GOOD BONDING: Students posing with ball-and-stick-models at UCSI’s chemistry lab.

KUCHING: Long preferred by students and parents, the GCE Advanced Level qualification – better known as A-Level – stands out as the preferred pre-university qualification. 

The A-Level has a long track record of excellence and Malaysian students, in particular, have made it their standard rite of passage to get to secure placement at the world’s best universities. 

Hundreds secure admission each year and renowned institutions like Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College, University College London (UCL) and the London School of Economics and Political Science, among others, easily roll off the tongue when the admission process is done and dusted. 

With 27 impactful years in the Malaysian education landscape, UCSI University’s Centre for Pre-University Studies is no stranger to the local A-Level scene. 

The Centre has placed its fair share of students abroad. Most go on to prestigious British or Australian universities and some even make a name for themselves in the process. 

Take for example, the stories of Ling Chen Jiet, Yong Su Wen and Lee Chia Choon, who bagged World Top 10 Achiever Awards in the GCE A-Level June 2012 examinations. 

The trio edged other prodigious students from around the world in Chemistry and Ling went one better by bagging another coveted award for Biology. 

Ling secured a seat at UCL while Yong and Lee are at the University of Nottingham and the University of Bath, respectively. 

Their monumental success effectively proves that Malaysian students are more than capable of being the best, adding credence to UCSI’s status as a preferred pre-university provider. 

Having produced Top 10 Achievers in 2009 and 2010 as well, the feat is something of a recurring theme and the Centre is gratified to help the best go further. 

More than 40% of the Centre’s students scored A*’s – the highest possible grade – and A’s in their subjects and the trend is set to continue as UCSI is committed to take its Centre from good to great. 

Offering the A-Level programme at its campuses in Sarawak and Kuala Lumpur, UCSI grooms students academically and mentally to pass the all-important exams set – and marked – by examiners in Britain. 

Staffed by quality academics – over 80% of them have postgraduate credentials – with extensive teaching experience, the Centre is committed to the continuous success of its students. 

Continuity is the key word here. Securing placement at a prestigious university overseas is only half the battle won and the transition stage can make or break a student. 

Discipline and commitment are crucial and the Centre seeks to instil these qualities in its students. 

Parent-lecturer interviews are held at least twice a year to discuss matters pertaining to academic performance and this interaction fosters an environment of trust between students, parents and the Centre. 

Apart from the A-Level programme, UCSI’s Centre for Pre-U Studies also offers Foundation Studies – both Arts and Science Streams – as pre-university requirements for degree programmes at UCSI. 

An English Enrichment Programme is also offered for international students who may lack the necessary English requirements for their chosen degree programmes at UCSI.