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Selective Schools Admissions Tests / JMSS 2023 Entry Experience
« Last post by hiimanessa on July 19, 2022, 12:11:59 am »Hello everyone! The 2023 year 11 entry for JMSS has ended not long ago, which I participated in, and I hope to share useful information with anyone wanting to apply in the future 
SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION
I applied for year 10 entry last year, but failed the interview, and last year's test was held all online. This year's was held in person. I don't remember much about the year 10 entry one, so I'll elaborate mainly on the year 11 entry one.
All tests are 30 minutes long, but number of questions vary.
SCIENCE REASONING
30 questions. This test is mainly about common sense, and majority of questions are biology and environmental related.
Some example questions include:
- lots of graph readings
- solving puzzles(?) like "three planes (blue, yellow, green, red) must land at 4 different gates’ and then it asked you to pick a multiple choice on where they were allowed to land with then given clues (red must be between green and blue, blue can only be in gate 1 or 4, etc.)"
- rock cycles
NUMERICAL REASONING
30 questions. This test is also mainly common sense and thinking, but math. Lots of questions are identifying patterns, in the format of a sentence or a table.
MATHEMATICS
60 questions. Don't worry about not answering all the questions, I only answered about 35 of them. This has all questions about stuff we learnt from year 7 to 10, such as linear graphs, algebra, probability, geometry etc.
ESSAY
30 minutes to write a short essay. They will provide you with 2 prompts, both science related, and write anything about it. The two prompts I got this year was "Frogs has 3 methods of breathing, discuss" and "Why is noble gases used in lightbulbs" something like that. I recommend not writing more than 2 pages for this. The more you write, the easier for you to make mistakes. I only wrote 3/5 of a page, and with no particular format. Just make sure to not over-repeat yourself and use logic and common sense.
INTERVIEW
Hurray! You passed the tests and made it to the interview! For the interview you are asked to bring in a CV and your mid-year report, all printed out and placed in a single plastic sheet protector. The ones that are used to keep loose leaf papers in binders. Yeah, those. Anything else or more than one sheet protector won't be accepted. The CV is basically a resumé, have it written in the format of a resumé and write ONLY what they asked you to write. DO NOT write anything extra like work experience or hobbies and skills, don't. I emphasise, do not. Include any extracurricular activities, leadership roles and science involvement in it. Anything you've done in the recent years. If you don't have anything in the recent years, the trick I used is to not include the year.
Onto the actual interview part. When you first entered, you will be asked to fill out a pre-interview survey. It includes questions like "What subjects are you planning/have already chose to do in the future?" "What's a highlight in your high school years?" "What kind of environment do you work best in?" etc. I'm not sure if this influences the selection process. After you finish the survey, a teacher will call you in to the shared room with the other interviewees. They sit you down and explain how things will work. On the table in front of you will be a piece of paper with the actual questions that they'll ask you. The questions I got are
- What do you like the best about your current school?
- Why do you want to enrol in JMSS?
- Chose a modern technology item, engineering item etc that made an advancement in the last 50 years. How has it made an impact on the world?
- If you do know, explain how your chosen item works.
- What are your hobbies? What does your typical weekend look like?
- What career are you considering in the future? What subjects do you have to choose in order to achieve it?
- Show us what you're proud of in your report and what needs to be worked on.
They may be asking extra questions like any other interviewer but don't be scared and just answer based on your guts.
That's it! I don't think this is gonna be very helpful so feel free to ask any questions in the comments!
SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION
I applied for year 10 entry last year, but failed the interview, and last year's test was held all online. This year's was held in person. I don't remember much about the year 10 entry one, so I'll elaborate mainly on the year 11 entry one.
All tests are 30 minutes long, but number of questions vary.
SCIENCE REASONING
30 questions. This test is mainly about common sense, and majority of questions are biology and environmental related.
Some example questions include:
- lots of graph readings
- solving puzzles(?) like "three planes (blue, yellow, green, red) must land at 4 different gates’ and then it asked you to pick a multiple choice on where they were allowed to land with then given clues (red must be between green and blue, blue can only be in gate 1 or 4, etc.)"
- rock cycles
NUMERICAL REASONING
30 questions. This test is also mainly common sense and thinking, but math. Lots of questions are identifying patterns, in the format of a sentence or a table.
MATHEMATICS
60 questions. Don't worry about not answering all the questions, I only answered about 35 of them. This has all questions about stuff we learnt from year 7 to 10, such as linear graphs, algebra, probability, geometry etc.
ESSAY
30 minutes to write a short essay. They will provide you with 2 prompts, both science related, and write anything about it. The two prompts I got this year was "Frogs has 3 methods of breathing, discuss" and "Why is noble gases used in lightbulbs" something like that. I recommend not writing more than 2 pages for this. The more you write, the easier for you to make mistakes. I only wrote 3/5 of a page, and with no particular format. Just make sure to not over-repeat yourself and use logic and common sense.
INTERVIEW
Hurray! You passed the tests and made it to the interview! For the interview you are asked to bring in a CV and your mid-year report, all printed out and placed in a single plastic sheet protector. The ones that are used to keep loose leaf papers in binders. Yeah, those. Anything else or more than one sheet protector won't be accepted. The CV is basically a resumé, have it written in the format of a resumé and write ONLY what they asked you to write. DO NOT write anything extra like work experience or hobbies and skills, don't. I emphasise, do not. Include any extracurricular activities, leadership roles and science involvement in it. Anything you've done in the recent years. If you don't have anything in the recent years, the trick I used is to not include the year.
Onto the actual interview part. When you first entered, you will be asked to fill out a pre-interview survey. It includes questions like "What subjects are you planning/have already chose to do in the future?" "What's a highlight in your high school years?" "What kind of environment do you work best in?" etc. I'm not sure if this influences the selection process. After you finish the survey, a teacher will call you in to the shared room with the other interviewees. They sit you down and explain how things will work. On the table in front of you will be a piece of paper with the actual questions that they'll ask you. The questions I got are
- What do you like the best about your current school?
- Why do you want to enrol in JMSS?
- Chose a modern technology item, engineering item etc that made an advancement in the last 50 years. How has it made an impact on the world?
- If you do know, explain how your chosen item works.
- What are your hobbies? What does your typical weekend look like?
- What career are you considering in the future? What subjects do you have to choose in order to achieve it?
- Show us what you're proud of in your report and what needs to be worked on.
They may be asking extra questions like any other interviewer but don't be scared and just answer based on your guts.
That's it! I don't think this is gonna be very helpful so feel free to ask any questions in the comments!
