10 Less Known Facts about the UPCAT
Every year, thousands upon thousands of wide eyed high school students hurl themselves against the formidable barrier guarding their entrance to the premier university in the Philippines – the UPCAT. Some come armed to the teeth with tons of stock knowledge and an impressive high school record, some come armed with an UPCAT review and practical experience tucked in their belts, while some come with only the clothes on their backs, a pencil and a feeble prayer to the gods of mercy.
Regardless of their preparations, most students arrive in their designated UPCAT testing centers with a vague, if not mythical idea about what they are really up against when taking the UPCAT and in an age where information itself is a potent weapon, one that can give you an edge over more than 70,000 UPCAT takers all over the country [of which only about 10,000 gets into the University], knowing these 10 little less known facts about the UPCAT or more specifically admission into UP, can literally make or break you dream of getting through the gauntlet of UP admissions.
1. UPCAT Passing Rates
The national passing rate for the UPCAT stands at more or less 16%. This means that of the 70,000 students who annually take the exam, only about 10,000 make it through. Not so surprising you might say, but consider the fact that the passing rate of students in the NCR is only about 12.15% as compared to 19.64% of the students taking the UPCAT in the provinces. [based on studies of UPCAT 05-06]
This is an interesting fact in itself considering the fact that UPCAT Review Centers are mostly concentrated in the NCR [ if UPCAT reviews are really really effective, then why is the NCR’s passing rate even lower than the passing rate of the provinces?]
2. Public Vs. Private High schools
Interesting too, is the fact that students from the public schools have a much higher passing rate than students attending private schools in our country. Statistics shows that public high schools have a 23.87% UPCAT passing rate as compared to a measly 12.57% of private high schools. So you will have 10% more chance of passing the UPCAT if you have attended a public high school rather than a private high school.
3. The UPG vs UPCAT
Contrary to popular belief, it is not the UPCAT score but the UPG score [University Predicted Grade] that gets you in the University of the Philippines. The UPG is a more comprehensive measure of a student’s ability to make it through UP. It takes into account your UPCAT score [60%], your high school grades [40%] as well as some socio-economic factors such as your parent’s income status, your province, your cultural background, etc.
4. Quality vs. Equity
As mentioned above, your UPCAT score will not be the only thing that will determine your acceptance into UP. Quality vs. Equity factors in the UP admissions formula states that only 70% of the UPCAT passers will be taken from straight line UPCAT score ranking [ palugit and pabigat included ], the other 30% of UPCAT passers will be determined through the ranking of UPCAT scores of students from underrepresented areas and minority groups [slots are distributed relative to the 3rd year student population of that place compared to the total 3rd year population of all the underrepresented areas and minority groups].
So you see? Students from underrepresented areas or minority groups are given more chances of making it to UP than regular students. This is so that UP can maintain its mandate of providing education to deserving students all over the Philippines regardless of their culture, income, province, etc.
5. Palugit [ UPCAT bonus ]
A palugit, or an UPCAT bonus of 0.05% is also given to UPCAT takers coming from underrepresented provinces, public high schools, vocational high schools, etc. note that this bonus is given regardless of what your economic status is [ the University assumes that the type of high school you attend is indicative of your economic status ]
6. Pabigat [ UPCAT Penalty ]
Conversely, a pabigat or UPCAT penalty [0.05%] is also given to those students vying for a spot in a UP campus prioritizing local students for admissions. An example of this is a student from the NCR vying for a spot in UP Visayas, this is to lessen the risk of local students losing slots and opportunities to study in UP to students from other provinces or big cities such as Manila who might use their admission to these lower UPG cut-off campuses as a jumping point towards UP Diliman or UP Manila.
7. Campus Cut-Offs
The different UP campuses have different UPG cut-off requirements [ the minimum UPG you need to be considered admission to that particular campus]. This UPG cut-off requirement is based on the number of students who have indicated that particular campus as their first choice and the number of slots available in that campus.
As such, UP Manila and UP Diliman tend to have higher UPG cut-offs than the other UP campuses. This means that your chances of passing the UPCAT decreases if your first choice of campus is either of these two and more so if both were listed in your first and second choice of UP campuses.
8. No Shows
A considerable number of students who pass the UPCAT yearly elect not to enroll. In fact, as much as 35% of UPCAT passers do not enroll in UP even though they have passed the UPCAT [ based on 04-05 UPCAT ]. This means that those on the waitlist [ students who have made the cut-off grade but did not get a slot ] can still hope to find themselves a slot in UP PROVIDED they are up to the legwork.
9. UP Backdoors
Again, contrary to popular belief, the UPCAT isn’t the only way into UP. Students can opt to take the Talent Determination Test of UP colleges such as the College of Fine Arts and Music, or the Varsity Application Program of the College of Human Kinetics and still get into UP even without taking or passing the UPCAT.
10. Correct Minus [1/4] Wrong
If you still don’t know this by now, the UPCAT does not reward those who use guesswork as a method in passing exams. This means that if you get 800 questions correctly in a 1000 question exam, your actual grade will be 800 [correct answers] – ¼ x 200 [incorrect answers] = 750. This is on top of a multiple choice type of exam where the probability of you guessing the correct answer for each item is only 20-25%. So when in doubt, better leave the item blank!
It doess’t depend on school where you study..its up to the student on how he will shape his learning…
May I ask,what if the course assigned to me by the UPCAT (which was Agribusiness Management) was not one of my chosen courses (which were Nursing, Accountancy)? And there is (i think) no nursing course in UP los banos. What will I do to turn over to my desired course? Can I shift course after one year?
i’d have to agree with batman’s theory. guessing is actually more effective if done wisely. an intelligent guess, eliminating the obvious wrong choices and making a better guess in the end, is a better option than leaving an item blank. for a 100-item sample, assuming that 1 choice for every item is obviously wrong, there is a 33% chance to be correct (for an item with 4 choices, not considering variable change). the computation would now be: (100*0.33)-[(100*0.67)*0.25] and that’s about 16 pts. although this is purely statistics, i believe this works.
but i passed UP without doing this technique. i was just too lazy to guess. besides, getting in UP might be difficult but it’s staying in UP and on the course you enrolled in that is a more difficult task. Kaya, good luck sa mga pumasa. passing the UPCAT was just a start. im just happy i’ve already succeeded in getting that bloody hell of a diploma. enjoy UP everyone.
There are also other ways to enter UP Diliman without those rigorous exams. There is the UP IT Training Center, and the UP Institute for Small Scale Industries. You can still receive a certificate with the UP logo that is authentic. In case of UP ITTC, its one year experience going in and out of the campus and experience parading in the Christmas Lantern Parade, participating in the UP Fair or watch the oblation run.
In the bigger picture, your work experience and self-selling skills (in case no work experience, ability to showcase himself) is the key to get a nice job during the interviews.
@Rommel,
That’s a very useful tip. Keep it coming, please.
I think trying to guess would be rewarding if you answer in doubt when you feel the other three choices are probably not the right answer…
@eufems,
It’s really a personal choice.
i wish i had access to this informative post before i had taken the UPCAT. i did pass (private school, outside NCR) but it felt like i was doing things blindly. at any rate, like many exam takers (35%, really?) i opted to study somewhere else. it felt good to know i was able to hurdle this test though.
@Onyxx
Congratulations! I understand how you feel. Passing the UPCAT even if you choose not to study in UP is definitely an accomplishment. Be sure to tell your schoolmates and younger friends about Academic-Clinic.com so they will not feel as you did – “doing things blindly” – when their turn comes.
Thanks for visiting!
Regarding the 1/4 right minus wrong rule:
whichever calculation it may use, it is still best to guess if you don’t know the answer.
If you get one correct guess, that will give you one point. a wrong guess is equivalent to .25, so if you get one correct guess, it gives you chance for four more guesses, and so on.
@nakapasa sa upcat!
Congratulations for passing the UPCAT, and thanks for visiting and your insight.
i think another option of getting through in UP is through transfer. If you didn’t make it in UPCAT, you can study from other schools on your 1st year and just transfer to UP afterwards.
@cyberman,
You got that right.
wahhh….kampante pa naman ako sa UPCAT….matataas kase HS grades ko eh…kala ko pa naman mahahatak ako nun…by the way…thanks for the info…
and to Batman: i think wala namang correction…what the post is trying to say is that you have 800 correct answers…Therefore, 200 items are wrong…..
@qwertyu,
You’re welcome and do visit us again.
It’s nice to be informed with this kind of posts but do not think too much about this. This is an FYI(for your information) only so you’ll know what kind of strategy you’ll do in preparing for UPCAT.
@concerned,
You’re right about that. We did not have this kind of resource when we took the UPCAT. Academic-Clinic.com is just here to clarify and help – no more, no less.
wow, that’s why i did not pass, and i was the first one in my clan (my father is the eldest in his family) who took UPCAT; while my classmates whose siblings or parent were from UP passed. kung alam ko lang to, ginaya ko style nila to choose yung walang quota as first choice, then UP los banos pa, while they all resided in NCR then! meaning, their elders passed on these tips to my classmates. whew! i’ll enroll my boys to public high schools after graduating from private elementary schools. we’re from the region, and it’s true public education in provinces are better than in NCR. And i actually based that from my friends whose children finished high school in a populated but the best public high school in our town.
@mommy g,
Good luck! I hope your boys pass when they do take the UPCAT.
parang feeling ko ang galing ko dahil pumasa ako and am now a proud alumna?
@mya,
Great for you.
There is something problematic with the way you compare the passing rates and the accompanying side note “if UPCAT reviews are really really effective, then why is the NCR’s passing rate even lower than the passing rate of the provinces?”
Although the passing rates give you one side of the story, the absolute number of passers will give you another side. In this case, as compared to the over-all student population, more students in NCR take the UPCAT. Although I do not have the numbers, I think it is safe to assume that the denominator for NCR is bigger given the formula: Passing rate = (passers/ exam takers)*100. The idea is that in the provinces only those with a relatively higher chances of passing will take the UPCAT given the cost and distance from test centers. On the other hand, these constraints are not so high for students in NCR.
The same can be said about passing rates between private and public schools. Hence, it will aslo be helpful to provide the percentage of passers coming from public vs private schools, then compare this to the ratio of public school exam takers to private school examinees.
@prince,
Point well taken. Thanks!
Naku, sinasabi ko sa inyo mapapariwara lang kayo sa UP. Har har har
@Oinky,
Depende yan sa tao.
diba sa UPCAT if you dont answer the item its not counted in your total score naman?
Which is the point of the 25% penalty for wrong guesswork.
Sometimes, better to not even answer the item kung di mo sure sagot mo.
I passed UP and I answered only 1/4 of the science items and 1/2 of the math items.
Your call.
@kelsey,
Great point. Thanks!
Nakakatakot naman ang post na ito. Feeling ko tuloy hindi ako papasa. At maling mali ang sinulat ko sa aking Application form. Parang hinang-hina na ako. Naku!Ano na kaya gagawin ko?
I think you made a mistake in no. 10. It’s not actually 800 – 1/4 of 200=750. We should consider that during the exam, there are items that you are sure with and those that you don’t know. Assuming that you’re sure with the 800 items out of 1000, you still have 200 items. Once you leave this blank, that’s an automatic zero for the remaining 200 items. But once you guess in the remaining 200, you can still maximize your score. Out of those 200 items, you have a 20-25% chance of getting some correctly (even higher once you cancel out impossible answers). Once you guess the 200 items, you will get a baseline of more or less 50 points out of those 200. One fourth of the incorrect 150 items is 37. 50 – 37= 13 points. Out of 200 guessed items, you can still squeeze 13 points and that’s just the baseline! If you eliminate at least 1 out of the 4 possible answers(excluding the math test, where this is almost impossible), that’s already 33%. Applying the same algorithm, you’ll get a baseline of 32 points out of 200 guessed answers. 32 points goes a long way especially in the UPCAT where the competition is tight. Therefore, it is better to guess (by the word guess, i mean guessing while using your head) in the UPCAT! Correct me if I’m wrong. This does not apply to other CATs since only 1/4 of the incorrect items is deducted in the UPCAT.
I love reading this article, a very informative one. Nice article, thank you.