NJC vs ACJC – What’s The Difference?

NJC s AJC

If you’re looking to enter one of the Junior Colleges in Singapore, two colleges you may encounter include National Junior College (NJC) and Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC).

Here’s a comparison between these 2 schools:

Location

NJC is located at 37 Hillcrest Road.

The nearest MRT station is Tan Kah Kee on the Downtown Line. However, you may have to walk quite a distance from Exit B of the MRT station, before reaching the side gate at the National Junior College bus stop (B41079).

Previously before the Tan Kah Kee station was opened, I used to take the Circle Line to Botanic Gardens, before taking a bus to ‘Opp National Junior College’.

If you are looking to take the bus to NJC, there are quite a few bus services that you can take, including:

  1. 67
  2. 74
  3. 151
  4. 154
  5. 156
  6. 157
  7. 170
  8. 174
  9. 852
  10. 961/961M

Meanwhile, ACJC is located at 25 Dover Close East.

The closest MRT stations include Buona Vista and one-north (both on the Circle Line MRT).

You will be required to walk less than 10 minutes from either MRT station to ACJC.

If you are looking to take a bus to ACJC, some of the bus stops you can take to include:

Bus Stop NameAvailable Buses
Opp Acs
Boarding School
667, 33, 74, 166, 196
Opp Fairfield Methodist
Primary School
667, 33, 74, 166, 196
Opp Anglo-Chinese
Junior College
92M, 200A, 14, 74, 91, 92, 95,
191, 196, 198, 200, 92A, 92B

Entry requirements

Here are the cutoff points for both JCs during the 2021 Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE):

JCCutoff
(Science)
Cutoff
(Arts)
NJC78
ACJC89

Overall, you will need to have a lower L1R5 to enter NJC compared to ACJC.

DSA requirements

If you are looking to obtain a Direct School Admission (DSA) to either JC, it is possible to do so.

NJC has a wide variety of routes you can use to enter via DSA.

This includes:

  1. CCA
  2. Art Elective Programme (AEP)
  3. Music Programme
  4. Science Training and Research Programme
  5. Malay / Tamil Language Elective Programme

While NYJC only offers entry via certain CCAs and the Art Elective Programme, NJC allows you to enter via DSA if you want to take up a language, music or research programme.

For ACJC, it is possible for you to enter the school via DSA too. However, not many details are available regarding the eligibility criteria for DSA.

Affiliated schools

NJC mentioned on their website that they are not affiliated with any secondary school.

NJC No Affiliation

However, it is possible to enter NJC via their Integrated Programme.

Meanwhile, ACJC is affiliated with quite a few schools:

Integrated Programme

NJC is one of the junior colleges in Singapore which offer an Integrated Programme. This means that you will be able to enter NJC starting as Secondary One (aka Junior High 1), via 2 routes:

  1. Secondary 1 Posting Exercise
  2. Direct School Admissions

However, you are only able to enter ACJC after completing your O Levels, as they do not offer such a programme.

Subjects offered

Here is a comparison of the subjects that are offered by both NJC and ACJC.

SubjectNJCACJC
Knowledge
and Inquiry
Biology
Chemistry
Computing
Further
Mathematics
Mathematics
Physics
Art
China Studies
in English
Chinese Language
& Literature
Tamil Language
& Literature
Malay Language
& Literature
Literature
in English
English Language
& Linguistics
Economics
Geography
History
Foreign Languages
Music
Theatre Studies

You may want to note that neither JC allows you to take triple science for A-Levels.

Both JCs have almost the same number of subjects that are offered. However, there are some subjects that are offered in one JC, but not the other:

H3 subjects offered

There are a variety of H3 topics that are offered by both junior colleges as well.

You are able to take H3 subjects which are offered by MOE in both NJC and ACJC. Some of these include:

  1. H3 Mathematics
  2. H3 Biology
  3. H3 Chemistry

If you would like to know what’s the difference between Further Maths and H3 Maths, you can view this comparison here.

Both JCs have also partnered with NUS and NTU to offer certain modules as an H3 subject. Some examples include:

  1. NUS Geopolitics: Geographies of War & Peace
  2. NTU Molecular Biology

Lastly, you are able to conduct an ‘Extended, In-Depth Research‘ project which allows you to carry out your project under the mentorship of qualified personnel.

In NJC, you are able to apply for 3 different programmes:

  1. NUS-A*STaR-NJC Science Research (i.e. NJC H3-STaR)
  2. NUS-MOE Humanities & Social Science Research (NUS-MOE HSSR)
  3. NUS Science Research Programme (NUS-MOE SRP)

For ACJC, you are able to participate in these research programmes:

  • Nanyang Research Programme (NRP)
  • Science Research Programme (SRP)
  • A*STAR Science Award (JC) – Research Attachment Programme (RAP)
  • Local Student Attachment Programme (LSAP)
  • Overseas Student Attachment Programme (OSAP)

Elective programmes offered

If you are more inclined to the arts and languages, there are a few elective programmes that you can participate in.

Here are the programmes that are offered by both JCs:

Elective ProgrammesNJCACJC
Art Elective
Programme (AEP)
Music
English Language
Elective Programme
Tamil Language
Elective Programme
Malay Language
Elective Programme
Drama Elective Programme

The only common Elective Programme that is offered by both JCs is the Music Elective Programme (MEP).

Depending on which Elective Programme you are interested in, you may be inclined to choose one JC over the other!

School starting time and ending time

For ACJC, here are the school starting and ending times:

EventTiming
Flag Raising8am (Mon, Wed-Fri)
8.20am (Tues)
Dismissal (Mon-Tues,
Thurs-Fri)
1.20 pm or the last lesson
(whichever is later)
Dismissal (Wed)Earliest is 2pm

However, this was not mentioned on NJC’s website.

CCAs offered

NJC has a total of 31 CCAs. One of NJC’s more popular CCAs is their Canoeing and Dragon Boat team.

Sadly, it was mentioned that there are some CCAs that will be discontinued, such as Tennis and Aikido. This could be due to a poor number of signups from the new batches of NJCians.

Moreover, NJC does not have Student Interest Groups which are found in other JCs like NYJC.

Meanwhile, ACJC has a wider variety of CCAs compared to NJC (42).

One of ACJC’s popular CCA is Rugby, which they have been performing rather well in.

Apart from that, you are able to join quite a wide variety of CCAs, including:

Facilities offered

Here are some of the facilities that are found in both JCs:

FacilityNJCACJC
Amphitheatre
Gym
Tennis
Courts
Fitness
Corner
Indoor
Sports Hall
Indoor Gym
Field
Swimming
Pool

One of ACJC’s highlights is the 2 swimming pools that they have in their ACJC Sports Complex.

Additional features

One of NJC’s key differentiating features is its Boarding Programme. You will be able to stay at NJC’s Boarding School for various programmes.

I entered NJC through the JAE route, and there were 2 compulsory weeks where I had to stay at the Boarding School with my fellow batchmates.

On top of the daily school curriculum, we were required to attend some activities that were conducted throughout these 2 weeks. It was quite a challenge to juggle my daily schoolwork with these extra activities.

However, I went through the Boarding Programme quite a few years back, and their current programme may be different now!

ACJC has an annual Fun-O-Rama, which is a carnival where the proceeds will be given to charity.

As a Methodist institution, ACJC follows certain Christian rituals, such as Chapel services.

Verdict

Here is a summary of these 2 JCs:

NJCACJC
Nearest MRTTan Kah Kee
(Downtown Line)
Buona Vista / one-north
(Circle Line)
JAE Score7 (Science)
and 8 (Arts)
8 (Science)
and 9 (Arts)
DSA?YesYes
Affiliated
schools
NoneAnglo-Chinese Schools

GMSS

PLMGS

MGS
Integrated
Programme
YesNo
Subjects
offered
SimilarSimilar
Elective
programmes
offered
MoreLess
School start
time and end time
Not
mentioned
Start: 0800 or 0820
End: Earliest 1320 / 1400
CCAs
offered
3142
Facilities
offered
SimilarSimilar
Additional
features
Boarding
Programme
Fun-O-Rama
Chapel services

Conclusion

Both JCs seem to have rather similar offerings.

NJC allows you to take a wider variety of subjects and electives, so you may be able to find a more specialised subject combination if you do not want to take the ‘standard’ Science or Arts stream combination.

Moreover, if you wish to pursue a career in research, I believe that NJC will offer better guidance as they have lots of resources and expertise in this area.

Meanwhile, ACJC offers more CCAs which allow you to explore your interests outside of the curriculum. Furthermore, the facilities may be newer compared to NJC, which may lead to a slightly more conducive environment for you.

If you feel that a 2-year A-Level programme may be too ‘rushed‘ for you, an option that you can consider is going to Millennia Institute instead of a JC!


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Gideon

Blogging is my newfound passion, and I want to solve everyday problems you may have with the content I create.

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