Extra courses needed for university admission test

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.