What is the UPCAT?
Admission Into the University Through the UPCAT*
If you decide to take the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) on August 2009, you will be one among many thousands who aspire to enter the University of the Philippines. (Last year, there were over 70,000 examinees.)
Admission into UP depends not only on your performance in the UPCAT but also on your high school grades. Your weighted standardized scores on the UPCAT subtests in Language Proficiency, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics and Science, and the weighted average of final grades in your first three years in high school are combined. Moreover, to implement the policy of democratization to make the UP studentry more representative of the nation's population, socio- economic and geographic considerations are factored in the selection of campus qualifiers.
Qualifying for a Campus*
In your application, you have to choose two campuses from among nine (Baguio, Cebu, Diliman, Iloilo, Los Baños, Manila, Mindanao, Pampanga and Tacloban) and indicate them in order of preference. You will also indicate two degree programs per campus on your UPCAT application form and rank them in order of preference. Your application will be processed according to your campus and course choices and in the order you specified.
All applicants are ranked based on their admission grades which are the combined UPCAT Scores, high school grades and equity factors where applicable. They are then screened based on the choice of campuses and the top-ranking applicants, based on the quota and cut-off grade set by each campus, will qualify. Entry into UP Diliman or UP Manila tends to be competitive because these campuses are chosen by more applicants. If you qualify for your first choice, you will no longer be considered for your second choice of campus. But if you do not qualify for your first choice, you are automatically considered for your second choice of campus.
Qualifying for a Program*
Once you qualify to enter a campus, you are then screened for acceptance into one of the degree programs you chose. Different grade predictors are used for different programs. Campus qualifiers are ranked according to the degree program predictor. Top-ranking qualifiers are accepted according to the number of slots available for that program.
If you make it to the quota for your first choice of course, you will no longer be screened for your second choice. If you don't make it to your first choice of degree program, you will undergo the same screening process for your second choice. If you still do not make it, you will remain qualified for that campus but must then find a degree program that can accommodate you. Remember, you are an UPCAT qualifier; you only need to find a program that will accept you. The campus Registrar's Office will help you find that program. Qualification into U.P. is therefore a matter of qualifying for a campus.
*For full details, click this link: UPCAT General Information
How is the UPG Computed?
The UPG is computed by combining the scores from the UPCAT and the High School Weighted Average (HSWA). The UPCAT scores amounted to about 60% of the UPG; the HSWA made up about 40%. The UPG formula remains in effect up to date.
It is also interesting to note that certain high schools and cultural groups are given a palugit of 0.05 in their UPG. While a pabigat of 0.05 is also given when being considered for a second choice campus not near your vicinity.
For more details click here or if you want to read a story on how students qualify, follow this link
Do you want more? EVERYTHING ELSE YOU WANTED TO ASK ABOUT THE UPCAT
