Universities/Colleges in the Philippines

[Guest polabola]

I'm going to be a college freshman next year. Upcat is this sunday. drats! I really want to get in UP, next choice is UST since I'm planning to take on Architecture lol...third choice would be ADMU

[Guest VitaDolce*]

^ goodluck on your test

______________________________________________

Best Schools for this courses:

EDUCATION MAJOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

or

EDUCATION MAJOR IN ENGLISH

[my friend is asking me with this so please help her.]

[Guest cpopbaby19]

^^Try DLSU.

im sure they have those courses!

driftwood023, you just have to be as clear and specific as possible. you can only start with vague ideas. the rest of the essay has to explain the ideas. the tendency is that the more specific your essay is, the longer it gets.

the thing is, there's a space constraint (4 pages yata). that means you can only include the necessary points. no rambling - they really hate that. good writers can get huge ideas across with as few words as possible. the shorter the essay, the better. in my time, they allowed us to write in either english or tagalog. since you know english, do yourself a favor and write in that language. english words are shorter and easier to handle than tagalog words. we just don't realize how we contort the language everyday and make it easier to use in everyday life. but if you use tagalog in its purest forms (and this is how you should write in your essay), it's more cumbersome than most people imagine it to be. the advantage though is that it strikes the heart harder, assuming the reader is filipino. ikaw ang bahala. are you up for the challenge? kung ako tatanunging, english na lang yung essay ko.

oh, here's another extremely important thing they look at, the organization. friends from high school often ask me to peer review their essays. the sad fact is they often overlook this aspect. no matter how good your diction (choice of words) is, the reader will get thrown off if the essay is disorganized. that's exactly what you want to avoid. how you do it depends on the question. but on the likely occasion that they ask you to prove something (eg prove that you should be in ateneo), this is the basic style: let the reader know immediately what your essay is all about (for example: i should be in ateneo because i deserve it more than most applicants). that means making your thesis statement, that one declarative sentence that encapsulates everything else, the first sentence. then from there, state your basic supports (eg my academic standing is waaaay better than most people in my high school; doing more than what is required is one of my virtues), then your specific supports (eg i'm in the upper 5% of my entire batch of 300 students; i'm the president of the student council aside from being a varsity debater, and the MVP of the football team. did i forget to mention that i'm also the sk chairman and the winner of the mr pogi contest 2006 here at barangay bel-air?). examples lang yan ah, lol. see how clear that was? one paragraph should be about only one idea. also provide logical transitions between them. though that's probably not the only way to do it, it's a style that i've always trusted. that's what they make us do in english classes. and it works, if handled well.

when you're done, read it and check if there's anything that needs to be changed. the natural writers do it with as few revisions as possible. if you're extremely gifted, you can even do it without revising, at all. however, that's a big if. most people (and that includes me) have to revise over and over to get to that one essay worth submitting to the admissions committee.

now of course, i'm no writer. i just know enough to get my point across to professors. and sometimes i even fail to do that. don't feel like you have to use the same style. if you want straight to the point, no BS advice on writing, read and try to master the techniques in elements of style by eb strunk and william white. it's just a short and reasonably priced book. at 100 pesos (in 2003 ah, ewan ko ngayon), it's worth the investment. i can tell you with much confidence that if you follow what the book says, then there's really nothing to worry about with regard to your essay. also, here's a list of don'ts that you have to avoid.

lastly, don't worry so much about it. i don't think it will significantly decrease your chances of getting in if you wrote a bad one. unless maybe if it's an extremely bad one, which is not an uncommon occurence by the way, lol. i think they only use it to determine which english block they're going to put you in. that's only a guess though. what really matters is how you fare in the acet. to be honest with you, it was not an easy exam. prepare for it. also, they look at your leadership potential. having a lot of extra-curricular activities won't hurt.

about your chances of getting into the course that you want, it depends on the type of program and the competition. if it's an honor's program (eg physics, math, management engineering, economics-honors, etc,), then only students from the upper 15% of acet takers will be considered. for some programs, you have to do well in specific subjects, like math. also, some programs have a quota. if there are many of you trying to get in, then you'll have to beat out a lot of people. don't worry so much about getting into the program that you want. i mean, include it as your first choice but don't feel as if the world will come to an end if you don't make it. it's fairly easy to change your major in your second year anyway. besides, not making it to your first choice major does not hurt as bad as getting kicked out of it. what's important is that you choose a course that you like enough to actually work your way towards a degree for the next four years.

so there you go. i hope that helps. malapit na pala ang acet (some time in mid-september i think). i wish you the best and i hope you get to go to your dream school, wherever that may be.

aww. i hope i was a year younger so i can take note of that! T_T; i never really knew how to write good essay, it's my weakness. and i think that's the thing that got me failed in acet! but anyway, good luck people who are taking acet. kita kits tayo katips! hahhaa

besides, i don't think there's a cut-and-dry method to prepare for it, especially the iq part, which i believe is humanly impossible to finish. i've yet to meet someone who finished it without guessing. it won't hurt to practice though, especially since you seem so bent on getting in.

^LOL. i can remember the IQ part. lols. but i do remember the general questions part. hahaa.. and the abstract reasoning..! you guys have to practice because admu only gave us 5 minutes for 30 items!! T_T; it's crazy..! ahha

[Guest chopsticksandspoon]

^ goodluck on your test

______________________________________________

Best Schools for this courses:

EDUCATION MAJOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

or

EDUCATION MAJOR IN ENGLISH

[my friend is asking me with this so please help her.]

DLSU manila. my friend's siter is taking it there right now and she said that the course is fun and very enlightening ^^

she'll graduate next year. i believe it's only three years

and polabola, goodluck on your test! UPCAT's not that hard. nakakapressure lang

[Mish]

UPCAT is tomorrow alreadyyy! ><

At least well, my sched is tomorrow morning. =x I'm nervous ><

[Guest polabola]

^^ tomorrow morning rin ako! math building >< my brain is so loaded! I have a feeling it's ready to erupt

thanks for the encouragement, labingtatlo and heaven. I will certainly do my best, dami lang competition! grrrrrrrrr

[Guest driftwood023]

Just had my UPCAT. But I'm worried about my ACET, espcially the math and logical/abstract reasoning part. >< I want to pass in Ateneo.

What's the DLSUCET like?

[Guest cpopbaby19]

^oh!! how's Upcat? did you guys have crazy reading comprehension in filipino? LOL.

dlsucet.. i believe i didn't finish my math there.. but the others.. pretty much the same as the other tests. lols but they have 2 essays. filipino and english. and they give you 30 minutes each essay after the test.

[Guest polabola]

^^UPCAT was okay except for the math and science part! hahahhaa Math was mostly filled with problem solving and geometry while science....geology and astronomy! drats! I studied for chem, physics and bio but only a few questons came up! the reading comprehension and language proficiency tests were fairly easy...the filipino part on comprehension was okay too

I'm also nervous about my ACET, they say it's the hardest test >______<

[Guest cpopbaby19]

^ahaha. sounds like you'd pass in UP! lols.

[Guest polabola]

^^ I don't think so...tough competition. This year broke the record with 75000 applicants, almost double the 40000 applicants last year ><

[Guest biteme_lestat]

Just had my UPCAT. But I'm worried about my ACET, espcially the math and logical/abstract reasoning part. >< I want to pass in Ateneo.

What's the DLSUCET like?

I thought it was pretty easy...cus I don't even remember what was in it..hehe...but it think the easiest was the one for UST...suprisingly, our batch salutatorian (who passed UP) actually failed it, hehe.

[Guest cpopbaby19]

^^ I don't think so...tough competition. This year broke the record with 75000 applicants, almost double the 40000 applicants last year ><

really? dang, that was huge number~

I thought it was pretty easy...cus I don't even remember what was in it..hehe...but it think the easiest was the one for UST...suprisingly, our batch salutatorian (who passed UP) actually failed it, hehe.

^lols. some people do that.. i mean like they mess up in a test? hahhaa

[Guest sammie]

upcat is easy compared to other exams but they're there's a tight competition if you're studying in a private school cuz up prioritize the poor ones

[Guest lheeyah]

^ I think they changed the rules. A lot of faculty were complaining about it, saying that the rule prevented them from getting only the best students and that the newest batches weren't meeting standards. I got this from my mom who's prof there, but she says she doesn't know what the new rules are yet.

either way, there's still gonna be a lot of competition. I took the test last sunday and found it easy; the problem is a lot of people are saying the same thing :x our school has very high passing rate though, above 90% in past years, and that along with the results of mock exams are really the only things still giving me hope >.<

[Guest cpopbaby19]

^Whoa?

really??

-O-;

gosh. i think this year's batch is pretty lucky~ -O-; im envious~ haha

but...

my sister's friend just came in a while ago, and she said that upcat is still hard,.. my sis friend's friend (LOL) said the math part was pretty crazy. haha she said he/she only answered 1 question.. and i was like. O_O; haha

i mean, you can guess right?

anyway~

[Guest polabola]

^^ it's not good to guess. Right minus wrong lol, that advice was given to me by my brother lol who surprisingly also passed the dreaded ACET even though he left a column in the answer sheet on the math part blank

^ I think they changed the rules. A lot of faculty were complaining about it, saying that the rule prevented them from getting only the best students and that the newest batches weren't meeting standards. I got this from my mom who's prof there, but she says she doesn't know what the new rules are yet.

either way, there's still gonna be a lot of competition. I took the test last sunday and found it easy; the problem is a lot of people are saying the same thing :x our school has very high passing rate though, above 90% in past years, and that along with the results of mock exams are really the only things still giving me hope >.<

I noticed too that the passing rate on private schools increased. A lot of people thought that the test was pretty easy. I'm glad they are beginning to increase their standards.... Good thing your school has a high passing rate! I've honestly given up on my chances of entering this college lol...Now I have to look forward to ACET, DLSU and UST entrance exams ...I even signed up for the CSB and UA&P entrance exams hihihihi to be safe of course lol

I'm planning to take architecture on college hehehhehe

[Guest cpopbaby19]

^*cough*

O_O your brother isn't joking???? is he?

anyway, my friends took UA&P and it's like one hell of a test. they did some kind of outlining for the english part. maybe you might wanna go that over too. ^^;

anyway, Ua&p is like the most expensive school here. i heard it's 100thou per sem? -__-; lols.

[Guest polabola]

^^ he isn't. Xavierans don't have a hard time entering Ateneo since both schools are run by the same people heeheh...chambahan lang yan siguro.

I lot of people from our school (ICA) don't like to take the UA&P nor the CSB test because taking those tests are insulting for them. They treat those schools as unprestigious and low rate schools....but I'm still taking UA&P since I need tons of back up. I don't know where luck brings me heheheheh. I better start reviewing my english! thanks for the advice

Yeah, UA&P is too expensive, but their facilities are well kept and the ratio of teachers to students is like 1 to 5. My sister who went to UA&P on an educational plan brags about their CR that never runs out of toilet paper and is complete with classical music LOL

[Guest driftwood023]

Yeah, UA&P is the most expensive university in the country. I'm not applying there since it's too expensive and I'm not planning on taking up business. XD I don't think UA&P and CSB are unprestigious though.. >.>

In Ateneo, do they really read the essay? Some people told me that they only read it when you're wait listed....?

I'm done with my Ateneo and DLSU applications. I'm getting one from Miriam and UST, too. I was planning on applying to CSB but it's too expensive.

--

Anyway, how's the college life like in the universities? Like, w/c schools have more upperclass students and stuff like that? XD