SMA Unggul Garuda Helps Affirmation Students Study at World-Class Universities

The SMA Unggul Garuda Transformasi programme is helping high-achieving students from the affirmation pathway realise their dreams of pursuing quality higher education at top global universities. Rakha Guitarra Audrey and Amelia Febriani Rachman, two 12th-grade students at SMA Negeri Unggulan MH Thamrin Jakarta, recounted the significant role the programme played in their journey to secure the Garuda Sarjana Scholarship. Rakha has been accepted to study Chemical Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia, while Amelia has gained a place to study Environmental Science at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. In an interview in Jakarta on Monday, Rakha explained that the programme provided highly comprehensive mentoring, from access to information to direct connections with various reputable universities in Korea, Australia, Japan, and the United States. “From there, we were prepared in terms of classes and also facilitated to take the tests. Additionally, because we are from the Sekolah Garuda Transformasi, we were given more access to information about the Garuda Scholarship, so we could prepare better,” he said. He explained that his school’s vision to send students abroad became much more concrete after it transformed into SMA Unggul Garuda in his final year. The preparation process, which would normally take three years, was condensed into an intensive one-year guidance period. During this intensive period, the school actively assisted with document preparation, essay writing strategies, and portfolio development to align with international university application standards. To navigate the highly competitive scholarship selection, Rakha emphasised the importance of genuine intentions so that participants will eventually return to contribute to the nation. “Maybe an additional note from me is just be genuine. Truly set your intention to contribute to Indonesia, because that is the purpose of our scholarship,” he said. Echoing Rakha’s experience, Amelia Febriani Rachman highlighted the provision of training facilities and funding for foreign language standardised tests as tangible support from SMA Unggul Garuda in realising her dream. Amel noted that the intensive guidance and free tests, such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), significantly eased the financial burden on affirmation students with economic limitations. It was previously reported that the Sekolah Unggul Garuda Transformasi programme has successfully increased the acceptance rate of Indonesian students at the world’s top 100 universities by 150 per cent. According to data compiled by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology as of 24 April 2026, a total of 330 students received official Letters of Acceptance (LoA) from top global universities. This figure represents a 150 per cent increase compared to the 2025 period, which recorded 132 students. Furthermore, the total number of LoAs received rose to 1,567, a 167 per cent increase from the previous 587 letters in 2025.