JEDDAH — Several students from Philippine-curriculum schools in Jeddah are bound for the University of the Philippines (UP), the country's premier state university, in June when Academic Year 2013-2014 starts. The said students passed the UPCAT (University of the Philippines College Admission Test), which they took last Nov. 5 at the social hall of the International Philippine School in Jeddah (IPSJ). Students in the Philippines took the UPCAT on August 4 and 5 last year. As soon as UPCAT results were posted online at http://upcat.up.edu.ph/results on Feb. 2, Jeddah-based takers scrambled to check if their names were on the list. Louis Hipos, one of several passers from Al Dura (Gems) International School, said he was in school when he found out that he had qualified for his first choice of campus and course: Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Broadcast Communication at UP Diliman, the university's flagship campus. “My sister texted me, then I went online on my phone to check. It's a good thing we have Wi-Fi at school,” he said. “I was on cloud 9. I just lost it when I found out. I was screaming and jumping around the classroom. I was just soooo happy and relieved. All the months of hard work had finally paid off,” said Hipos, who had attended review classes over the last summer at the MSA Institute, one popular college-exam preparation center in the Philippines. The other nine passers from Gems and the respective degree programs and campuses they are eligible to enroll in are: Maria Lira Fe Benjamin – BA Communication Arts, UP Los Banos; Dominic Flores – any degree program with available slot, UP Diliman; Maria Elwyana Jara Isulat – degree program with available slot, UP Visayas; Almer Mendoza – BS (Bachelor of Science) Computer Science, UP Los Banos; Leah Perez – Bachelor of Fine Arts, UP Baguio; Vemeni Grace Pineda – BS Tourism, UP Diliman; Catherine Sabugal – degree program with available slot, UP Los Banos; Maribelle Katrin Zuyco – degree program with available slot, UP Visayas; and Ranyl Christian Gregorio, whose case is pending. Mariella Allanic, an IPSJ student who will be taking up BS Economics at UP Los Ba?os in Laguna province, said she was moved to tears upon learning that she made it to the list. “I was so nervous when I was looking up the results online. I had to go to the registrar's office to borrow the computer. When I saw my name, I cried tears of joy,” she said. Other qualifiers from IPSJ include: Markus Aboy – degree program with available slot, UP Los Banos; Keith Albaran – BS Computer Science, UP Cebu; Sittie Faisah Macabanding – BA Philosophy, UP Los Banos; Roniel Miranda – BS Chemical Engineering (5 years), UP Los Banos; and Hasna Muti – BA Philosophy, UP Los Banos. From Durat Al Sharq International School, Dominador Poquiz III qualified for the BS Biology program at UP Los Banos, while Honesto Camit Jr.'s application to an engineering program in UP Diliman is pending. Another pending case is Harriette Mojica, who goes to Bader International School. Pending cases are not guaranteed admission into any UP campus/college, but may be admitted once deficient requirements are submitted. The five-hour UPCAT is reputed to be one of the country's toughest college entrance exams. It consists of four subtests, namely language proficiency, science, mathematics and reading comprehension. Last year, an essay portion was added in order to gauge an applicant's writing ability and literacy. Admission into UP is highly competitive; every year, only about 10,000 takers pass the test out of an average 70,000 examinees from Philippine as well as international schools, according to its Admissions page. Results are ranked according to the examinees' University Predicted Grades (UPG), a combined score that takes into account 60% of an applicant's UPCAT score and 40% of his/her grades in high school. Founded in 1908, UP is the national university of the Philippines, producing some of the country's most prominent officials and public figures, including a number of presidents, chief justices, as well as national artists and scientists. Among higher education institutions in the country, it has the most number of National Centers of Excellence and Development, according to Wikipedia. As such, many — if not all — Filipino students aspire to get into the university. “UP is my dream school. It presents the best opportunities for my future, after I graduate,” Allanic, from IPSJ, said. Comprising the UP System are seven constituent universities and one autonomous college spread across 15 campuses, including UP Diliman (with an extension program in Pampanga), UP Baguio, UP Los Banos, UP Manila, UP Visayas (with campuses in Iloilo/Miagao and Tacloban), UP Cebu, UP Mindanao, and the Open University. UP students are usually referred to as “iskolar ng bayan” (scholars of the nation), as UP education is partly subsidized by the government, placing high expectations on its students and graduates. Well aware of this fact, Hipos, one of the passers from Gems, has vowed to make the most of his UP education, the motto of which is “honor and excellence”: “I'll try my best and hopefully I'll graduate with honors. At the end of the day, no matter what people say, UP is still the best school in the country. To go to school there, it means something. It means you are among the best and the brightest our country has to offer. I feel really proud of myself for getting in.”
