Are you a Grade 11 student or a parent/relative of a Grade 11 student? Are you just browsing social media and ads on UPCAT review centers keep popping up or are you actively looking for a College Entrance Test Review?
If you said yes to any of the questions above then you should read this before you enroll in a review center.
What are UPCAT Review Centers?
A few decades ago, College Entrance Test Review Centers or UPCAT Review Centers were practically non-existent. This is primarily the reason why your parents, uncles, aunts, family friends, teachers and the like who are above 30 would often say:
“I didn’t need a review center before, self-study is all you need.”
“It’s mostly stock knowledge.”
“They (review centers) only give you confidence, nothing more.”
But the same way that the internet has changed education, the effect of review centers have also changed.
So what exactly are UPCAT Review Centers?
The recent explosion of College Entrance Test Reviews or UPCAT Review Centers have some people scratching their heads.
In a nutshell an UPCAT Review Center is a tutorial center that specializes in helping students improve their chances of qualifying to prestigious universities here in the Philippines.
In a review center, students are guided on the relevant materials to study, familiarized with entrance exams, given mock exams and tips how to answer them effectively.
This guided review results in a more efficient use of time for the student. All this to improve the chances of a student to qualify for the university of their choice.
High School vs. Review Center
A colleague of mine once summarized the difference of a review center and a high school. He said “High Schools teaches you in 4 years (this was before K-12) all the information you’ll need to start college, a review center will guide you in 1 month which lessons in high school you need remember to qualify for college.”
High Schools teaches you in 4 years (this was before K-12) all the information you’ll need to start college, a review center will guide you in 1 month which lessons in high school you need remember to qualify for college.
Essentially, a review center is focused on how students will pass their entrance test and qualify for college.
On the other hand, a high school equips students with knowledge for college and life in general.
Is it required to enroll in a review center?
Several students and parents have been asking us whether UP requires students to enroll in a review center.
The answer is NO.
Students are not required to enroll in any UPCAT review center before they can take the test. In addition, UP does not and will not endorse any review center for that matter.
I need to mention this because some students are under the impression that they won’t be allowed to take the UPCAT if they don’t review. There is no truth to this.
We encourage students to study for the UPCAT like what they do for their other exams. However, unlike regular exams in school, they have to consider that college entrance tests like the UPCAT is a major test that needs extra attention and preparation.
A review center would facilitate proper preparation in terms of content and technique.
If enrolling in a review center is not required, do I need to enroll in one?
The choice is up to you.
You may study on your own and do the preparation yourself. I have seen students make it to their dream college without enrolling in review centers. Some of them reviewed on their own online.
On the other side of the story, I have also seen students whom I believe could have made it, but didn’t, because he/she didn’t get proper guidance that a review center can give.
We found out that students who enrolled in a comprehensive review program have higher chances of passing the test.
Our data in Review Masters reveals that the review program increases the chances of passing by about 2 to 3 times. (This is our own data and is not representative of all review centers.)
So do you need to enroll in a review center? If you want higher chances, I think the choice is apparent.
If you are a student, I invite you to look into our Student’s Guide page.
If you are a parent, you might want to look into our Parents’ Guide page.
Stay tuned for the next article in this series… What to Look For in a Review Center.