Tips & Procedure for Exam in UM

Hello readers!

I am back from the dead! A little update on my life, I have just recently concluded my 14-weeks long compulsory internship at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) from mid-September to end-of December. It was an awesome experience. Really loved it and thankful for the humbling opportunity. Might share about it, but then again, after writing a 8.5k-long intern report on it, I am seriously reconsidering that. Haha.

It’s the best time of year now, STUDY WEEK! Hahaha. You guys are dying, I know. Been there. So, I figured that now would be a good time to share some exam tips/procedures that yall should know. I believe this would come in handy to those who has never taken a uni exam before or is a first year student in UM or has no relatives/senior buddies to ask to. Here we go.

Note: This shall only apply to UM students and information provided is relevant to the current context (2017), any changes to the system from then onwards are not taken into account in this writing.

#1 Exam Schedule:

Where to get them?

Log in to your MYUM account > Click Examination > Click Exam Time Table > Click on each subjects to know details of the paper (When, where and what time).

Important to note that some exams are not held at the exam hall so do check. Other common places are DTC, Auditorium KPS and your respective faculties.

Timely check your siswamail and look out for exam timetable AMENDMENTS. Perubahan yang dibuat pada jadual exam. Beberapa hari sebelum exam pun boleh ada perubahan lagi so check. Double check with friends regarding time and location of exam the night before exam.

#2 Shuttle Bus:

There will be shuttle busses sending students to the exam hall. If your exam is elsewhere along the way, do inform the bus driver to stop you there (DTC, Audi KPS etc). The MPP or university will give out the bus schedule. You will be asked to enter the exam hall 10 mins before exam begins to hear the instructions/fill up forms etc. So I would advise you to be at the exam hall building at least 30 minutes before your paper. For example, if your paper is at 8.30am, take the bus 40 mins before around 7.50am. It’s better to reach early and have time to relax.

#3 Exam Procedures:

Find your hall:

At the exam building, there’s 3 halls (Dewan 1, 2 & 3). Exam hall 1 is at the Ground floor whereas Hall 2 & 3 are at Level 1 (take stairs) and you can see the halls on your right and left.

Where's the exam building?
When you enter UM from the main gate (KL Gate), on your left you will pass the Law Fac, 1st College and there will be a junction on the left. Take that left and you will see a nice big silver building on your left.

Find your position in the hall:

Near the door of your hall, there will be a paper pasted on the notice board mapping the position of each paper’s positions in the hall. For example, EGEE1234 is located near pole A2 facing towards the door. Unfortunately, I don’t have the picture of what the map looks like. But I can roughly draw it for you.

The arrows represent the seating position and which direction will the candidates be looking at. So, you could be sitting near B3 pole but looking towards A3 pole. You know what I mean?

In the map and at the area of your table, only your COURSE CODE will be written out so you need to know what it is. To double check, of course, the easiest is to see if your friends are seated around you or even better, check the question paper laid out on the table. The paper code and title will be written on it. Pick a seat and sit your ass down.

Instructions:

You will need to have your Identification Card (IC/Passport (for foreigners)) and Matric Card. Place them on the right side of the table. Fill up the attendance slip and the answer booklet with the details needed. Read the instructions on the question paper and check for missing pages. Put all your stuff (in the plastic bag given by the university) on the floor. Only put the stationaries you need on the table (table ain’t that big). Wait until instructions are finished and then begin answering.

#4 To Bring:

You will be given the UM exam plastic bag (Its basically a huge (a lil bit bigger than A4 size) zip-lock bag) to store all your stuff. Your bags will be left unattended outside of the hall, on the floor so I suggest you to bring all important stuff along into the hall. You may bring your phones and wallets as well, just put them in the plastic bag which will be placed on the floor by your side at all times.

If it’s not Ramadhan, I’d always remember to bring drinking water to just insert some oxygen into my system every half an hour of writing. Put them on the floor to not spill it all over your paper (worst nightmare ever).

I will also always place my wristwatch on the table to keep track of the time. But don’t worry, there will be a huge ass clock in the hall anyway.

#5 No Cafes

If you have direct papers, eg 8.30-10.30am then 11.30-1.30pm; don’t leave the hall. Just stay there. Bring food or snacks or whatever you need with you because there is no convenience store/food stalls/cafes anywhere nearby. Be prepared.

I also do not suggest you to leave because after a paper, the traffic at the exam hall is really bad. If you drive, it’s gonna take some time before you get to even leave the parking lot. If you’re taking the bus, you might have to wait for the next bus because it will be super full super fast.

#6 Washroom & Surau (Musolla)

Main washroom is on the right as you enter the exam hall from the main door but there are also another one on the ground floor. On the first floor, you can only access the washrooms during exam time where there will be a door from inside of the hall leading you to the 1^st floor washroom. Otherwise, that washroom is inaccessible.

The musolla is at the 1^st floor, but it is only accessible when it is prayer time (1.30pm onwards if I’m not mistaken). There’s a washroom beside it as well. I suggest you to bring your own telekung because the ones provided is in a bad condition or is not sufficient.

#7 To Wear:

Well, in UM, there is no strict attire code. You can wear anything (except for shorts, sleeveless, slippers). But the hall is gonna be cold (some halls are colder than others), if you're like me you might be freezing 30 minutes after exam starts so bring a sweater with you. Usually students would bring their varsity jackets but it's really up to you.

#8 Other Reminders:

You are not allowed to leave 30 minutes after exam begun and 30 minutes before exam ends. So I suggest that you use all the time given to answer the paper. Do not leave early unless you have an emergency. You studied the whole freaking semester for this, you should at least spend the 2-3 hours to prove yourself.

If you wear niqab (purdah), you MIGHT be asked to remove it while sitting for the exam. It happened to my classmate a couple of times. So, I suggest you to sit far at the back so that you can be a little bit more hidden from your friends in the case that they require you to take off your niqab. But sometimes, they will just ask to see your face to compare with your matric card and then you can continue wearing it throughout the paper. It depends on the lecturer checking you at the time.

Oh and fyi, your lecturer for that subject will be the one handling the exam so feel free to ask them anything regarding the paper if you find some troubles. They might be really nice and give you a good hint for the answer ;) *ask at your own risk :p

I would like to stress this, ASK if you need anything. Anything at all. More paper, calculator, if you feel a little bit sick, if you’re super sleepy and need them to wake you up after 15 mins nap, anything at all. Just ask the pengawas peperiksaan, they will help you. This is a crucial time for you, do not be shy. This is your future we’re talking about.

That’s it for now from me. Best of luck!

Pic from first year when we were innocent babies.

P/s Towards the end of this write-up, I realized that I wrote in English. It's a bit too late to shift to Bahasa so yeahhh... Sorry~