UPCAT Results Reflect More Equitable Figures
Written by: Leia Fidelis Gisela Castro-Margate
More first-generation college students passed the University of the Philippines College Admissions Test (UPCAT) this year at 13% from 6% last year.
First generation students are the first in their families for four generations to step into college according to UP President Angelo Jimenez in a press conference held today, April 22, 2025 to announce the release of the UPCAT results.
“This is very special to us,” Jimenez said of the figures. “Inch by inch, one family at a time, we are starting more and more people on a journey to break the cycle of poverty and underprivilege-ness.”
Out of 135,236 takers of the UPCAT last year, 17,996 were offered admission to the UP System.
Jimenez also said that 55% of the qualifiers now come from public schools. A stark difference from the UPCAT results in 2022 where only 44% came from public schools.
Previously, 29% of the qualifiers came from public high schools and 27% came from science high schools around the country. The qualifiers from public high schools increased to 31% this year, with Jimenez noting that regular high schools are not as well supported compared to the science high schools.
While admittedly more passers still came from Metro Manila with 30%, there is a noted increase of passers from the provinces. 6% of the qualifiers come from Laguna, 4% from Cavite, followed by Cebu, Bulacan, and Rizal province.
Last year, UP came under fire for UPCAT results showing that 70% of the qualifiers mostly came from urban centers in Luzon.
The students who received admission notices today are composed of 10,600 qualifiers to their degree programs while the rest are those who are waitlisted. Degree program qualifiers are given six weeks to decide whether they want to enroll in UP or not. If they decide not to enroll then their slots will be given to those in the waiting list.
32% of the qualifiers were allocated slots to UP Diliman which is lower than last year’s 35%.
Over 6,000 received notices of admission outside of Diliman, Los Banos, and Manila compared to only 5,000 receiving offers last year. Jimenez said the results aim to disperse the students to the nine constituent units and not just the three campuses near the nation’s capital. UP other campuses are found in Baguio, Mindanao, Cebu, Visayas, Tacloban, and the UP Open University.
Socio-economic data of the qualifiers also show that 21.5% percent came from families with annual gross incomes of P200,000 or less. The UP President admits that even with the free tuition, UP education is still expensive because of the cost of housing, food, books, and even transportation. To address this problem, the UP System offers the Lingap Iskolar program to qualified students from low-income families and geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) in the country.
Last year, 194 students were allotted P165,000 each as financial support as well as mentorship to help them adjust to life in UP and help them finish their UP education. This year, UP plans to benefit 300 more students under the Lingap Iskolar program.