College Entrance Exam Coverage of Top Philippine Universities

Taking college entrance exams that will determine the university you will study at can be a daunting task, especially to someone who is yet to experience the true rigors of life—someone like you. Taking one is inevitable and almost all of the universities nowadays require you to take an entrance exam. I am but an anxious juvenile who took only two entrance tests, the UPCAT and the USTET, both of which I was able to pass. It wasn’t easy, I’m telling you. Passing an exam isn’t just about wit, but it’s also about the attitude.

Now, what are college entrance exams? College entrance exams are standardized tests in a multiple-choice format. Generally, these are aptitude tests which measure your knowledge and background in different subject areas—whether it be your writing, verbal, mathematical and scientific ability—but different universities have different types of exams, so don’t ever let your guard down.

One more thing, I think that college entrance exams don’t measure what you’ve learned in high school.  Instead, it tests how prepared you are to do well in college. You can prepare by taking practice exams, and by taking practice exams, you’ll get the idea of what questions will come out and the question formats that frequently appear. Also, you’ll be able to learn how to manage your time because one thing that you’ll have a hard time dealing with is the time pressure.

If you want to know more about some of the exam coverage of some known college entrance exams in the country and how to conquer these mind-boggling, stress-inducing exams, you know what to do.

On Entrance Exam Coverage

The following table shows the comparison of the subtests that appear frequently in different college entrance exams. Get to know which subject areas appear in that particular entrance test.

	University	Subjects Covered in Admissions Exams
		Math	Science	English	Abstract	Logical	General	Essay
					Reasoning	Reasoning	Info
1	UP	YES	YES	YES
2	UST	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
3	DLSU	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES		YES
4	ADMU	YES		YES			YES	YES
5	PUP	YES	YES	YES	YES		YES
6	TUP	YES	YES	YES		YES
7	UE	YES	YES	YES
8	FEU	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
9	CEU	YES	YES	YES		YES
10	PLM	YES	YES	YES
11	SAN BEDA	YES	YES	YES		YES
12	ADAMSON	YES		YES
13	MAPUA	YES	YES	YES
14	LYCEUM	YES	YES	YES	YES
15	BU	YES	YES	YES	YES

Additional Pointers to Ponder

Reviewing for exams can be really tedious and will require a lot of effort. I myself experienced this. You can’t review for an exam if you don’t know how to start in the first place. That’s what this article is for —to give you insights of what to do and how to go on about it.  Here is a list of all the topics that you should focus on:

Language Proficiency

-Parts of speech

-Punctuation

-Capitalization

-Modifiers

-Figures of speech

-Phrases and clauses

-Identifying errors

-Sentence arrangement

-Sentence completion

-Choosing the best sentence

-Commonly misspelled words

-Vocabulary (synonyms and Antonyms)

Reading Comprehension

-Articles

-Poems

-Short stories

-Comics

-Fables

-Speeches

-Diagrams

-Graphs and charts

-Stories in dialogue form.

-Interpreting plot, themes, data, style, inference, mood, vocabulary, etc.

Science

 -General Science(Rocks and minerals, earth’s interior, ecosystem, plate tectonics, volcanoes and earthquakes, planets, heavenly bodies, moon cycles, eclipses galaxies and the universe),

 -Biology (Classification & Taxonomy, plants, cells, genetics, cell biology, anatomy),

 -Chemistry (Periodic table, mixtures and compounds, stoichiometry, chemical reactions and solutions, diagrams, minerals and nucleotides, states of matter, measurement),

 -Physics (Laws of motion, force, light, sound, waves, matter, energy, magnetism, electricity, measurement)

Mathematics

-Algebra (Word problems, radicals, fractions, complex numbers, sets and arithmetic, systems and quadratic equations, sequences and series, exponents, signed numbers, factoring and special products)

-Geometry (Reasoning and common sense, postulates and theorem, solids, volumes, circles and spheres, angles),

-Statistics (Sets of complex numbers, interpreting data of graphs/charts, probability, concepts of regression and correlation, counting, permutation, combination)

-Arithmetic (MDAS, integers, fractions, percents, decimals, real numbers, values, series, sequences.

Abstract Reasoning

-Relationships between verbal and non-verbal ideas

-Forming theories about the nature of objects

-Ideas/recognizing patters

Logical Reasoning

-Investigative

-Deduction

-Induction

-Precondition.

How to Conquer Entrance Exams

•First thing that you should do is to prepare early. It would be very beneficial for your sake if you know what to study.   That way, you’d be able to figure out where you’re weak at and what to do about it. Take practice tests and set a time limit so that you’d get accustomed to what it feels like being under extreme time-pressure. Practice makes perfect, after all.

•Make sure you understand what the question is asking. If you are penalized for a mistake and can’t seem to eliminate one or two of the choices, leave it blank. Continuous guessing will hurt your scores.

•Use your common sense and answer smoothly. If you are having a hard time answering a particular question, you might as well skip it first and answer it later if you still have time. Mark the question so that you can come back if you’ll have time to spare.

•Keep a positive attitude. Do not let the thoughts about failing let you down. Keep that attitude during your review until the exam itself. Do not even think of faltering. Think about it. Many were able to make their dreams come true. So can you, right?

•Avoid cramming. This will only cause you to be in “Panic” mode and besides, forcibly remembering information at the last minute is both fruitless and fallacious.

•Get sufficient rest during your review and the night before your exam. Do not be tempted to drink coffee or anything that has caffeine Restlessness will cause you to be in a bad mood and not be at your best during your exam. Trust me, I’ve experienced it myself.

•Eat a well-balanced diet. Brain foods such as peanuts, vegetables, fish, whole grains, and chocolate will energize and alleviate you. You don’t want to review or take an exam with an empty and grumbling stomach, do you?

•Do your best to gain confidence and just relax. I know it’s hard to do, but if you can sit down in the room without being jumpy and jittery, you’re more likely to score better.

•Pray fervently. Always ask for His guidance. I believe that He won’t let you down if you just keep faith and draw strength from him. He is the reason you have the courage and willingness to go far.

Whatever the outcome may be, always remember that God has better plans.