Can Students from Rural Areas Really Pass the STIS Entrance Exam? Journey, Struggles, and Preparation Tips The moment STIS is mentioned, people often assume it’s only for students in major cities with good tutoring centers, excellent teachers, and endless resources. I used to think the same. Living in a small town in East Java, study resources felt very limited. Over time, I understood that lack of access shouldn’t become an excuse. In fact, they motivated me to try even harder. What Makes STIS So Attractive? STIS has long been known as a highly desirable government-affiliated university. Not only is it under the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), but its graduates also have clear career prospects. Parents—mine included—see STIS as a pathway to guaranteed success. According to research from the University of Indonesia (Santoso, 2021), government colleges are attractive due to their mix of academic quality and job security. It’s natural that each year thousands of students fight for a very small number of places. Challenges of Studying in a Small Town Truthfully, getting ready for STIS while living outside the city is challenging. Most well-known prep schools are based in major cities. Public libraries rarely stock complete exam references. Internet access is inconsistent: fast at times, sluggish most of the time. In the beginning, I only used old and damaged high school materials. The consequence? Practicing real STIS-level questions became almost impossible. Especially with advanced math and quantitative logic sections. Research from Gadjah Mada University (Wibowo, 2020) shows limited education access often blocks rural students in national exams or government college entrance tests. That was exactly what I encountered. How to Catch Up? Thankfully, online resources have become more available. I came across BelajarCPNS.com, offering CAT-like STIS simulations. That’s when I learned my weak spots—elementary mathematics and English. Later, I joined online tutoring from NgajarPrivat.com. Tutors taught patiently, sometimes using daily analogies. Bloom highlighted that individual tutoring yields double the results of traditional classrooms. I personally felt the difference. For further study, I participated in special programs at LapakGuruPrivat.com. Their main aim was teaching quick problem-solving strategies. When studying alone, I often wasted time stuck on a single question. In these lessons, the goal was mastering problem structures, not chasing final answers. What’s the Difference Between Studying Alone and with a Community? Learning by yourself can be very discouraging. Some problems remain unsolved, and in the end, I lost motivation. That motivated me to participate in an online forum on KoncoSinau.id. In the forum, I connected with friends from across the country. It was almost like building a new family circle. At times they exchanged shortcut methods, at other times motivating words. That support was extremely useful. Peer learning, according to Rahmawati’s 2019 study, raises motivation as high as 35%. It truly worked in my experience. What Should You Practice for the STIS Entrance Exam? In my view, there are three main things every candidate must train. Math, simple and complex, forms the central requirement. English—many ignore it, but it can make or break acceptance. The academic potential test, testing logic and fast response. I practiced with this routine: math in the morning, English midday, logic at night. Though not perfect, consistent effort showed results. According to Duckworth, perseverance over time outweighs raw ability. Thus, despite boredom, I kept forcing myself slowly forward. Are Tryouts Really Important? Without question. Though I doubted in the beginning, I later saw tryouts matter greatly. It’s practice in both knowledge and timing. Means and colleagues (2013) proved that simulations raise performance thanks to familiarity with the test environment. So don’t just study theory, practice CAT regularly. What If You Feel Mentally Down? It happens all the time. Particularly after failing in practice tests. I almost gave up then. But slowly, I learned not to be too hard on myself. Advice from my tutor stuck with me: “Focus on growth, not comparisons." I carried that reminder forward. To maintain motivation, I leaned on my KoncoSinau.id community. Talking to them made me feel relieved. So, Can Rural Students Pass STIS? The reality: without a doubt, yes. Though not from a metropolis, combining private tutoring, practice exams, focused classes, and a study group made it possible. Yes, it takes more work, but it’s not hopeless. NgajarPrivat.com helped me understand difficult materials. LapakGuruPrivat.com offered me unique tricks to solve questions. The place I trained was BelajarCPNS.com. Support came from KoncoSinau.id’s community. When combined, these four elements made my preparation complete. |
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