Flagship Program 2: Inclusive Admissions

Opening up UP: Lingap Iskolar, Test Centers, and the Roads Less Traveled

Written by Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta

*An applicant for admission about the take the UP College Admission test (UPCAT) waits to be escorted to his assigned classroom. Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO.*

Imagine a bright young person from a poor family living in a rural barrio鈥攁 young person with big dreams and an even bigger desire to create a better life for their family and community. They decide to aim for college, and not just any college. The 天美视频 (UP), where the quality of education is the best in the country and where, if one manages to graduate, a future paved with opportunities is guaranteed. No one else in this young person鈥檚 family nor their barrio has ever gone to UP. Imagine what a difference they could make if they became the first.

But before that, there is the to hurdle. Over the past 55 years, the UPCAT has earned a nationwide reputation as the most competitive college entrance exam in the country. In 2023 alone, the first time the UPCAT was administered after being suspended for the three years of the pandemic, over 108,000 high school students applied to take the UPCAT, but only around 15% were given admission offers. And the odds aren鈥檛 looking any better for the UPCAT for SY 2025-2026, scheduled for August 10 and 11, 2024.

Passing the UPCAT, though, is only one of the challenges our bright but poor young hopeful must face. From making the long journey to the test center to deciding if their family can actually afford to put them through years of college, each step forces the student to make difficult choices that could alter futures for better or for worse, and not just for one individual and their family but for their community and the country as well.

For UP President Angelo Jimenez, addressing this situation is a top priority. 鈥淯P is the national university, and the national university should be accessible to the broadest sector of our population, especially in the geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas,鈥� he told members of the media during a May 7 press conference at UP Mindanao.

Excellence with equity

Democratic access, like academic excellence, is one of UP鈥檚 mandates under its Charter. 鈥淎ng policy talaga natin is, intertwined ang excellence at ang equity. So nagpo-provide tayo ng paraan para mabigyan ng consideration ang mga aplikanteng ito,鈥� said Prof. Francisco N. De Los Reyes, Director of the UP Office of Admissions (OAdms). 鈥淎ng belief ko talaga, merong statistically normal distribution ng talino sa mga batang ito. Pero 鈥榶ung opportunities, hindi ito normally distributed,鈥� he added, showing off his street cred as an associate professor at the UP School of Statistics.

The stats do paint a grim picture. Current UP admissions data reveals a chronic underrepresentation of students from public schools, particularly those in rural and underserved communities. In the recently released UPCAT 2024 results, 44% of the UPCAT qualifiers come from private schools, and 27% come from the different science high schools around the country. Only a measly 29% came from public high schools. And among the qualifiers, a vast majority鈥攁round 70%鈥攃ome from urban centers, mostly from Luzon.

Democratic access鈥斺€渙pening up UP without lowering our standards,鈥� as President Jimenez described it鈥攊s one of the UP System鈥檚 ten flagship programs under the UP Strategic Plan 2023-2029. Under the flagship program on 鈥淎 More Inclusive University Admissions Policy,鈥� the UP administration is taking on the task of righting a decades-old systemic imbalance in the University鈥檚 admissions process by implementing a suite of interventions that would enhance the quality of education and promote equitable access to higher learning across the country.

*Applicants for admission to the university lineup for their assigned classrooms during the administration of the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT). Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO.*

The Lingap-Iskolar Program

One of these interventions is the establishment of the 鈥淟ingap-Iskolar Program: Assistance for UPCAT Qualifiers from Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA),鈥� which was approved by the BOR during its 1390th meeting on May 31, 2024.

鈥淲e noticed that after every UPCAT, there are around 1,500 qualifiers from GIDAs who don鈥檛 proceed to UP,鈥� Jimenez said. This represents a group of UPCAT qualifiers per year whose families still cannot afford to support their education in UP despite the free tuition under RA 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

This is because it鈥檚 not just about tuition. It鈥檚 about being able to afford to live on or near campus, to buy decent meals, to take public transportation, and to buy books and needed educational materials, which in this day and age include laptops, tablets, smartphones, and Internet access. And it鈥檚 being able to afford all this for the four years it takes to complete one鈥檚 education.

Enter the Lingap-Iskolar Program, which provides benefits and assistance to UPCAT qualifiers from remote, disadvantaged areas, thus addressing many of their concerns about enrolling in UP. Program beneficiaries are qualifiers who come from low income-bracket families earning PhP135,000 gross annual income; and who are not currently on any other financial assistance or scholarship program.

The Lingap-Iskolar Program aims to support 300 to 500 UPCAT qualifiers per year, but for this first year of implementation, the number is set at 300. PhP50M in funds has been allotted to support these 300 beneficiaries for this first year, and PhP200M for the next four years. The benefits and assistance will come in the form of vouchers for housing/dorm accommodations in the UP constituent university (CU) they qualified in; food allowance; communication allowance; books, school supplies, and educational materials; and even relocation transportation from their homes to their CU and during year-end breaks. Additional support will come in the form of a mentoring program to help these qualifiers adjust to life in UP.

The Lingap-Iskolar Program is being implemented and managed by the respective Offices of Student Affairs of the different UP CUs and the Office of Student Development Services at the UP System level.

Democratizing the UPCAT

Another intervention is for UP to reach out to more high schools in remote and marginalized areas so as to encourage more students to take the UPCAT. One way to do this is by increasing the number of UPCAT test centers nationwide to reduce the distances would-be iskolar ng bayan have to travel just to take the UPCAT. The target is to have a test center in all Philippine provinces by 2025, and De Los Reyes is happy to report that this has been met ahead of schedule.

鈥淲e have completed arrangements with test centers in previously UPCAT-unserved areas, and 100% of the provinces in the country will have an,鈥� he reported. 鈥淎chievement natin ito kasi first time 鈥榶an na lahat ng probinsya sa Pilipinas merong test center.鈥�

And not just in the provinces. Applicants residing in the Middle East, such as OFWs and children of OFWs, may also take the UPCAT at test centers to be designated in Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Jeddah, Riyadh, and Al Khobar. For areas with limited Internet access, UPCAT application forms can be accomplished and submitted manually. Moreover, no application fee is required to take the UPCAT.

To cast a wider net for iskolar ng bayan, UP is heading out to remote, underserved communities to reach these would-be applicants. This initiative is a collaboration between the OAdms, the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod at the UP System and UP CU-level, the Learning Resource Centers of the different UP CUs, local governments, and the Department of Education (DepEd) School Division Office in the region.

Why does this matter? A study done by the OAdms found that each UP CU has serious draw in their respective regions, attracting prospective students from nearby communities. UP Los Ba帽os, for example, draws applicants from Calabarzon, UP Cebu from Central Visayas, UP Visayas from Western Visayas, and so on. (Except UP Diliman, which attracts applicants from all over.)

This regional draw can be enhanced by having each CU reach out to the communities and actively campaign for more UPCAT takers. These affirmative action campaigns are meant to inform prospective applicants and their families and encourage them to apply to UP, and to implement bridging programs to prepare them for the UPCAT. Lessons include basics such as the proper way to shade the test form, which can spell the difference between a passing or failing score. Such campaigns are now being undertaken by UPLB, UP Mindanao, UP Tacloban, and recently, by UP Visayas.

鈥淭inutulungan nitong mga campaigns ang confidence-building ng mga nag-aapply,鈥� De Los Reyes explained. While the kids are undeniably promising, their socioeconomic situations often lead them to doubt their capacity to succeed in UP or to survive in the big city far away from home. 鈥淭apang talaga ang kailangan [sa kanila] kaya dapat i-build natin ang confidence nila. And it is good na meron talagang kumakausap sa kanila during application pa lang.鈥�

Alternatives to UPCAT

The third initiative to democratize access to UP is the promotion of non-traditional routes to admission that does not require taking or passing the UPCAT.

鈥淲e鈥檙e also encouraging non-UPCAT routes because we know the UPCAT can be biased for the elite schools,鈥� said President Jimenez. But intelligence and talent manifest in different forms, and UP intends to include as many as it can. 鈥淲e can spot the potentials of these students through data science, and we can assist them so that their potentials can be further developed so that ma-equalize natin ang disadvantages sa certain high schools.鈥�

One of these non-UPCAT routes into UP is through the different Associate Programs in the different CUs. These two-year pre-baccalaureate degree programs often ladderize to Baccalaureate degrees if the student does well enough. The UP administration is currently encouraging the CUs to offer more slots to existing Associate programs. Several UP CUs offer Associate Programs that do not require taking the UPCAT:

UP Diliman

Associate in Arts (Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Filipino)
Associate in Arts (Theatre)
Associate in Arts (Industrial Design)
Associate in Arts (Visual Communication)
Associate in Arts (Studio Arts)
Associate in Arts (Music)

UPLB

Associate in Arts in Entrepreneurship
Associate of Science in Development Communication
Associate of Science in Forestry
Associate in Sports Studies

UP Open University (Admission is through UgAT)

Associate in Arts
Associate of Science in Instructional Design and Technology
Associate of Arts in Digital Design and Art
Associate of Science in Information Technology
Associate of Arts in Digital Entrepreneurship

UP Mindanao

Associate in Arts in Sports Studies

*Students in UP Diliman pose gamely for a photo. UP MPRO file photo.*

Meanwhile, the Associate in Arts (Sports Studies) program of UP Diliman, under the College of Human Kinetics, still requires that applicants take the UPCAT, with a score of 2.8 or higher to qualify.

Students gifted in athletics or dance can be admitted to UP through the Varsity Athletics Admission System (VAAS), currently being offered in UP Diliman and UP Cebu. The VAAS program takes in young individuals with exemplary skills or strong potential in athletics and dance, among others, to become members of the UP varsity sport teams or performing arts groups, without having to take or pass the UPCAT. Applicants must undergo a stringent system of tryouts, and VAAS students are required to represent UP in national or international sports competitions to maintain their status as UP students.

Finally, UP plans to strengthen policy to accommodate non-traditional learners such as those under the Alternative Learning System (ALS) or those who took the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) as well as UPCAT applicants enrolled in a homeschooling program accredited by the DepEd.

For all young Filipinos dreaming of entering the national university, UP is opening its doors wide. Of course, as any graduate knows, entering UP is just the beginning. Making it through UP and after is where the real challenge lies.

As De Los Reyes said, 鈥淎ng tunay na sukatan ng kahusayan ay makatapos ka sa UP at maglingkod sa Pilipinas.鈥�