JUNE 2011
bout the UPCAT
U.P. Newsletter 7
Making the grade at UP Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc
June 17 for Metro Manila-based schools and June 24 for schools outside Metro Manila. If an application is filed beyond the deadline, late fees are applied. When everything has been submitted, ask the Office of Admissions when the test permit will be released. Once the test permit is given to the applicant, all he or she has to do is wait until the scheduled testing date and session. The Office of Admissions warns applicants and parents that “UP has not authorized and will not authorize any individual, group or entity, public or private, to conduct UPCAT review sessions.” The UPCAT is held every first weekend of August in 75 test centers across 16 regions in the country. There are two sessions per day: morning and
UP admits freshmen applicants on the basis of their predicted grade in UP. The university predicted grade (UPG) is exactly that: a prediction of the applicant’s likelihood of success in academic work, or completing a degree program in UP. Regression analyses of student performance have been conducted to make sure that the formula for the UPG—a combination of the applicant’s high school weighted average and UPCAT scores—is reliable. Being admitted into UP is very competitive, and only those who have the highest grades are considered. The prestige attached to being a UP student helps explains why more than 60,000 high school graduates apply to take the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) every year. In turn, UP students are regarded as the cream of the crop because only a few UPCAT applicants are admitted. Last year, there were more than 65,000 UPCAT applicants. However, the qualifying rate system-wide is only around 17 percent. It must be stressed, however, that UP students can also be regarded as the best of the best from all walks of life and parts of the Philippines. Socio-economic and geographical considerations come into play in the admission of students. This has to be done to level the playing field, so to speak. It operates on the assumption that the rich have an advantage over their counterparts from lower economic groups. Aside from helping empower the marginalized in society through UP education, equity considerations ensure the heterogeneity of the student population and helps create a richer university learning environment. They also ensure that state funds are not used solely for the rich. Leveling the playing field entails standardizing high school grades due to the varied grading systems in schools. The UPGs of students from public high schools classified as disadvantaged and members of cultural minority groups are given a 0.05 “palugit” (loose translation: allowance). Applicants who later appeal to a constituent university (CU) not included in their choices and from a region outside the remote CU’s catchment or target area (such as Mindanao for UP Mindanao) are given a 0.05 “pabigat” (loose translation: additional points). The giving of “palugit” may not sit well with those who think the university is compromising excellence for equity considerations. However, the stiff competition among applicants ensures that even with the “palugit,” all qualified applicants belong to the cream of the crop. This is because the competition compels the CU to set high cut-off grades. For example, at a CU, those who belong to the top 70 percent of its quota may qualify with a UPG (“palugit” included) of at least 2.31. Thus an actual “cut-off rate” of 2.31 is set. UP Manila applications and the very limited number of applicants it can accept result in the highest “cut-off rate” among CUs. In UP Los Baños, the absolute cut-off is around 2.80. Having set relatively high “cut-off rates,” a CU is compelled to accept applicants only if they do not fall below the absolute cut-off rate. In UP Manila, for example, it is 2.5. A CU’s filling up of the remaining 30 percent of its quota—called as the geographic equity round—does not disregard such standard. The geographic equity round consists of choosing applicants coming from provinces, town or city still underrepresented in the percentage of qualified UP applicants. Data from the Department of Education is used to determine whether or not areas are underrepresented based on the population of senior high school students of the country. Applicants from these areas must not have grades below 2.5 if they are to qualify for UP Manila. If there are still slots available after the geographic equity round, they will be given to other applicants with the highest grades regardless of where they came from. But competition can sometimes be so stiff that, for example in UP Manila, their slots are filled even with grades way above their traditional cut-off of 2.5. Having been accepted into a UP campus, the student may now be screened for particular programs which have different admissions processes or equations of their own. The college is also the one to screen transferees from other schools who may have passed or not passed the UPCAT, but must have achieved an average of 2.0 in their college subjects. The UP admissions process is not uniform system-wise. UP Diliman is implementing a modification in which the so-called UP Admission Index, instead of the UPG, is used as approved by the University Council for 2006 to screen applicants. It still uses a “palugit” similar to the 0.05 used in UPGs. It also employs screening passes, such as the excellence and equity rounds. The modification is in line with the constant fine-turning of admissions process, which may be implemented system-wide later on if it proves more successful as a predictor of performance. UPGs of applicants to UPD are still computed for consideration in their application to other CUs. According to Admissions Director Gerald Pio Franco, the system-wide admissions processes ensure that UP qualifiers represent the best from all parts of the country and from all walks of life. However, the actual socio-economic/geographic breakdown of the UP student population may not reflect such heterogeneity. Despite the excellence-equity assurances of the admissions process, it cannot assure that all these qualifiers will enroll. Franco said that the no-show rate of applicants from the provinces is quite high and the general no-show rate is around 35 percent. Thus, the university must ensure that all qualifiers, especially those from marginalized sectors of society, feel that UP is still the university for them.
afternoon. Those who are given the morning schedule have to be at their designated test centers by 6:30 a.m., while those who have the afternoon session have to arrive at 12:30 p.m. The test is bilingual—English and Filipino—and consists of four parts: Language Proficiency, Science, Mathematics, and Reading Comprehension. How are scores computed? According to the Office of Admissions, “standardized scores on these subtests are combined with the weighted average of final grades in the first three years of high school to determine qualification into UP” and that “socio-economic and geographic considerations are factored in the selection of campus qualifiers.”
ng hapon sa kampus ng UP Diliman kung saan mas ado bilang si “Zorro.”
UP Diliman as dining, recreation haven Bernice P. Varona
When one talks about UP Diliman (UPD), it is not only scholarly activities or academics that figure in the stories. There is another side to the so-called UP Diliman experience. To fully know this other side, one needs to literally go around the 500hectare campus. Gastronomic adventures The UPD campus has a lot to offer to the gastronomically adventurous, from local street fare to the more expensive culinary experience in medium priced venues. If you are after student-friendly, lutong bahay kind of food, you have several options. The most popular and one of the oldest restaurants on campus is Rodics, inside the UP Shopping Center (SC). Here, one can order tapsilog (shredded deep-fried beef tapa on top of a mound of rice with fried egg) for around P65, served, believe it or not, even beyond breakfast. Rodics also serves other dishes, so one need not be limited to the -silogs menu.
You can also find Korean food among the stalls in the SC, as well as others which offer Filipino food, fruit shakes, donuts and much more. There is also the UP Cooperative’s “Coop” canteen, which has relatively cheaper prices for kare-kare and fried chicken, among other local food. You can also find street-fare like green mangoes with bagoong on a stick located at the side entrance of the SC, as well as others like monay with cheese and corn in a cup with cheese and butter flavorings, among others. Another contender for Filipino food favorites includes Lutong Bahay, which is a few houses away from the street where the Diliman branch of PhilPost is located. It offers Pinoy meals like bopis, sisig, adobo and more for around P60 or less. One eats in a homey atmosphere since the food is served inside the owner’s home. During summer, Lutong Bahay also serves halo-halo and one can also buy bilaos of pancit for merienda or pasalubong. Other places to get relatively low-priced
meals include CASAA, between the Palma Hall building (more commonly known as AS building) and the Palma Hall Annex (or PHAN). At the CASAA, one can choose among different stalls featuring all kinds of food such as Mongolian stir-fry and roast beef, as well as the usual Pinoy fares like humba, sinigang, and inihaw. Another UPD “classic” is the barbeque at Beach House, which is located within the Main Library premises fronting the Sunken Garden. Lines usually form as early as 11:30 a.m. for those who want to get their pork barbeque fix. For those looking for Persian or Indian food, there is also Khas Food House which is beside the UP Swimming Pool and located near the International Center dormitory. Here you can get ox brains, kebabs, and pita sandwiches with your yogurt shakes and tea. Vegetarians can opt to go to Likha Diwa, located along CP Garcia near the outskirts of the campus. For other commercial restaurants and fast food establishments,
Philcoa and the UP Ayala Technohub are just a few minutes away. The more pricey restaurants that are perfect for meetings or dates include Chocolate Kiss Cafe at the Bahay ng Alumni which is famous for its Devil’s Food Cake, Kahlua Butter Cake and the classic Chocolate Cake. It also serves dishes such as Chicken ala Kiev, Beef Salpicao and Kalbi Chim. There are actually two establishments of Chocolate Kiss on different floors of Bahay ng Alumni which are open at different times of the day. Another restaurant in the Bahay ng Alumni is the Restaurant of Choice or “ROC’s” Cafe and Restaurant. It serves Whiskey Glazed Pork Chops, Garlic Chicken, different pizzas, pastas and desserts like Banoffee pie. Another newcomer in UPD is Via Mare Cafe at the GT-Toyota Asian Center Auditorium. It serves oysters (if available) and Pinoy dishes like chicken tinola flan, (Continued on page 11)