Are you feeling sad?

Having a rough week? Mashallah, me too. I've been having a two-week mid year semester exam, ended last week. This semester I'm taking a total of 9 subjects: Pharmacology, Conservation Dentistry, Oral Surgery I, Oral Biology I, Orthodontics, Prosthodontics, Dental Radiology, Anesthetics and Clinical Pathology. Fourth semester (last semester of second year) in my dental faculty is very relaxing, more or less a honeymoon semester. Alhamdulillah so far the exam papers have been manageable, and I went through the exams with not-so-much of a difficulty. Thank Allah swt for helping me out..

But sometimes, as things get rough, I always lose myself.

I noticed that I always put up a happy face whenever I'm with others, and I like to make people feel happy around me. I agree that I can be a good listener, and I won't think bad of the individual sharing it. To be honest, I am very open-minded (though nowadays its all based on the guidelines of Islam). The downside part of it? Whenever I'm feeling sad or down, nobody can make me feel better as well as I can to myself, with an exception of a few. The term 'patting myself at the back' doesn't even cut it.

However, I remembered something..

Verily, in the remembrance of Allah swt do hearts find rest. 

(Quran 13:28)

So I looked up in the Internet about defeating sadness in Islam,
 and came across a blog discussing about distress, sadness and anxiety :

Every believer suffers from weak or low imaan once in a while; as the Prophet PBUH said, “Imaan wears out in one's heart, just as the dress wears out. Therefore, ask Allāh to renew imaan in your hearts.” Low imaan can easily plunge one into sorrow and despair, as imaan is a safeguard from this. When one suffers from low imaan, it paralyzes one from doing good deeds and removes the productivity in one's life and worship. One of the beautiful aspects in our religion is that Allāh and His Messenger have prescribed actions for us when we are suffering from weak imaan and sorrow, and one of the most potent cures is duaa'.

So my feelings of sadness is purely of low imaan? 
I scrolled down and continue reading.

The blog describes of supplications which includes two duaas that will help during times of low imaan, sadness, and times of distress.

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ الْهَمِّ وَالْحُزْنِ وَالْعَجْزِ وَالْكَسَلِ وَالْبُخْلِ وَالْجُبْنِ وَضَلَعِ الدَّيْنِ وَغَلَبَةِ الرِّجَالِ

 (Allahumma inni a'udhu bika minal-hammi wal-Ḥuzni wal-'ajazi wal-kasli wal-bukhli wal-jubni wa ḍala'Īd-dayni wa ghalabatir-rijal) ~"Allāh, I take refuge in You from anxiety and sorrow, weakness and laziness, miserliness and cowardice, the burden of debts and from being overpowered by men."

اللَّهُمَّ رَحْمَتَكَ أَرْجُو فَلَا تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ وَأَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِي كُلَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَا أَنْتَ

(Allahumma rahmataka arju fala takilni ila nafsi tarfata 'aynin wa aslih li sha'ni kullahu la ilaha ila anta) ~"Allāh, it is Your mercy that I hope for, so do not leave me in charge of my affairs even for a blink of an eye, and rectify for me all of my affairs. None has the right to be worshiped except You."

Life is filled with triumphs and tribulations.  Sometimes it is a roller coaster ride.  One day our faith is high and sweet, the next it has plummeted and we feel sad and worried.  The way to even out our journey is to trust that Allah swt knows what is best for us.  Even when seemingly bad things happen, there is a purpose and wisdom behind them.  Sometimes the purpose is known only to Allah swt, sometimes it is obvious.

Life can be tough these days. It genuinely seems like we are stuck in a rat race – studies getting boring, assignments and exams are difficult, you just can’t find the social network and warm feeling of brother/sisterhood, and of course, you’re still a financial-ridden student. This may resonate with a lot of you or parts of this may, and the consequences of all this are that many of us circumnavigate life through bouts of depression. We feel a sadness that sometimes we do not know quite how to overcome. We feel an anxiety that we have no idea what it stems from. Ultimately what we find is that despite all the pleasures of the world, we are still fighting a sadness, anxiety and a feeling of sorrow, which manifest in different ways.

The religion of Islam explains clearly our purpose in life and gives us guidelines to follow to make our search for happiness easier.  The Quran and the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) are our guide books for a life completely devoid of sadness and worry.  This however does not mean that we will not be tried and tested because Allah swt states very clearly in Quran that He will test us.  Our lives will be filled with situations that require us to reach out for Allah swt and depend upon Him. Allah swt promises us that He will reward those who are patient, He asks us to be grateful to Him, and He tells us that He loves those who put their trust in Him.

“...put your trust in Allah swt, certainly, 
Allah swt loves those who put their trust in Him.”  
(Quran 3:159) 

So stop feeling sad, and chin up! Allah swt's always there for you ;)
Jazakallah khayran for reading!

Purpose

Assalamualaikum wbt dearies!

Notice any changes in the blog? Hahaha *awkward laugh* I decided to make a few changes towards my blog, which includes changing the blog header, background and widgets. The biggest change in my blog, if you realized, is deleting my old blog posts. I left only three (scroll down to read), in which in my opinion have the most views out of the rest of the others. Why, you ask? I wrote frequently about the details of my life, and I know others enjoy reading them. All in all, I have almost 300+ blog posts only about myself. 

Highlight, myself.

I wrote mostly about what I ate, what I bought, what I did, what I wore yadayadayada all about myself. Add in promoting some product, describing expensive branded apparels that I got, and putting up photos of cuisines I ate or drank in lavish places...a typical blogger. 

And for what?

These are all worldly possessions. Worldly desires. Worldly ideals. I read every single blog posts I had back then, and I cringed. I cringed at the photos, I cringed at the way I write. All these years I've been addicted to updating about myself to others in the internet, in every single social site that I have. I have followers, some loyal readers which are my own friends. Through social sites, I made friends with people I never even met before..but closer than anyone I had around me. These are the only things I gained from social sites.

But, little that I know..I never considered I've been so focused on telling others how great my life is, but actually I'm still lacking at a factor. 
A very important factor.

Islam. My own religion.

From Amīr al-Mu'minin, Abū Hafs' Umar ibn al-Khattab explained that he heard the Messenger of Allah said: "Surely any deeds depends on intentions (niat). And indeed every person (is to be repaid) in accordance with his intentions. Whoever hijrahs for Allah and His Messenger, then he shall hijrah to Allah and His Messenger. And those who hijrah because of his worldly goals or because a woman he wanted to marry, then his hijrah shall be in accordance with what he has intention for - (Narrated by al-Bukhāriy and Muslim)

There's this term which is easily understood yet the most misunderstood term by mankind up till now: Niat. The purpose. The objective. Why you do things. For instance, why do you eat? Because you're hungry. Why do you drink? Because you're thirsty. Why do you sleep? Because you're tired. The list of questions are endless, yet the niat is the same..It's all about you. Of course. Why would you eat, why would you drink, why would you sleep for anyone else? Everybody else has their own things to do, their own problems to focus on..to be bothered by the likes of you.

But Allah swt is bothered. He is bothered about you 24/7 until the moment you die. Heck, He is still bothered even after you're dead up till the moment you enter Syuurga (Heaven) or Neraka (Hell). Heck, He is still bothered even after you entered. And that's just ONE of you. There's like 7 billion humans on Earth, dated on 31st of October, 2011 at the moment. Wait, add in the previous humans which existed before you. Unthinkable.

And you're doing every single daily routine, for yourself. But there's a Being out there who thinks about you all the time. Not only you, but every single person who existed..be them living or dead.  Yet you can't even be bothered to give Him a single damn thought, since you're focused on updating about yourself to others with all those social sites, and catering to the worldly ideals.

"I didn't come to this blog to read about an Islamic lecture."

Neither do I plan to write anything like this in my blog. Up till a few weeks ago, I still scoffed to the thought of writing anything like this in my blog. I was still being me, right until this moment I'm typing out this. I'm still me. I still like discounts whenever Juicy Couture has one. I still need my monthly dose of Starbucks (though I'm slowing down, since watching the Gaza video attacks). I still listen to Skrillex.

I am still me.

Though after coming back from the Europe backpacking trip with the jaulah from Poland & Czech Republic, I sort of began to notice the lifestyle I've been living has many faults. Back then I usually thought,  "Why am I in Indonesia, doing dentistry?" or "What's the purpose of me in this world?" Now..I see how childish I was to think about those questions, even. It all comes back to the term 'niat'. I know now the answer to all the questions that was always raised in my mind. 

I'm in Indonesia doing dentistry to become a holistic dentist, to work my way to Allah swt by helping those in need of my services. A dentist? "It's not like you're saving lives or something." Ah, I'm not going to argue with you in this. First, I'll be saving lives as an oral surgeon. Secondly, it doesn't matter what others think of my career with their limited way of thinking. All I can think of is that if I could at least fix someone's teeth, and that will aid them in their duaa' to Allah swt, plus saying good things to others..that is enough for me. I'm doing this for Him. Every step I take in dentistry, Inshallah will bring me closer to Him.

What's the purpose of me in this world? 

Easy. I live to die.

I live to die as a true Muslim. Not just as a Muslim stated in my IC card. Not just as a stereotypical mind set by the norm 'Islam Kelas Kedua' (Second-class Muslim). I strive to be more than that.

Though people may question the niat I'm changing:

"You're changing for a man. That'll never last."

"This is just a phase. A temporary one, like always."

I need not prove to others my niat, since humans as I live through almost 21 years of life, will never be satisfied of their expectations and desires. Humans will always and always will be judgemental. This includes me as well. Its just human nature, no matter how much you try to claim that you're not. But you know who's never judgemental and who'll never put any expectations on you? Him. Allah swt.

Someone very dear to me told me,

"If you have talents in anything, apply it towards Islam. Towards Allah swt. You like drawing comics? Draw comics that remind us of Allah swt. You like blogging? Blog what reminds us of Allah swt."

It doesn't mean that the scopes of your talents will be limited once you have a niat to do all this for Allah swt. In fact, your chances of getting closer to Him will be much bigger. You'll be from expectations of others because your mind is just preoccupied with Him. You care less about what people think about you, because you start to care less about worldly ideals. 

Inshallah I will be blogging more about my dental studies, my travels and embracing Islam in the eyes of a young woman. I plan to focus less about myself and write more about those three things mentioned. For me, since life in Dunya is a travel anyway..I plan to travel a lot from now on. I want to see the world and experience myself places that so many others praise highly. For instance, I went to Rome, Italy last winter break. Others told me I was lucky to have the chance to visit Rome..but to tell you the truth? All I see is an overpriced city crowded with people and pickpockets, not to mention basilicas (churches) in every step and heavily over-advertised tourist attractions. 

That is what I'm supposed to be lucky about? 

I prefer the Isle of Capri.

But that, my friends, let's save that story up for later, shall we?

Gentle reminder to all before I end this blog post, set back your niat ;) 

Till then, jazakallah khayran for reading!

I'm back!

My fingers felt rusty and stiff as I started to type.

"It is possible that you dislike something which is good for you,
 and that you love something which is bad for you." 

- My favorite ayaat from the Holy Quran; 2:216.

It has been six months since my last post. Once an avid blogger, now silent from the blogging world. Aside from dealing with the time-consuming dental course and hectic life in Indonesia, there are a lot of reasons why I left blogging for quite a while. Mostly to cope with my studies..let's just stick to that for now :) In six months, a lot of things has happened. Changes took place, people walked in and out from my life, learnt painful lessons, gained useful experience and most importantly..made decisions that made me walk down different paths- paths that diverge as more and more decisions issued.

All I can say was, I'm never the same person I was back then.

It felt weird scrolling down my old blog posts and my Facebook timeline all the way to a few years ago. Remarks like "Did I actually wrote that?" and "Oh my God, what the hell was I thinking?" came out a few times unexpectedly. Its not a surprise that in six months, a lot of things happened. There are times where things just go downhill and my life seems to be meaningless..and there are also times where good things happened and I felt like I'm the luckiest girl in the world. In fact, I am. In my own head, at least. 

Now that I'm in my fourth semester, and ending my second year as a dental student. I learnt new things about my studies, made new friends and enlarged my social circle. I was never much of a social person in my real life, but virtually - I'm hell active. Regardless what people might think and say, I don't talk much to the opposite gender. I was more socially open back then, but nowadays..being with my homies is just enough for me right now. My family has always been with me from the start, guiding me with the rights and the wrongs. There's nothing less that I ask from God nowadays in life. 

I'm sure most of the people who knew me are more keen to check up in my relationship factor. Its normal, really. Boys come and go. They walked in, took a piece of your life (and your time) and walked out as if nothing ever happened. I believe I might be among the unlucky ones, to encounter men who I would've never want to meet if I were given the chance. They serve to be small nudges, small reminders that God secretly want me to learn from while walking down my life path. I also broke hearts. All in all, as much as I gained life lessons by these events, I was emotionally damaged as well. Till now, I never knew whether my life will change its course again. But in every cloud, there's always a silver lining. There's always a reason why all my previous relationships didn't work out. And I believe I have found that reason.

Right, sob stories aside..

In six months, a lot of things happened. 

Among the prominent ones was my weight.

Haha, laugh as you can! I have self-inferiority complex when it comes to my appearance. I had a tough time dealing with my increasing weight since I entered college (Hey, no parents = no restrictions lol) Entering Semester Three a few months ago, I lost around 10 kgs..Mostly because I just got so fed up with people pestering about my appearance, and hey-you-look-fat-now comments. If you browse through my old photos in this blog or other social sites..you'll see what I mean. 

After Semester Three, I sort of had it with all the things eating me up from the inside: studies, relationships and whatnot..so I issued an ultimatum to my parents; a solo vacation during my semester break. 

To those who are in my other social sites (Facebook, Twitter & Instagram), I went backpacking in Europe for a month. I'm badly in need for a proper vacation - that is to say, is quite difficult when your family members are scattered in different places. I am very thankful that my parents had faith in me to travel alone since I was 15. I had a lot of feedback from my family, friends, acquaintances and even strangers to write about my backpacking trip. To be honest, really, Europe is where I started to take a different path as I walked on. A really eye-opening journey. I promised a lot of people that I'll write what I can..but the real gist? Its only for me to know and to understand.

This last highlight is the saddest part. 

Loki, the cat that I recently last semester went missing. He was always a fat little chub who has a habit to eat a little bit too much. I gave him a lot of freedom to roam inside and out the house, so I guess it was hugely my fault that he either ran away or got snatched by some random local. Its not unusual to hear some Persian cats went missing from their homes in Indonesia, really. There are actually syndicates for this cat-thieving act, and many cats ended getting sold in the pasar satwa (animal market) for a high price. Loki was..well, a Persian and well-groomed (not to mention bloody expensive) cat. It was to be expected, but still I was careless. I felt bad that Loki got only one blog post under his name :(

After the Europe trip, I decided to get back in track and got another kitten a few days ago.

 

His name is Scott, after my favorite cartoon character Scott Pilgrim. He's still new to the household, therefore a bit shy and isn't as manja as Loki was with us. Still, he started to warm up to me after some time. He sleeps with me every night, and is generally playful as a kitten. Insyallah I will not repeat the same mistake, since losing Loki took a huge toll on me..as I was really attached to him, and he disappeared while I was going through a really hard time.

Guys, I really appreciate that there are some faithful readers who kept nudging me for updates and also readers who are interested in entering UGM. I read through all of your FB messages, your emails and tweets. However, I couldn't manage to reply all of them since I'm preoccupied with studies and also I recently just got back from Europe. Insyallah I will try to reply every single message sent. This isn't some hotshot blog but rather, snippets of my life in which I'd like to share with others. Even nowadays I'd rather keep some of my stuff wrapped under..but, this blog post is dedicated to my mother, other backpackers and all my faithful readers I gained from this past three years I've been writing in this blog.

Ouch.

I planned to update in the weekends or whenever I'm free. Semester Four is relatively relaxing, so I best get my blogging gear kick-start again! Though I'm currently dealing with a severe case of procrastination right now -.-" I really need to fix this bad habit of mine..

More updates in the next blog post! 

Career path for Malaysian dentists

For this blog post I would like to share something. 

I've stumbled on a dental blog written by a Malaysian, apparently studying in Egypt. The blog contained a lot of information about dentistry for Malaysians. I really loved the way the author engraves his/her message for students who wish to pursue dentistry as their career choice. The blog banner itself is nice, although the background made it quite difficult for me to read the posts.

However, the main point is this blog post that I read about.

mama abah, please read this. :D

Chapter 1: 

Roles and Responsibilities of Dental Officers


my friend Belindch :) credits


Generally, the responsibility of a dental officer is to provide treatment that is related to dentistry. The primary duties encompass clinical treatment, prevention and promotion, undergoing and organizing in-service training, policy planning and carrying out related research to enhance the quality of dental services in Malaysia. 

Among the major programmes which directly involve dental officers are the primary oral health, community oral health and dental specialization programmes. In addition, a dental officer is also responsible for administration and management matters in the clinic and also for the subordinate staff to ensure that every duty is carried out properly.

Chapter 2: Appointment

A. Terms of appointment

To become a dental officer, a candidate must:

1. Be a Malaysian citizen
2. Be not less than 18 years old at the time of advertisement
3. Have a Bachelor of Dentistry from a university recognized by the government and registered with the Malaysian Dental Council (MDC)
4. Have passed the Malay Language (including oral test) in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or other equivalent qualification that is recognized
5. Fulfill the criteria under the Dental Act and Regulations 1971 and is registered with the MDC.

You can see all other universities recognized by MDC in overseas here.

B. Procedures of appointment

Students with a Bachelor of Dentistry (BDS/DDS) from either local or foreign universities are required to obtain a set of application forms for the position of dental officer from the Human Resource Division, Ministry of Health which contain the following forms:

1. Personal Information Form (PIF)
2. Security Vetting Form
3. Malaysian Dental Council Registration Form
4. SPA 8 Form (priced at RM3.00 or via the website: www.spa.gov.my)

You can check them here. 
The Human Resource Division of the Ministry of Health (MOH) will submit the applications to the Public Service Commision (PSC) for processing. Applications can also be made directly to the PSC via the website or the SPA 8 Form.

C. Training of Graduate Dental Officers

Dental officers are required to undergo graduate training or the First-Year Dental Officer (FYDO) programme for a year in MOH dental clinics and hospitals or in universities such as the dental centers of Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF). Dental officers (FYDOs) who are newly appointed to the civil service are paid a Grade U41 (P1T5) salary of RM2,366.55 per month.

D. Placement of Dental Officers

Dental officers are required to undergo compulsory service with the government for 3 years. Placement of the officers upon completion of the First-Year Dental Officer programme is dependent on requirement and vacancy of the service in any hospitals, health clinics, MOH headquarters, Department of Orang Asli Affairs and other health institutions.


Chapter 3: Salary and Emolument

There are too many criteria and types of allowances and incentives. If any of you want to know more about this, please help yourself. I'll write basically on newly graduated candidates.
Dental Officers may be appointed at grade U41(Newly appointed) and receive the following monthly salary and emolument:

Basic Salary - from RM2,366.55 to RM4,723.81

Fixed Civil Service Allowance - RM300.00

Fixed Housing Allowance - RM210.00

Critical Service Incentive Payment - RM500.00

Specialist Incentive Payment - RM1,300.00

Total - RM4676.55

And if you are a dental officers of specialist / special grade, 

you can get *cough* minimum of RM18,591.47 monthly.

Enough with the salary, my eyes hurt.

Chapter 4: Career Opportunities in MOH

A. Types of Specialization

Dental officers at the MOH can advance 

their career based on three (3) major fields:

1. Clinical dental specialist in various fields

There are eight (8) fields of specialization at the Ministry of Health;

1. Oral Surgery Dentistry
2. Orthodontics
3. Periodontics
4. Pediatric dentistry
5. Restorative/prosthodontic dentistry,
6. Pathology and Oral Medicine
7. Forensic dentistry
8. Special care dentistry

In addition, oral public health is a specialized field in oral health. These specialists are posted to hospitals and health clinics with the exception of public health specialists who are also posted to the headquarters, state health departments or district health offices.

2. Clinical Dental Officers

These officers are not dental specialists but are made up of experienced officers with a long service record with the Ministry of Health. Their primary role is to reduce the number of patients who need to be referred to dental specialists for emergency treatment.

3. Dental Administrative Officers

These officers carry out clinical administrative duties and may serve at the headquarters, state health departments or district health offices.

B. Opportunity for training

In line with the policy of the MOH to encourage a learning organization and continuous professional development as well as to improve the quality of service and produce competent officers, dental officers are given the opportunity to attend:

1. Short-term training and courses either locally or abroad
2. Specialist and sub-specialist postgraduate training locally or abroad
3. Attachment with international bodies or dental institutions
4. Conferences, etc. either locally or abroad

Application Procedures

1. The basic requirements to pursue postgraduate and specialist courses are: a. Confirmation in service (1-3 years)
b. Satisfactory performance and certified by the head of depatment
2. After completing the 6-month basic specialist training, the officer has to apply to be gazetted as a specialist at the MOH.
3. The duration of the contract with the government for post graduate courses depends on the duration of the courses pursued.

C. Opportunity for promotions

The ministry constantly strives to improve opportunities for promotion for dental officers, particularly clinical dental specialist. However, the implementation of promotional matters is still subject to the terms of services of dental officers, which are:

1. A satisfactory performance
2. Supported by the head of department
3. Passed the Efficiency Level Assessment (PTK)
4. Vacancies

Thats all for now. This is a brief knowledge on the career development in Ministry of Health. For private sector, there are still many opportunities that can be explored. Please spend some time to learn everything that dental field can offer to you.

Will write a proper blog post after this!

UGM Entrance Exam

Just retelling my experience taking the UGM entrance exam.

When I first took this entrance exam, I still remember the tiring experience of searching for tips on how to pass the entrance exam. On the other hand, I have to study for my foundation examination and also my IELTS. Medic Pro Link did provided coaching classes in UM but I only went for one class since I am so busy with my own studies and my parents were away performing the hajj. Searching tips online is a total FAIL. I swore to myself that if I ever got pass the exams I would give out tips for new students after me on how the entrance exam works because NOBODY did to me. So I'll be recounting my experience in hopes that it will help others.

I registered for the entrance exam in Medic Pro Link a few months ago, while I was still doing my foundation. The agent I registered is one of the only two Official Representative for University of Gadjah Mada. Medic Pro Link is the Official Entrance Exam Co-ordinator for Universitas Sumatera Utara, Universitas Brawijaya & Universitas Andalas. Not only that they are also official agents for RSMU, MMA, University of Padjadjaran and University of Indonesia. 

If you are planning to go to Universitas Gadjah Mada, this is what they required:

Maximum age is 25 years old 

Proficient in English which is proven by:

Institutional TOEFL score of at least 500 (paper-based)

 IELTS score of at least 5.00 

Muet band at least 4

Have one of the following qualifications:

• STPM qualification with minimum CGPA 3.00 (in 4.00 scales) / 3B for science subjects or
• Pre-Medical qualification with minimum CGPA 3.00 (in 4.00 scales)* or
• Foundation Programme / A-Level or equivalent qualification with the following results:

Programme	Minimal Grades
CPU	65%
SAM	14B
CIMP	14B
MUFY	3.00 or 60-69
UNSW-FP	3.00 or 14B
A-Level	3C
HSC T.NADU	130

The difference between Russian and Indonesian universities is the entrance exam. Going to Russia does not require any elimination processes, but in Indonesia they do. There are some universities who guarantees instant seat when you approached them with good CGPAs such as Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU). However the old and famous universities such as Universitas Gadjah Mada or Universitas Padjajaran requires sitting an entrance exam and passing in at least of 55% to secure a seat. Every year a fixed amount of seats will be given such as for this year:

60 seats for Medicine / MBBS

30 seats for Dentistry / DDS

30 seats for Veterinary Medicine

30 seats for Pharmacy

Okay, how does the examinations go again?

 Today I will be concentrating on UGM entrance exam. Well, there's one honest way to put it - its tough. Even if you have money, you can't buy your way in these examinations. UGM is a university who puts quality first from quantity, and to mark my words - even if there's only a single person who passes the exam out of a few hundred students, only that particular person will be offered the seat. Other vacant seats won't be offered to the others. This case happened this year in the pharmacy seatings. In other words, you have to pass 55% no matter what. There are certain cases where the passing mark is lowered down than 55%, but the cases are extremely rare. 

The admission test or entrance exam was hold at Saturday, 7 May 2011. The venue takes place at the Examination Hall, Library Building 6th floor,Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN).  The test schedule goes on according to this:

07.30 - 08.00 Briefing for Gadjah Mada Scholastic Test
08.00 - 10.00 Gadjah Mada Scholastic Test
10.00 - 10.30 Break
10.30 - 12.10 Academic Test I (Mathematics and Biology)
12.10 - 13.10 Break
13.10 - 15.40 Academic Test II (Physics, Chemistry, Applied Mathematics)

All examinations are done in MCQs and in English. Sounds easy right? However everything that looks easy has its own catch. In every UGM examination, the exam is designed for the students to choose their answers carefully, making sure the answer is indeed correct 100 percent and not 'tembak'. There's a penalty in which each correct question answered four points will be given, if you don't answer the question zero points is given meanwhile if you choose a wrong answer one point will be deducted. That is to say, if you answered 20 right answers and 30 wrong answers, your total marks will be (20x4)-(30) = 50 points. Total drag down in your marks. 

There are certain cases where two points will be deducted instead of one, and many students scratched a negative mark (-xx) from the total of all 100 questions! 

I'll further elaborate about what subjects are tested in the admission test.

  Gajah Mada Scholastic Test is a test in which your IQ will be measured by picking the right answers from 100 tricky questions given in different sections A, B, C and D. Every section represents different types of questions - riddles, mathematical, general knowledge and also English language proficiency. A time limit will be given for all students to answer, section by section. For example when time for Section A is up, you can't continue to do it anymore but instead you have to proceed on the next section immediately. The goal of this test is for you to answer as much as you can in the short time limit. But no worries, no marks are deducted in this test. 

Academic Test I Mathematics & Biology in my opinion is the easiest out of the academic section. The mathematics is basic modern maths for our SPM, and I daresay the Biology is also less of a challenge. But then again, I love Biology to bits so I'm not sure. However, I answered all questions and left out only 2 questions. My advice, each section contains 25 questions each so choose carefully! Answer only the questions you know the answer confidently. Do not answer unless you are TRULY sure. If you don't know the answer, leave it. Do not attempt the question and risk having your marks deducted. Leaving the answer blank is better than picking a wrong answer, since you will not get points or get deducted either.

The last test, Academic Test II (Physics, Chemistry, Applied Mathematics) is hard. HARD. I'm not gonna lie to you. The three subjects is divided in total of 50 questions, but I remembered having 20 questions of Applied Mathematics at that time. Physics and Chemistry is normal syllabus in which you will encounter during your foundation year, so no need to stress about it so much. However, the downfall is Applied Mathematics. One glance at the first question, I didn't know what the heck the question is talking about. Second glance, I was like DANG. Third glance, I was like OK Its decided I never encounter this type of mathematics before.

So what did I do?

I left out the whole Applied Mathematics section. Yes SERIOUSLY. I answered all the Physics and Chemistry but I didn't even touch the Applied-butthurt-Maths questions. Well, the main objective of the test is to see how you pick your 100% right answers carefully instead of simply 'tembak' everything and get all the answers wrong (deducted marks). Its not important on answering just simply everything like our Malaysian exam system does but to plan a strategy on choosing the right answers only, and eliminating takpasti questions or questions you don't know at all. In simple words, in order to pass the test, you don't have to answer everything. I remembered getting out of the exam room one and a half hour before the test ends because I finished answering what I need.

One more thing, in Indonesian exams you are not allowed to bring any calculators. Only buku sifir is permitted. However in my exam, the test invigilators ended up not giving us buku sifir at all and we had to calculate everything ourselves using our own brains and a scratch paper. (More reasons to not do that Applied-butthurt-Maths questions!) Also there's another rule that you must not bring a watch in to the exams. I've seen several of my fellow friends got shooed out the exam hall before they took off their watches. You are only allowed to bring a ballpoint pen, two 2B pencils, an eraser and a sharpener. The Indonesia invigilators are extremely particular on this.

After approximately two~three weeks, you will be notified if you succeeded in the exam. There is also a website in which you can check. Usually they will publish the results like this. Then the rest you will deal with your agent. However, if you failed, its okay. Usually students takes a few entrance exams of different universities for a 'just in case' backup plan. As for me, I chose Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universitas Padjajaran and Universitas Sumatera Utara. But since I gained a seat in UGM, my agent advised me against sitting for other exams because if I did and gained another seat by the latter universities, I won't be giving other students a deserving seat. From wasting the precious seat and just accepting to UGM, I kinda am like doing a favor to other students who needed a place there. So my exam fees burn T_T

Fuh!~ That's an extremely long and detailed info on what you would expect in the admission test. Make full use of it, if you want to pass the examination! Don't fret, dearies! The reason I wrote this tips is that I would be of use to other students who are interested in UGM. During my time, nobody gave me help or tips and I kinda have to survive on my own~

so guys, good luck for those who deserved them!