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There are two main admissions systems: central and direct admissions. Under the central admission students nationwide take the same tests and use the scores to enter the university of their choice. Under the direct admission they have to take the tests that each university organises by itself.

Many rely on outside tutoring instead of studying at school in order to help them meet their goal.

They told The Nation they had decided to be tutored in the main subjects ahead of what they will be taught at school because they aimed at getting high scores when they took the General Aptitude Test (GAT), the Professional Aptitude Test (PAT) and other exams under the universities' direct-admission processes.

GAT and PAT cover the contents of Mathayom 4-6. Such tests will be used as part of the central admissions system in the 2010 academic year instead of the current Advanced National Educational Test (A-NET).

"I registered to take GAT and PAT. I took the first tests last semester, when I was in Mathayom 5. So I needed to know all the contents of Mathayom 6 when I took the test," said Suwasun Plainthunpol, 18, a student from Lop Buri who will study in Mathayom 6 next semester.

"I finished being tutored in all the main subjects to be taught in Mathayom 6 when I was in the first semester of Mathayom 5, including mathematics, chemistry, biology, physics and English language," Suwasun said.

He headed to Bangkok during his summer vacation to be tutored in "Entrance Courses" for mathematics, chemistry and biology. The courses focus on having students practise using techniques to find the answers in questions on former university entrance examinations.

Thayini Jeerapornbundith, 15, and Natkittha Chatteerapat, 16, who are about to be Mathayom 5 students, said they were tutored in some difficult subjects - such as chemistry, biology, physics and mathematics - that will be taught in Mathayom 5 in order to complete studying all the material they will need when they take the GAT and PAT.

"Some of my friends have even started studying Mathayom 6 material already even though they have just passed Mathayom 4," Natkittha said.

"I will also take some course tutoring to get high scores for PAT," she added.

Patchara Vetchasarnsri, 18 and Suttisa Jindapon, 17, left Nakhon Si Thammarat and came to Bangkok for entrance courses in some subjects to make themselves familiar with the difficulty of doing the tests.

"I hope that the courses will enable me to pass Chulalongkorn University's direct admission for the Faculty of Engineering," Patchara said.

Suttisa hopes to succeed with direct admission to Thammasat University's food-science field.

Both said they would take other courses tutoring them in specific material for the direct-admission process if they had enough time.

They will turn Mathayom 6 students next semester and are among the students who have been tutored in advance on the contents needed to take GAT and PAT.

Suttisa said almost 100 per cent of her classmates had been tutored ahead for GAT and PAT.

And 20 per cent of Patchara's classmates have done the same.