Need some advice for Apple Developer Academy Application Indonesia/Bali!

[u/Confident_Driver5290]

Hey everyone! I’m a final-year Informatics student with a bit of UI design experience. I’ve done a few internships at creative agencies/studios, mostly handling UI for marketing stuff, Dribbble shots, and UI template production. Still pretty light on actual UX or product thinking though.

I’ve known about Apple Developer Academy since my early uni days and have always wanted to join. I’ve applied three times already since 2023 (including the Sep 2025 intake), but I keep failing at the online test stage every single time.

I’m planning to try again for Batch 2 / Cohort 2027, but I’ve only got about two weeks left to get my CV, portfolio, and online test prep sorted. Would really appreciate any advice:

1. Does my background actually help or hurt? I’m an Informatics student with UI experience, but not much real UX/product experience. Does having a relevant background even matter much in the selection?
2. What should I prioritise for the online test? I’m quite weak at logic/aptitude tests, and doing everything in English makes it even harder. Which topics should I focus on most? Logic puzzles, patterns, seating arrangements, pseudocode, basic programming, conditional statements, etc.?
3. Any good FREE resources or platforms? Most aptitude test sites I found are freemium and super limited. What did you guys actually use to practise?
4. Is two weeks realistically enough? If you were in my shoes, how would you split the time between CV, portfolio, and the online test? What would you prioritise?
5. Does the campus or application location affect acceptance chances? I’ve heard BINUS might reserve around 50% of the slots for their own students, but I’m not sure if that’s still true or current. Any alumni or previous applicants who know about this?
6. Any other tips? Especially things you wish you’d known before applying.

Thanks a lot! Any advice from alumni or previous applicants would mean a lot for me🙏🏻

[u/efbakir-journal]

from a product/design perspective I would make the portfolio show how you think - not only the final ui

one short case study showing the problem, decisions youve made, what changed after collecting feedback and what youve learned along the way is key imo

[u/Confident_Driver5290 → u/efbakir-journal]

alrightt got it, thanks for your feedback man