One day to go. Everyone is feeling something, something rather incomprehensible. Tens of thousands of students from across the land are scheduled to take during the next two days a test that may chart destinies and move worlds. Not exactly your ordinary test. The UPCAT is coming.
Parents are jumping up and down unable to hide their excitement. Prospective students kill themselves in trying to cram 3 years of education in their heads, some spending thousands for reviews and reviewers. Indeed, everyone is doing something to ready themselves for one of the biggest tests of their lives.
But what does it really take to be ready?
This isn't all about having reviewed your past lessons, nor being innately smart. The most important, yet often ignored, part of UPCAT preparedness is believing that you are. It is important that you convince yourself that you have the information, supplies, and reassurances that you need. This post will help you with just that.
First, in preparing for the UPCAT, you need to condition your mindset. Stressed thoughts may distract and cause you to lose your concentration. Here are some stuff to remember:
- You are not alone. There are 60000++ others who are feeling the same way as you. Keep thoughts such as "Ay grabe ang tatalino ng itsura nila!" away from your head. Believe me, the others are thinking the same thing. Making yourself anxious won't help. Keep a positive mindset.
- There are schools other than U.P.. Not getting into the State U is not the end of the road. Do not fear failure for the almighty may have better things in store for you.
- Stop studying a few days before the exam. Cramming will only make you forgetful of the topics you've longed stored in your brain. Before the UPCAT, go watch a movie, go out with friends, etc..
- Relax. Exhaustion and paranoia will only tire your mind and body.
- Get plenty of rest. A tired person will find the UPCAT harder than a rested one.
Now that your mind's in order, here are the important things you must never forget to bring relevant in the physical world:
- EXAM PERMIT. Kalimutan mo na ang lahat wag lang 'to! I've heard stories of people forgetting their exam permits and thus missing a once in a lifetime opportunity. The permit is your life, your soul, the most important thing for that day. Let it not leave your side.
- Use Mongol #2 pencils for kids in the exam. The sheer size of the pencil will aid you in shading up the circles by lessening the time consumed for each item. Bring about 4 pencils so that you don't have to spend time sharpening them when the lead tip gets dull.
- Bring an eraser.
- Bring a jacket. We are now in the rainy season. Expect a chilly, dim and drizzly day. Also, there is also the probability that you'll be taken to an air conditioned room. Staying warm and comfy will help you think better.
- Water is the best choice of beverage. Others end up making you a bit more thirsty. Plus it gives you a feeling of freshness without the heavy feeling that comes with soda.
- Bring with you some crackers or energy bars. These will help you stay focused.
- Meet up with your friends that have the same exam schedule as yours. Or better yet, make new friends by talking to the other applicants. Talking to other people who share the same concerns deflects stress and anxiety.
Next, when you are sitting face to face with the UPCAT, here are a few tips:
- Skip questions. Some questions are incredibly long and complex. Going through them first will eat up much of your time, thus leaving you limited time to answer the remaining questions. It is important that you skip difficult items and move on to the next. If you have time to spare, only then should you return and attempt to answer such questions. Effective time management is key.
- IT DOES NOT PAY TO GUESS. If unable to determine the correct answer, it is unwise to just answer at random. Do remember that the test employs a right-minus-wrong system, meaning that 1/4 of your total mistakes will be deducted from your number of correct answers.
- DO NOT FEAR LEAVING BLANKS. If you are only 0-40% sure of your answer, leave it blank. There is nothing wrong with leaving a couple of empty spaces. Why, during my UPCAT, I left A LOT of items blank, and yet, here I am studying in U.P.. I think this strategy is one of the key reasons why I passed.
- Read each question carefully. I cannot emphasize this enough. You're out to lose loads of precious time if you keep on re-reading the questions should you not have been able to understand it completely at first glance.
- For the Reading Comprehension part, LOOK, just look, at the questions then proceed to the reading. This will give you an idea of what details to take note of. Take your time reading the piece before going back to the questions. Endlessly skimming for answers will only be to your detriment.
- It's just you and the UPCAT. Don't mind anything in the world around you. Ignore the clacking of your seatmate's chair. Ignore the noises the proctors make. Concentrate.
In case you don't know, I made an UPCAT Tips post two years ago for the use of my co-applicants back in 2006. Last year, I received numerous questions regarding the the UPCAT and a host of other topics relevant to admission into U.P.. Here are some of them:
- "Palpak palpak ako sa UPCAT simulation nung review center na inattendan ko, not to mention my low scores in the unit tests they gave us. May pag-asa pa ba akong pumasa ng UP??"
- Don't fret about the reviews. The tests they throw at you are actually 100% harder than the actual entrance exams. Noong mock UPCAT ko sa review center, I only got 52% GWA, i think. Despite my blundered performance at the reviews, I still managed to pass, 'diba? All is not lost, my friend!
- "is it true na dinuduktor ang results?? true din po ba na pag may kilala ka sa loob ng UP sure na talagang pumapasa?? tnx poh in advance... i'll appreciate any info and detail u'l giv me..."
- As with any official process, any form of rigging is possible. Kung mismong national elections e pwedeng dayain, what more an entrance exam involving 60,000++ students, 'diba? But let me assure you that such extra-legal methods cannot be done in a large scale.
- "May _____ po ba? Madami din po bang ______? E _____ po? Mahirap po ba ang ____ sa UPCAT?"
- Friends, the UPCAT varies from year to year. There is no way of foretelling what the UPCAT may throw at you. The best advice I could give would be to expect the unexpected. Also, should there be topics in the UPCAT that you have no idea about, rest assured that questions about such will be few. The exam will not focus on specific areas since it has a host of other topics to cover. Pag 'di alam, relax ka lang. :D
- "I'm just confused, people say that don't leave an item blank kasi mechine ang nagch-check ng papers, and if you do leave a blank, f-forward daw ung machine sa next item making it and all the other succeeding items wrong. Ano po ba talaga?"
- I think this concept applies to other CET's around where the right-minus-wrong principle isn't present [ACET, USTET, DLSUCET, among others]. Needless to say, I've already disproved this theory. I left a lot of items blank but still i was able to make it as an isko. :D
- "Kelan po nila gagamitin ung grades mo from 1st-3rd year HS? Maapektuhan ba nito ang application ko?"
- From what i understand, your University Predicted Grade (UPG) is the combined score of your grades from 1st-3rd year HS, and your UPCAT GWA. So basically, the UPCAT is not the sole determinant of your admission into UP, you also need substantially above average HS marks.
- "My friend told me na my point sa UPCAT yung mga nagtake ng review classes. Totoo ba yon?"
- I'm not aware kung may credit ang nagreview classes e. But i don't think there is. I just don't see the relevance of such a policy. Plus it would be unjust and downright discriminatory against those who do not have the means to enroll at review centers.
- "Totoo po bang in tagalog ung math at science?"
- Only some questions are written in Filipino. :D
- "Kung ichecheck ko po ung INTARMED dun sa form ko, maaapektuhan po ba yung pagpasa ko sa UP?"
- No. it wouldn't affect your admission. Your UPCAT score will just be ranked with the others who also sought INTARMED qualification. The top 40 will qualify for the program, while the rest would move on as if nothing ever hit them.
- 'Di ko napansin ung fine print about the photos being signed across by the Principal. Does it really matter?"
- Should they become aware of the missing signature, or whatever discrepancy with your application, for that matter, I doubt that it will affect your application. If you passed the UPCAT, I reckon that they'll just have you pass a signed picture or whatever missing requirement you have. I remember kasi na sa UPCAT results site, sa ilang applicants merong "* - Qualified but applicant has to clear deficiencies with the UP Office of Admissions". So kung may kulang ka nga, that would be dealt with after na ng release of results.
- Ano gagawin mo pag-feel mo [at sure ka] na quota course yung pinag-applyan mo? Am I that doomed?
- You shouldn't be worried. In a sense, the courses you pick wouldn't affect your admission. You see, in the event that you were not able to get into either of the courses you chose, if your UPCAT grade reaches the cut-off grade of the campus of your choice [not an expert on this, sorry], you'll have the opportunity to pick a "degree program with slot". So while you were not admitted to the program of your choice, you can pick other programs that could still accommodate you.
And there you have it, folks! This pretty much covers all the advice and tips I've given to UPCAT takers over the years. I pray that these will help you in your quest to become an isko or iska. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment, and I'll try to answer them right away.
Best of luck, UPCAT takers! I hope we get to see each other soon - as schoolmates. :D
[leave me a message if you passed, ok? - oyie]
 | 1st post haha. Thx again i'm really nervous even though my test is on aug 3 ^^. |
 | sorry late. this post has been in the backburner for months. only today have i found the resolve to actually finish it.
pakikalat nalang. |
 | raxie wrote on Aug 1, '08  The tests they throw at you are actually 100% harder than the actual entrance exams.  300% harder po. :) haha. at least sa MSA ganun. XD sobrang nakaka-nosebleed talaga ung sa MSA. para akong nagcrash course ng math 17 + other stuffs. hahaha! |
 | Thanks Oyie! :D Can I copy this on my site? (lol. cocopy ko na siya actually. :)) I'll leave a copyright nalang. :D) |
| I've been answering some MSA reviewers and so far i get around $40% correct . . . man, their tough. |
 | mas mahirap ba sa dlsu kesa up ? |
 | aba, may bagong tips. :)) naks. ah. anyway, i have one last question, related to this...
---Kelan po nila gagamitin ung grades mo from 1st-3rd year HS? Maapektuhan ba nito ang application ko?"
From what i understand, your University Predicted Grade (UPG) is the combined score of your grades from 1st-3rd year HS, and your UPCAT GWA. So basically, the UPCAT is not the sole determinant of your admission into UP, you also need substantially above average HS marks.---
okay, i understand the statement, but i was just wondering how above average should the HS marks be? :)) I think my 1st-3rd year grades is surprisingly in the range of 91-92. :P is that above average enough? :)) haha. |
 | galing talaga ni kuya oyie. =)) hahaha.
sayang nga lang di ako makakakuha ng UPCAT. @_@ |
 | wow,. u really did make a huge impact on the lives of upcat takers..
well, at least for me..hehe
thanks for your posts..it will really help a lot,..really! hehe,
God bless you.
:] |
 | yuck binasa ko kahit di naman ako maguUPCAT:))
amf oyie ang tanda na natin haha pangalawang UPCAT na to na nasa university tayo. haha. |
| nicole 1: it's astronomical. haha!
colleen: oo sobrang tanda na natin! haha!
kervin: much less competition over dlsu and admu slots. and besides, why pick others when you have u.p.? hahaha!
thankyou-ers: thank you din! haha! |
| lol. talaga? :)) anyway, thanks. :)
by the way, just wondering saang school ka nangaling nung highschool? kasi sabi ng mga tao minsan nakakatulong din yung school na pinanggalingan mo. for example, people say more students pass CETs that belong in School A than those students from school B. do you think it's true? :| i know it's not really always the case, since it all depends on the student, though some say it's a big factor. |
| may i just add?
ACET is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY harder than the UPCAT haha. and kahit di ka nagreview center papasa ka! sayang lang pera niyo dun. hahahaha |
 | ay mabenta agad. hahah
panalo talaga..
wahihi..
kinakabahan ako pag nagbabasa ako ng ganito. badtrip.lol
|
 | dapat ipublish ito para magkaroon ng pera. panalo : D ako manager |
| i was thinking about that a while ago. "pwede na tong booklet a". hahaha!
"so you want to pass the upcat?" by oyie javelosa.
published by abbiabs books. |
| @lareinelovesdarkness, thanks.
@oyie, sige gumawa ka ng booklet :)) haha. sold out agad :)) haha! |
 | haha, ang cute parang last year lang nag upcat din ako. at araw araw ko pa nakikita ung institute of chem, kung san ako nag exam! hahahahaha. goodluck sa 'applicants'. |
 | hahaa,, bkit ko rin ba binasa to? :D oo nga ang tatanda na natin... |
 | my gosh.. tnx for these tips.. i will take the test tomorrow.. at grbe,, sobra sobra ang nerbyos at kaba cu.. hai.. grbe tlga.. and sa diliman acu actual n mgeexam knowing na im from cavite.. golly.. i dunno wat to do.. |
 | bukas na test ko... tira-tira! |
 | yehes... oyie is forever tlga dahil sa post na ito :D :D :D
hayy oyie it brings back memories hahaha ^^ |
| reisabere wrote on Aug 2, '08, edited on Aug 2, '08 i believe that's actually above average already. at sa tingin ko rin mabigat na factor ang HS grades to help you enter UP. during my time, the UPG was 40% HS grade. =) oh i have another question :)) linulubos ko na since bukas na :P
pano icompute ung UPG. ang alam ko ipaparepareho yung standard ng grades ng iba't ibang school. sa school namen highest possible grade 98, so eequal yun ng up sa 100 para equal sa iba?
tapos ede magmomove ung ibang grades, right?
then, pag nakuha mo ung average grade, imumultiply mo by 40% plus upcat which is 60%? ede, pano mo macocompute yung mga tipong 2.31, etc. diba sa diliman 2.31 ata yung passing? i think :)) narinig ko lang sa iba kong kakilala.
just wondering :D and thanks in advance.
grabe. kinakabahan na ako para bukas |
 | new post..
thanks...syang di ko sya nbsa...
tpos na akong mgtest..
goodluck dun sa mga di pa nkkkuha.
kya niu yan!!^^
|
| sa wakas! tapos na ang mind torture. haha
go0d luck sa mga takers bukas.. |
 | sujumon23 wrote on Aug 2, '08, edited on Aug 2, '08 huhu... ang dami ko blanks upcat.. waahh.. alam na... panu pa sa acet?! |
| malamang lamang magmomove yung grades mo. pero super liit lang.
i'm have no idea how they compute the UPG, but the things you said seem rational. i also not privy as to what grading system UP uses for the UPG, but i do have a theory though. perhaps it's similar to the grading system used for us students. 1 being the highest, and 5 being the failing mark. i dunno.
kaya mo yan nicole 1! i belieeeeeeeeve!! |
| mga nagupcat na a year or two back: onga e. tanda na natin. my UPCAT memories are getting a bit vague after two years have passed.
mga kakatapos lang magupcat: congratulations on hurdling the UPCAT. finally you can all breathe. i pray that i'll see you all soon...in campus. :D |
| gah. mamaya na. grabe, ewan ko ba kung curse or blessing ang pagiging last batch sa pagtake ng upcat. :| kasi quarterly exams na namin sa tuesday. sooo.. totally sabaw na utak ko pagdating nun :)) kamusta naman yun :)) pero at least, more time to be ready :D
pero, okay, oyie, i'll do my best to believe. kahit na medyo in doubt ako under pressure. O_o
hay. sige, thanks sa mga advices and tips. :D i'm sure they'll help me tremendously.haha. good luck na lang saken :)) |
Comment deleted at the request of the author. | sept 13 po ata... 1 month pa.. waahh.. kelangan magprepare..
parang wala na po ako pagasa makapasa... pero wag naman sana.. haayy. hindi pa naman ganun kataas hs grades ko.. huhu
ndi ko nga po alam kung bakit ako nahirapan sa math.. pero ok naman english and science... pamatay din reading comprehension... |
 | grabe kmi nung lumabas from the testing center, parang may nmatayan... lalo na 'ko... ang rami-rami kong blanks, lalo na sa math.
math, math, math... kainis, palpak tlaga 'ko... i was like hindi pa nga ngkkalahati sa buong subtest tapos 20 minutes nlang... *facepalm* ALL HOPE IS LOST! |
| sujumon23 wrote on Aug 4, '08, edited on Aug 4, '08 waahh. ako din.. then I just used 1/4 of the front page nung scratch paper samantalang ung mga katabi ko humingi pa ng extra! waahh! parang di ko kasi alam kung pano isosolve kaya ndi ko alam isusulat sa scratch paper.. mental nalang tska analyze, substitute and SHOTGUN! huhu |
 | kuya may tnong ako, ok lng pu b na may bura sa recommendation form sa acet? mron kc akong bura dun, ngcounter sign n lng ako. ok lng kaya un? |
 | may second batch pa po ba ng UPCAT? |
 | Hi I'm an incoming 4th year student this year and I'm really aiming to pass the UPCAT and ACET. I got low grades dun sa diagnostic test namin sa review center for both universities.. totoo bang mas mahirap yung mga diagnostics kesa sa actual exam? |
 | Hi, i;m planning to take the UPCAT this year.. i'm really nervous, feeling ko di ako papasa pero dapat optimistic diba? :D here's the thing, can you give me an advice regarding my 1st choice and 2nd choice of campus? magmmedicine ako and ang pre-med course na gusto ko is BS Bio.. i checked din ung INTARMED program nila sa form.. UP manila tlga ang gusto ko kasi malapit lang sa amin pero sabi nila, mahirap daw makapasok sa UP manila kasi marami kang kacompete.. kaya kung gusto ko raw sa UP tlga, ibang campus daw ilagay ko sa form.. help? thanks a lot.. :D |
| Hi, i;m planning to take the UPCAT this year.. i'm really nervous, feeling ko di ako papasa pero dapat optimistic diba? :D here's the thing, can you give me an advice regarding my 1st choice and 2nd choice of campus? magmmedicine ako and ang pre-med course na gusto ko is BS Bio.. i checked din ung INTARMED program nila sa form.. UP manila tlga ang gusto ko kasi malapit lang sa amin pero sabi nila, mahirap daw makapasok sa UP manila kasi marami kang kacompete.. kaya kung gusto ko raw sa UP tlga, ibang campus daw ilagay ko sa form.. help? thanks a lot.. :D hi jamie.
syempre, ang dapat mong ilagay sa first mo ay yung pinakagusto mo talagang pasukan, which in your case is UP manila. and yes, it is suffice to say that the competition is really tough, but i think this shouldn't stop you from taking the chance at applying in that campus.
for biology, the other campus that comes into mind is diliman. BUT, i must warn you, competition for diliman's bs bio program is one of the toughest around. kaya i guess, if you want to take bio in either manila or diliman, galingan mo talaga sa UPCAT kasi thousands want the same thing.
if you're open to other pre-med courses, you might want to consider bs psychology or even sports sciences.
|
| i'm considering BS psych noon pa kaso parang ang layo naman nun sa opthalmology.. un kasi ung field na gusto ko.. aun.. so pumipili ako ng pre-med na will really help pag nagmed-proper na ko.. anyway, thanks a lot!! mas na-determine to study hard para sa UPCAT.. really, really big help! thank you! :D |
 | .........ung po bang sa application form 1 na"have you applied/are you planning to apply to other schools?" pag po ba sinagutan ng yes yun di nman mkakaapekto sa pagqualify sa UP??sinagutan ko kase.. |
| another question pa po,,quota course po ba ung BA Philo?eh ung BA Psych?eh ung BA Sociology??un po kase ung mga courses na pinili ko....ung philo sa diliman and ung psych then ung sociology sa UPLB po...ehe...tnx po...... |
| another question pa po mataas po ba Cut off ng UPLB??? |
 | Awww, thanks for the tips Kuya Oyie! :D Totoo ba yung when in doubt, choose B? HAHAHA! Nagbalak agad mag-shotgun e noh. |
 | im so thankful to read this blog post..i'll be taking up UPCAT tomorrow,,your post is such a big help! Thanks Oyie.. :) |
 | kakakaba!bukas na ito! kailangan ko palang mag-relax..pheewww.:) |
| @daixee: you are most welcome. don't to give me a heads up when you pass. :P
@aytako: get a good night's sleep. magrelax ka na ngayon pa lang. haha! |
| i wish all the 2010 UPCAT entrants great success. |
| nakatulong ung tips niu po, (kttapos mg exam), nksave talaga ng time. thanks for the tips!:)) |
| i also agree to aytako... @kuya oyie-thanks again!! i had my exam just this 6:30,,and ur tips are very useful..whee |
| kuya okey lang po bang magleave ng blank sa answer sheet???as in wla tlagang answer di po ba magkakamali sa pagread ung comp???uhmm.. |
 | This is very informative. Keep it up! |
 | pano kung mababa yung grades nung high school tapos mataas naman nakuhang score sa upcat posible parin bang makapasa?? |
Comment deleted at the request of the author. Comment deleted at the request of the author.  | Very nice post.^_^ It sure helps dispel most of the myths and a lot of the apprehension students are feeling about the UPCAT. Sabi nga nila, there is nothing to fear but fear itself and reading up on what the UPCAT is all about will help a lot in making the exam easier. In line with this, me and some college graduates from UP, UST, Ateneo and La Salle have made a site that answers a lot of the questions being thrown around the internet about the UPCAT, ACET, DLSUCET and USTET. The Site has some college survival guides as well as info on college scholarships, course descriptions etc. Do check it out and refer to your friends if you find it helpful. http://academic-clinic.com/More power to you!:) |
 | hello po:)
uhm. magtatake na ako ng UPCAT sa august 7/8,2010 (i've read from the website posted above) and i'm really inspired. i'm not expecting to pass the UPCAT but rather, i'm hoping that i can make it. hahaha. (may ganun?XD)
uhm. tanong ko lang po. ano yung mga areas ng mga subject (kunwari sa math, trigo) na mostly covered ng exam po? thanks po:)
does building up your vocabulary definitely help you to pass the exam? saka ano po yung pinakamahirap na subtest? ayun po:D thanks much ♥
|
 | graldvel wrote on Aug 8, '10, edited on Aug 8, '10 Wahh!!kuya oyie! di ako nag leave ng blank:( , savi mu sa 1st part ng tips sa up ok lang na hulaan tas c or d mas madalas,, nagwa ko to sa science(pero hindi lahat ng items).. pero thank you padin po sa advice! sana makapasok ako:| linguistic po ung kinuha kong course |
 | hello po kuya question lang po.. nkakaaffect ba talaga sa chance mo kpag maglalagay ka ng 2nd choice n campus and pati ung sa question na r u planning to take entrance exams in other schools? pls help nmn po... im going to take upcat this yr... other tips po in filling out the application form would be very much appreciated....thank u po...:) |
Comment deleted at the request of the author.  | hello po kuya. tanong lang po.
Tatanggapin pa po ba ng UP yung mga late applicants ?
yung mga late po na magbabayad ng UPCAT fee?
I'll need your reply kuya kasi po I'll take the UPCAT and feeling ko po malalate ako ng bayad sa Deadline na June 17 kasi po matagal po magprocess yung school namen about sa 2nd form.
Thank you po.
harry28_colarheart@yahoo.com
---- email nio na lang po ako |
| hello po kuya. tanong lang po.
Tatanggapin pa po ba ng UP yung mga late applicants ?
yung mga late po na magbabayad ng UPCAT fee?
I'll need your reply kuya kasi po I'll take the UPCAT and feeling ko po malalate ako ng bayad sa Deadline na June 17 kasi po matagal po magprocess yung school namen about sa 2nd form.
Thank you po.
harry28_colarheart@yahoo.com
---- email nio na lang po ako |
 | reinheit wrote on Dec 28, '11, edited on Dec 28, '11 hello po :)
itatanong ko lang po sana if pwede pa ba mag qualify for INTARMED program kahit na hindi ko nacheck yung INTARMED program nila sa form?
thank you po. |
| |
