Sometimes, your best laid plans to study at the University of the Philippines can go awry.  Fortunately, there’s always a possibility of asking the school authorities to reconsider your case, or applying at a sister campus other than your original choice.

There are some things you should know about the UPCAT UPG cut-off figures, though.  Before you apply for reconsideration or apply at another U.P. branch, kindly consider the following.

How it Works

Simply put, different U.P. campuses have different UPG cut-off scores for both the UPCAT itself and any appeals for reconsideration. (i.e., students who don’t make the cut-off for their original U.P. branch of choice can try applying at an alternative branch whose cut-off they do meet.).

The values can go higher or lower depending on which campus you visit.  Pending cases and cases of “degree course with available slot” may also take advantage of this option.  The only exception is the Diliman branch, which doesn’t entertain reconsideration requests at all.

Do note that even after you file an appeal for reconsideration, acceptance at these sister institutions isn’t guaranteed.  Factors such as slot availability, high school marks, your socio-economic status and other things on the school authorities’ priority list can effectively make or break an application.

UP Cut Off Grades or Scores

The cut-off UPG scores for the U.P. sister campuses are listed below.  The number on the left refers to the UPCAT cut-off standard, while the number on the right refers to the cut-off for reconsideration appeals:

• U.P. Diliman:  2.2 (only for the UPCAT; reconsideration is not applicable)
• U.P. Manila:  2.285 – 2.5
• U.P. Baguio:  2.659 – 2.574
• U.P. Tacloban:  2.7 – 2.7
• U.P. Cebu:  2.7 – 2.7
• U.P. Iloilo:  2.7 – 2.7
• U.P. Mindanao:  2.75 – 2.75
• U.P. Los Banos:  2.42 – 2.8

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the U.P. numbering system, kindly note that the absolute values of the UPG numbers above are in inverse proportion to their perceived value.  In other words, the smaller the numbers are, the better they are in the U.P. system, and the more stringent they are as cut-off grade requirements.

Other Considerations

The U.P. system has also been known to adjust the cut-off values, sometimes on an annual basis.  The adjustment depends on a variety of factors such as:

• the number of available slots in that campus
• the number of students who have selected that branch as their first priority
• the relative average of the batch of test takers for that particular year.

Thus, a low number of passers might lead school authorities to lower a campus’ cut-off score, sometimes at a moment’s notice.  It’s best, therefore to regularly check with the U.P. campus you’re interested in for updates.

There’s another factor at play here.  U.P. draws 70% of incoming freshmen from the top ranking UPCAT takers.  It draws the remaining 30% from students coming from public high schools and minority groups.  That means if you have close to a hundred thousand applicants taking the test every year, only a fraction of that (the word going around estimates it 10% of that, or around a thousand) will be selected.

The lesson is this:  the UPG may be a major factor in determining the success of your application, but it is by no means the only one.  If you meet the UPG requirements and you still don’t get into the campus of your choice, trust that God will open other doors for you.

Note (April 13, 2011):

Please note that we cannot and will continue to refrain from giving definite answers when asked to speculate on a student’s chances of getting reconsidered to a UP campus.

University cut-off scores continually change, but we can base our recommendations only on the UPG cut-off scores already stated in this post. Please always keep this in mind whenever you ask us a question about UP  reconsideration.

For reconsideration hopefuls, the best advice we can give you is to immediately call the office of the registrar of whichever UP campus you wish to be reconsidered in –  first, to get things moving sooner rather than later (when it might be too late) and second, to get the clearest picture of your reconsideration chances.

We wish you all the best of luck!!

Read More:  UP Reconsideration Process

Related posts:

1. Will Choosing a “Non-Quota” Course Increase my Chances of Passing the UPCAT?
2. The UPCAT Reconsideration Process
3. Transferring Courses or UP Campuses Right after the UPCAT
4. ACET Reconsideration Process
5. USTET Reconsideration Process
6. DLSUCET Reconsideration Process
7. Post UPCAT Ultimate Guide
8. UPCAT Results for AY 2012-2013 Freshmen