related stuff, it's an individual task and it only goes for 1-2 minutes so it's not that important).
  
• - When it comes to the 1 on 1 interview, a big no no is involving your parents in the decision for coming to this school. It's normally a put off for them as the school is looking for students that are proactive and not being forced by their parents (even if it is the case, don't say it).
  
  
• - Take iniative in the conversation, the school isn't there to interrogate you, in fact, if they just wanted to see your achievements/awards/academic record, they wouldn't even bother running interviews. Talk to them like normal human beings, converse with them, if one of the questions they ask you is open-ended, it's a great place for you to start a conversation to show that you're actively listenting/contributing in the interview and it isn't just a Q/A between you and the teacher. This is probably (I'm speculating now) where most people get dropped for, not being proactive in the 1 on 1 interview. Lots of people do get nervous in a situation which could define your schooling life, but you have time to prepare yourself and whatever happens in there can't be changed when you leave the room. Also, keep a clear line between a normal conversation and you ranting on.
  
  
• - Lastly, anything that makes you different, special, unique or interesting... tell them. There's a lot of interesting people at JMSS with multiple talents, skills and personalities. If you do music, tell them. If you play sports, tell them. If you can solve the rubik's cube in 10 seconds, tell them. Anything along those lines of co-curricular and extra involvement is always something they look for. The interview process is made to select students with a wide variety of interests and skills. Your 'intelligence' has already been tested for in the examination process, now it's time for you to sell yourselves.
  
  

Don't stress about the interview, as long as you stay chilled, don't tighten up or stay quiet, your chances will be high. Just remember, they want to see who you are, what you believe in and what you can bring to the school.

Congratulations once again, and best of luck for your preparations.

(for people that didn't get invited to the interviews, there's always next year as well, but you have to remember, JMSS doesn't make a good student, same as other selective schools, good students make selective schools what they are, if you work hard and perserve in whatever school you're in, you'll be surely able to achieve and suceed in whatever you may find interest in)

JEE, Thanks so much for the guide. It's great.

[Ascend]

Would it be best to wear smart casual or school uniform to the interview?

Depends, if you have an interview during school time, then wear your uniform and go to the interview after that you should be going to school, because your a great student who cares about your education If not you can just go casual clothing but they won't really mind just don't wear anything weird.

[I\'dRatherBeWatchingMiraculous]

I GOT AN INTERVIEW. Congrats to everyone who got one too and to those who didn’t, don’t lose heart, it’s not the end of the world. Btw does anyone have their interview on the 13th of august.

mine is on the 13th

[annachan]

mine is on the 13th

samee~ what time is yours?? mine's at 2:22pm

[southmelbdimsim]

Here are some information that might be of interest to you guys :

Every year around 1000 students sits the JMSS entrance exams for year 10, however this year it was over 1200. Of those around 400 gets selected for interview  for the 200 places. I am not sure what the criteria is for being selected for interview however I can tell you that once you have an interview, the criteria for gaining a place is not base on your academic results. How do I know this? Because not everyone at JMSS is super smart, there are actually quite a number of students that are in my opinion, way below average. To illustrate this point, let me tell you that when I was in year 10, at the beginning of second semester, a number of year 10 students were put on "performance management", which required the student to have weekly meetings with an assigned teacher, and to have their homework signed off on a weekly basis. Why were they doing that? Because the student was failing, badly. So if you got an interview but don't have great results, it does not exclude you from being selected, however you have to understand that you will be competing with others who might be way smarter than you are ( when I was in year 10 there was a year 10 student doing Specialist Maths 3/4 ... ) and if that is not okay with you then I suggest you don't go to JMSS. Remember JMSS is not for everyone and it might not be the best school for you anyway so even if you don't get it you should not despair. There are plenty of students who got in and regretted it ( I was one of them ) and plenty of students leave before finishing year 12 but having said that there are plenty of good things about it too and the teachers in my opinion is way better than the average teachers in Melbourne.

From what I can gather, JMSS don't look for academic results, they look for passion, participation and drive. They also look for a well rounded personality, which means if you are a book worm, they won't like you. While they don't look for academic achievement, they do look for achievements of any sort, so if you are the current Cup Stacking champion of Australia, then you certainly should point it out to them ( yeah he was in my year 10 class, I kid you not ).

Just to be clear, I am not saying that JMSS is a bad place or whatever, but for me personally I think I would have been happier at my old school and there is always a possibility that it might be the same for you too.

Good luck to you all even tho you guys are competing against my bro at the interview for a place at JMSS but don't be sad if you miss out, you will all find your own path in life somehow.

BTW most people wear school uniforms to the interviews but no one wears school uniforms on Orientation Day ( well there was one and she looked so out of place I felt sorry for her haha ).

[I\'dRatherBeWatchingMiraculous]

samee~ what time is yours?? mine's at 2:22pm

it is at 9:22 am

[southmelbdimsim]

Thanks southerndimsim for your reply, helped me alot.

You are most welcome! Feel free to PM me if you wanna know anything and I will try my best to find the answer for you.

[southmelbdimsim]

There's no second round interview. There's only one round unfortunately. However, there is the second round of the outcome though.

Perhaps some clarification might help here : There will only be one interview and then offers will be made for the 200 or so year 10 places. If every one of these offers are accepted, then there won't be a second round offer. If not all offers are accepted then offers will be made to the students who got an interview and deemed suitable but didn't get an first round offer. If the 200 or so places are are not filled after all the offers have been to suitable candidates from the interviews then they will interview more NEW students. Given that around 400 are interviewed for 200 places, the probability falls away pretty quick if you haven't already got an interview.

[Ascend]

Hey all, wondering if any year 11's have got notified as to whether they made it in yet.

Cheers

[Brazucareal]

We should have a discord about this topic as I think ATARNotes is too public

[karanwins]

Mines on the 8th as well

Ooh. What time?