janet88:

slmkhoo:

Actually, no. It was mostly done last Monday in a big rush. She already has a fairly new laptop, so we will just need to get it configured at some point. RP had a mobile medical unit on hand, so she did her checkup on the spot. We just filled a lot of forms and handed them in, and she was given her student ID card too. The other thing she needs to do is apply for her EZlink card next month so she can buy the concession pass.

lots of forms to be filled up. son still waiting for the sms to apply for the ezlink card. i didn't know there are so many things to do before poly starts. we got the laptop on the first day of the road show as his mac book doesn't meet the specs of his course and had to get it configured another day (that took up a few hours).
also got him some tops and jeans.

Which macbook did your son buy that does not meet the specs of his course requirement or it's his existing macbook doesn't meet the specs.

phtthp:

Mr Bean:

[quote=\"slmkhoo\"]
Which poly and course?

TP, Culinary & Catering Management

hi Mr Bean,

Congratulations to your child
noticed that Polytechnic offer new, interesting courses!

besides Culinary & Catering Management course, are there similar food-related courses in Poly, say, kind of similar to Shatec courses : where they teach students direct hands-on-cooking skill, so students have to cook inside the kitchen & prepare sumptuous meal (restaurant standard) ?


if Yes, which Poly offer such courses ?[/quote]Thanks.
Yes, NYP offers Diploma in Food & Beverage Business (intake 66).
TP's intake of Diploma in CCM is 60.
Both intakes are relatively small.
RP offers intake of 115 for Diploma in Culinary & Restaurant Operations.

I think Shatec provides more hands-on for culinary. The polys courses are more like half culinary/ half management. The polys also teach stuff like cafe or restaurant management covering costings, kitchen hygiene, applying required licenses etc for graduates who may be interested to operate their own business.

dd prefers TP's curriculum and also we live just next to TP.

janet88:

Mr Bean:

TP laptops list is not available yet and its road show will only be 24/4~28/4.

I googled and realised that all the brands, models and prices offered to NP, NYP, RP and SP students are the same (with only exception that Macbook Air is not available at RP). I guess TP will also have the the same models.

when will your daughter be starting school? i thought most polys will start term on 10/4?

orientation is from 17/4~21/4 (so called Week 0). Term will start on 24/4 (Week 1)

floppy:

janet88:

[quote=\"Mr Bean\"]
Do all polys jointly call for a tender such that all laptops offered to the students are the same or each poly calls for its own tender.

i think every poly will call for tender for own students...not sure about that.
although i saw acer and asus laptops offered for this year's intake, the vendor is different from 2016.

There isn't a tender.

The polys may recommend a minimum spec to vendors keen to participate in these roadshows. Some schools / faculties will also offer their recommendation on minimum specs to students. It's an open market and up to the vendors to put up the best deal / offer. Some vendors offer discount (typically on higher end models) while others may throw in extra apps / software for free.[/quote]If there's no tender, it could be a ITQ (Invitation to Quote) by individual poly or jointly.

TP laptops list is not available yet and its road show will only be 24/4~28/4.

I googled and realised that all the brands, models and prices offered to NP, NYP, RP and SP students are the same (with only exception that Macbook Air is not available at RP). I guess TP will also have the the same models.

I bought 2 lenovo Yoga 3 convertible laptops 3 years ago and they are still working fine. The only problem was the SD card reader for both sets was able to read but unable to write and one usb port for 1 set was functioning intermittently. I had them replaced the defective parts 3 months ago before the 3 years warranty expired.

dd wants to get back lenovo (probably Yoga 910) as she's used to the touch screen and there wasn't other poblem. It's also light enough. However, lenovo is not participating in this year's poly laptop fair or tender. I doubt lenovo will be in the TP list. May have to get it at the coming IT Show at Suntec.

janet88:

schweppes:

That's great. After purchase, your son can then make appointment with school IT support to download the various softwares and programs that are relevant to his course. He must be excited.

There should be an orientation coming soon in Apr. He should sign up and find out more from the seniors. A new chapter

i'm more excited than him buying the laptop. my son has really grown up.
hubby downloaded SP app into my mobile phone with son's knowledge, purely for the reason for me to know his time table so that i can make orthodontist appointments.

Do all polys jointly call for a tender such that all laptops offered to the students are the same or each poly calls for its own tender.

janet88:

isetan:

[quote=\"janet88\"]we went to gain city to check out prices of laptops today. most probably will get lenovo during the SP road show. the salesman wanted to get the sale by throwing in $100 off the price tag of $999...but hubby said it's more advisable to get from road show.

Normally, asides from the data capacity and type of rams, memory stated, I would look for the weight of the laptop. Cos DC is gg to carry them to school regularly and wld prefer to give them something light to carry around.

son likes the lenovo 15\" 8gb...dell has a i7 model and can upgrade to 8gb.
we compared between lenovo and dell. dell is 2kg while lenovo is heavier. weight is important because the kids would have to carry the laptop and books. i'm waiting for the list of vendors for 2017 on the website.[/quote]Some points to note as well:
Normal laptops usually have detachable battery. The cost of replacement battery is cheaper. Just buy the battery to replace if it is faulty. Disadvantage: it is heavier and more bulky
Ultra laptops usually have built in battery. The cost of replacement battery is more expensive. If battery is faulty, the laptop needs to be sent back to vendor for battery replacement since it is built-in. Advantage: it is lighter and slimmer.

About warranty:
If you purchase the laptop from shops or online, the standard warranty is usually 1 year carry-in (some brands cover the battery for 6 months only, if I am not wrong). You will need to buy 2 years of extended warranty to have it covered for 3 years. And it is still a 3 years carry-in warranty which does not include the battery coverage for 2nd and 3rd year.

If you purchase from the poly road show, the respective polys would have negotiated with the vendors to have 3 years onsite warranty. I am not sure if it includes the battery for 2nd and 3rd year. You may need to check out at the road show.

Onsite warranty for laptops are usually for corporate customers. I don't know how does it work out for students.

It may be more worthwhile to purchase a laptop with 3 years warranty so that the student can use it for his 3 years of study at poly.

janet88:

floppy:

In many ways, this is a much better option for him than MI. Not quite the IT courses he wanted but still cater to some of his strengths and interests.

totally agree floppy.
infocomm options are rather limited compared to engineering.
actually, he was offered RP info technology yesterday but after we compared between the 2 courses, he realized EEE is more suitable as year 2 and year 3 gives him more options...which explained the mad rush last night to go for the colour vision test and to make payment.

Hi Janet, :congrats: to you and your ds!
EEE is definitely a good course that suits him and with good prospects.

janet88:

Hi Mr Bean,

Have you secured the TP culinary course for your daughter?

I didn't do the online enrolment for her posted course. I think it will just lapse.

I dropped by TP yesterday and was told that they had just mailed out her enrolment package and it should reach us on Monday. Her TP's DAE course acceptance deadline is Tuesday, 28/2/17 5pm, so should be just in time for her to do the online enrolment.

janet88:

Mr Bean:

Not yet. She just received the email yesterday. I called TP yesterday and they told me to wait for the enrolment package which will be sent by post. Now, there’s an issue – her posted course in another poly requires her to do online enrolment by 5pm tomorrow else the offer will lapse. I don’t think we will be able to receive TP’s enrolment package by tomorrow. Looks like we will have to visit the Admissions office tomorrow for further advice so that she does not end up in nowhere.

really a headache with different deadlines in diff polytechnics. it's stressful to be 'in no man's land'...did TP advise you to register personally so that your daughter has a secured place?

you mentioned the course she was posted to requires online enrolment by tomorrow. that means all this while you were waiting for the result of TP's culinary course?

Her DAE status states that it is successful and she is offered Diploma in Culinary & Catering Management course. It’s like the JAE posting result, everything is online. Actually, that should serve as a confirmation. She didn’t receive any official letter and I am not sure whether this is norm. Will drop by TP tomorrow to check what’s her next course or action, just want to be safe.

You are right, all this while she is waiting for TP’s culinary course. She did JAE-Appeal but was not successful. She then tried DAE. Like what you mentioned, there are so many stages and so many waiting phases. The good thing is that if you are not successful at one stage, there’s still hope for next stage.

When she applied for DAE, she was advised to enrol for her posted course to prevent lapse, as DAE does not guarantee successful admission. So, technically she could complete her online enrolment for her posted course and pay the enrolment fee to secure her place (tuition fee need not be paid yet). Subsequently, withdraw from that course and enrol to TP. But, I feel that we should not hold on to the posted course unnecessarily so that other interested students need not wait too long and their plans not jeopardised.

janet88:

Has she done online enrolment yet?


It's pretty cool to be taking a diploma in something she likes and also because everyone needs to eat. Looks like your family has a chef at home whipping up delicious meals.

Not yet. She just received the email yesterday. I called TP yesterday and they told me to wait for the enrolment package which will be sent by post. Now, there’s an issue – her posted course in another poly requires her to do online enrolment by 5pm tomorrow else the offer will lapse. I don’t think we will be able to receive TP’s enrolment package by tomorrow. Looks like we will have to visit the Admissions office tomorrow for further advice so that she does not end up in nowhere.