Today's entry will be about my experience studying at GMI (2014-2017).

Part 1: Admission

Post-SPM, I applied for IPMa program under MARA via their website since I was an MRSM student. This program allowed me to pursue my tertiary study at MARA institutions like UniKL, GMI, KPTM, KUPTM, KPM etc. I'm pretty sure that the program still exists today. After all those docs and psychometric online interview, I was officially an IPMa student. Then came the college applications. I applied for UniKL (1st choice), KPTM (2nd choice) and GMI (3rd choice for the luls).

Guess who accepted me? Yup. The one with three letters did.

I remembered how confused I was when the ipma result was out. I didn't remember applying for Process Instrumentation and Control (PIC) program at GMI. Heck I don't even know what the hell PIC was. All I remembered was telling my bestie, Fatin who was already a GMI student, that I'd be registering there in July 2014. She laughed when I told her that I would be studying PIC. 

"Good luck," she said. Naïve me thought she meant well. 

Btw, if you feel like studying at GMI, you can apply online at GMI admission page. Popular student loan is either MARA or PTPTN. If you got straight As, go apply for scholarship, pls don't waste your chance.

Update 2025: If you got at least 7A-, you may apply YTP MARA here for local and overseas convertible student loan: Link. Convertible student loan (pinjaman boleh ubah) means if you get good CGPA during your uni study, there's reduction in paying back your loan. Example: your full loan is RM50K, if you score 3.5 and above you might only need to pay 15% of your loan (RM7500). 

Part 2: Classes and facilities

The academic building is a-ok. I thought the classes will be in the auditorium but instead, the classes are conducted in the classrooms. The quantity of students allowed in each class is 25 and under. Only general subjects are conducted in the auditorium since we have to combine classes up to 65 students. Such heaven not having to cramp up while learning. The machines and tools are plenty so every student can do hands-on learning individually. Machine to student ratio is usually 1:2. Germans are so technologically forward that I can confidently say that the machines they supplied to GMI are modern compared to other uni or college that my friends attend. I love getting my hands on the instruments, I feel cool as heck. The library is cozy but the lack of non-academic books disappoint me tbh. It's okay at least the library is cold and the wifi connection is strong.

The gym is nice. Small but clean. It is open on Monday-Friday from 5pm to 10pm. I always go there on Wednesday after evening class with Elisa because Wednesday is for the ladies. We usually do treadmilling and biking. There is even Zumba class coordinated by Miss Zu. The sport complex is surprisingly good for a small institution. There are a decent futsal court, decent volleyball courts, decent badminton courts, and a decent basketball court. I quite like them actually. I don't recommend playing tennis though since the tennis court is close to non-existent now.

The cafe in Sport Complex is quite nice but doesn't open until evening. Meanwhile, the cafe in the academic building is meh. I don't like it that much because of the "yahudi" price and subpar services but according to Elisa, the maggi goreng there is delicious. The wifi connection there is fair. I like the bistro cafe near the female hostel though. I go gaga over their Kuey Teow Kungfu and their tomyam.  The nasi lemak and nasi kukus are to die for ngl. The workers of the bistro are friendly. Unfortunately, there's no wifi. The cafe near the male hostels is as good as the cafe in the academic building. Although the foods are not that good, the portion size there is twice the portion of other cafes. The only good things in there are wifi and large food portion. If you want delicious food, there are mamaks, Warung Wak Dol, Warung Nasi Manggey and Wisma UniKeb outside of GMI.

There's a 2-storey mini masjid at the center of student hostel area, big enough to accommodate Friday prayer for students and people around GMI. There are also praying spaces in every academic buildings, so yeah that's quite convenient for the muslims. 

Transportation within college area is nonexistent. Better bring your vehicle or ask for a lift from your friend. Good thing there's O-bike everywhere. I recommend walking to classes since the hostel buildings and academic buildings are not that far from each other. As for ATM, there's one near the cafe in the academic building. We use CIMB here. If that ATM broke down, we usually go to the ATM at KTM UKM, or at the petrol station, or the one at Wisma UniKeb. In GMI, there is also CC that offers printing and photostat for a fair price. If you want to save money, go to the printing shop at the traffic light junction on your way to GMI. You can even negotiate the price since the shop owner is very friendly and kind.

Part 3: Where to go for fun?

You can go anywhere you want with KTM as long as you know the way. I have been to The Mines, Midvalley, SOGO, Jalan TAR, Nu Sentral, PKNS Shah Alam, Plaza Alam Sentral, SAGG mall just by boarding the KTM. You could go farther by exchanging KTM to LRT at TBS station or KL Sentral station. If you're not a fan of KTM, you can rent a car and go explore more places. IOI mall is popular with GMI students. Downtown Jalan Reko is a well-known spot for lepak. Uptown Bangi is cool too. If you don't know where to have fun, my tips are to ask around and be friendly. If you're a shy person like me, go get your shit together and just fucking ask. Just ask, don't think. They don't bite.

Part 4: Academic

I think the lecturers (or TTOs as we call them) are pretty chill. Not kerek or bajet pandai at all. They all have Master or PhD but they prefer to be called "Sir" or "Miss". Some might even become your "parents" cuz they take care of their students really well. I got pretty close with all my TTOs even though I'm not really good at socializing with people. I guess having Elisa as my friend helped a lot cuz she's not afraid making friends with new people. Having good friends is a blessing we often overlook, yes? Anyway, as for the subjects, we often focused on hands-on learning. For instance, in a class session, we are briefed with the theory first, then we do hands-on for the remaining period. The carry marks are often 60% and the final exam is 40%. It's easy to score in the tests and final exam if you understand everything in class, and you do the past years questions. 

The class starts at 8am and end at 7pm or early, every day except weekend. Jarang ada kelas malam unless kelas ganti atau test. There are also rest time for eating meal and performing prayer. The first 3 semester tak susah imo, the last 3 sem kena banyak effort. If nak jaga CGPA, don't ever get below C+. Lagi satu nak sentuh pasal final year project (FYP). Pls choose kawan yang function and reti buat keje, jangan choose your friend sebab kesian. FYP ni penting sebab kredit banyak and you need to sacrifice a lot of your time to do it. For FYP, staying up multiple nights to finish it is normal. FYI, FYP biasa consists of 5 members and you'll present the result of your group project twice, first to internal panel (GMI) and second to industry panel (panel jemputan from company/industry). Again, pilih orang yang mahu belajar buat kerja and rajin buat kerja. Ni for your own sanity :3

Part 5: Yay, graduation! What's next?

What to do after GMI? Biasanya ada 3 pilihan. 1) Fly overseas. 2) Sambung local uni. 3) Kerja. Kalau student under special programs such as A-Level German atau Diploma Pelajar Cemerlang MARA (DPC), they will fly overseas to Germany, Australia or New Zealand if they meet the requirement of MARA such as CGPA 3.50 and IELTS 6.5. Tapi ada jugak batch yang terlepas peluang nak fly sebab MARA takde duit. Student dari program biasa pun boleh fly tapi guna private sponsorship like parents or private scholarships. Pilihan 2 is the most popular one. Ramai student GMI sambung degree kat local unis, like UNIKL or UMP or IPTA/IPTS. Student lelaki biasanya bila dah habis belajar GMI, diorang prefer kerja sebab dah dapat offer dari syarikat tempat diorang intern dulu. Kalau rasa nak sambung degree, sambung la, kalau nak kerja, kerja la. Kalau nak kerja 2 tahun then baru sambung degree, ha itu pun okay. Jangan ikut orang sangat. After all, this is your life and you're the one who's gonna deal with it. 

Btw, after grad korg boleh try apply for INSTEP short course kalau nak try masuk Petronas. I've met some alumni GMI yg apply jadik technician kat Petronas via Instep. Pilihan bidang: mechanical, instrument, electrical. Bila nak tau dia open application? Kena selalu google huhu.

Ok dah ni last point. If you think you choose the wrong course, you can change your course during the first week of your first semester (as far as I can remember la). Be brave. Ask around, ask your senior, ask your TTO if you feel conflicted. Someone out there will absolutely help you, if only you ask. Be polite and courteous ya. With that, I think I'll end this entry here. Kbyeee.

Do comment if you need more explanation or have any questions. Else you can contact me at azizah.01nur@gmail.com or Telegram @jij0t. Tschüß!