The ACET and Ateneo Application Process
The Ateneo de Manila University is one of the premiere higher-education institutions in the Philippines. To put it simply, this is one of the best universities in the Philippines and you will choose well if you decide to study in this university.
Of course, the decision on whether or not you will get to study in the Ateneo de Manila University is not yours alone to make. Aside from your parents’ consent (hey, they’re going to foot your hefty bill so they should have a say!), acceptance from the Ateneo de Manila University’s Committee on Admission and Aid is also necessary.
What exactly do you need to do to get accepted to the Ateneo de Manila University as a freshman student?
1. Procure an application form and exam permit.
That’s right. Wherever you decide to study, you will need to accomplish lots and lots of forms; so get off your high horse and begin your romance with forms, forms, and more forms.
The Freshman Application Form may be secured from the Ateneo de Manila University’s Office of Admission and Aid. Here’s the exact address:
Office of Admission and Aid
Rm 105, Ground Floor
Kostka Hall
Ateneo de Manila University
Loyola Heights, Quezon City 1108
2. Fill out the application form and submit it to the Office of Admission and Aid
Of course, you need to fill out the application form. What do you think of the application form – a souvenir?
Kidding aside, you should complete the form, gather all the required supporting documents (it will be indicated in your application form), and submit the application form and the required attachments to the Office of Admission and Aid before the deadline.
Remember please that the Ateneo de Manila University receives thousands of applications for admission every season. The powers that be are not going to waste time on incomplete forms. Therefore, make sure that your application form is fully accomplished and all the supporting documents are likewise complete. Otherwise, your application won’t be processed.
3. Pay the application fee.
The application fee is a definite requirement. The school naturally wants to recoup some of its expenses for giving you the chance to pay them some expensive tuition (wink!). Local applicants – that is, graduates of local high schools – will be charged PhP 500 (applicants from high schools abroad, on the other hand, need to pay 50 USD).
You need to pay the application fee upon submission of your accomplished application form.
4. Accomplish your exam permit and submit to the Office of Admission and Aid.
Your exam permit will be your ticket to the ACET or the Ateneo College Entrance Test. Fill it out completely and guard your copy with your life.
5. Show up for the ACET
On the designated date and time, show up at the testing center to take the ACET. Do not forget to bring your pencils, pens and whatever it is that you are instructed (by your exam permit) to bring for the ACET. Note that you cannot bring scratch papers, calculators, cell phones, and any electronic devices. The testing center will provide you with all the scratch paper you’ll need.
Of course, there’s more to the exam than just showing up for the Ateneo College Entrance Test; you need to prepare for it, too. If you love yourself and your parents, make sure you are prepared for the ACET before you sit in that chair and take it.
You can enroll in ACET review classes if you want. Better yet, start rereading your notes – that is, if you can rely on your accuracy and diligence when you were writing down those notes – and your textbooks. Study like there’s no tomorrow (there probably won’t be any if you fail the ACET, he he he).
Of course, ACET preparation cannot be done in one, two or even six months. ACET review classes and refresher courses can help, certainly, but only to remind you of what you have already learned. You can’t get into Ateneo de Manila University if you are not a conscientious student in the first place – or a genius who can absorb four years’ worth of high school education in a few months.
6. Wait for the decision.
After you have taken the Ateneo College Entrance Test, there’s nothing else that you can do except wait for the Committee on Admission and Aid’s decision on your application.
Such a decision can go three ways: you may be accepted, waitlisted or rejected. If your name is on that legendary Bulletin Board in Ateneo, you are either accepted or waitlisted (information to that effect will be displayed). The decision over your application is made based on the information written down on your application form, your ACET test scores, your high school grades, and the glowing (or not-so-glowing) endorsement from your teachers (recommendation letters from teachers are some of the required attachments of your application form).
How about your prayers? Will they help? Praying will not help with your ACET test scores because you’ve already taken the exam; you should have prayed before you took the ACET. Your prayers now won’t even help change your high school grades; they’ve already been made and recorded. Your prayers, however, may still help in the sense that the members of the Committee of Admission and Aid may decide you have great potential even if your records are less than stellar – so do pray; it can still help turn the tide in your favor.
May I please know the Application dates? Couldn’t find it neither on Ateneo’s webpage.
Hi Regina,
That’s mainly because Ateneo hasn’t released its next ACET application schedule. We’ll all have to wait for updates. Usually, the ACET application period starts in November.
ahmm i would like to ask a question,,,where can i download forms in applying to ateneo as a freshman student?