Extra courses needed for university admission test

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Three years of study at high school are apparently not enough for students to prepare themselves for the university admission test. Most of them, who lack confidence, even take additional lessons.

"I can't rely only on the knowledge I have obtained from school. The competition for the test is to tight and I'm afraid that what I have now is not enough to pass," Pranatalia Maria Manik, a high school student at a state high school in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta, said on Monday.

"I'm attending the month-long additional course, which provides intensive study guidance for would-be university students, to prepare myself," she said, adding that she had paid Rp 400,000 (US$46) for the course starting early this month.

Pranatalia plans to continue her studies at the school of engineering, majoring in industrial engineering at the University of Indonesia.

"It's very important to join the course as I will have a trial admission test every week, which is crucial for fresh graduates like me. It's very beneficial to experience what the test is really like," said the 18-year-old student, who is still unsure of whether she will pass it.

High school graduates throughout the country will take the admission test for state universities on July 2 and July 3.

A total of 69,232 high school students in the city are expected to graduate this year. They said schools would inform them of their graduation results through the post on Thursday at the latest.

Andry Permatasari, of another state high school in Tanah Kusir, South Jakarta, said she was also taking the month-long additional course.

"I need to attend the course because I'm still not good enough in several subjects for the admission test," said Andry, who wishes to continue her studies at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture.

Andry must attend the course from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. every day until the end of this month.

As she had paid a Rp 450,000 fee, she thought it a shame to skip the sessions. She also had to postpone her English course, which she has attended since fourth grade, for advanced learners, due to her preparations for the test.

However, not all students attend the course to prepare themselves better for the admission test.

Caroline Octavianita, a student of a state high school in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, revealed that she attended the additional course just to broaden her knowledge.

"I have been admitted to a private institute for secretaries in East Jakarta and have paid the admission fee of Rp 8 million in total," she said.

Caroline said, however, she still wanted to measure her capability in the admission test for the school of economics, where she hopes to major in developmental economics at the University of Indonesia.