Undergraduate Admissions

The University of the Philippines, in its commitment to the pursuit of academic excellence and in light of its mandate as the national university, seeks to democratize admission into the University through the Excellence-Equity Admissions System (EEAS). The EEAS aims for a greater geographic distribution as well as socio-economic equity among the students admitted to UP while maintaining high academic standards. (1107th BOR Meeting: 17 April 1997).

In 2006, UP Diliman implemented the revised EEAS, using the UP Admission Index (UPAI) (1204th BOR Meeting: 26 January 2006; 95th UPD UC: 19 April 2006).

Admission into an undergraduate program is covered by the following guidelines:

1. Graduates of Department of Education-accredited high schools may be admitted as freshmen into the University based on their performance in the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) and their weighted average in the first three (3) years of high school (798th BOR Meeting: 27 August 1970);

2. Applicants who are holders of the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) Certificate, in lieu of a high school diploma, may be admitted to the University provided they qualify in the UPCAT (1034th BOR Meeting: 30 August 1990);

3. Applicants who graduated from high schools abroad and who have not enrolled in college may be admitted as beginning freshmen into a degree program with available slots without taking the UPCAT provided that they meet the following requirements (594th EC Meeting: 27 April 1966 p.122):
   
   
   
   1. Completion of a high school program in the country where s/he had secondary education (including the completion of a one- or two-year pre-university education in a country where such is a prerequisite for admission to a bachelor’s degree program); and
      
   2. Qualifications for college admission by any of the following national or international foreign-administered examinations: the Scholastic Aptitute Test (SAT), or the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Examination, or the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB), or other equivalent examinations approved by UP.
      
      
      • SAT: (scores must not have been taken more than 4 years before application)
        
        

        MINIMUM SAT SCORES	OLD SAT	REDESIGNED SAT
        TOTAL SCORE	1200	1270
        SECTION SCORES
        Math	600	620
        Critical Reading	600	–
        Evidence-based Writing + Critical Reading	–	650

      • GCE: 2 ordinary (O) level passes/GCSE/IGCSE and 3 advanced (A) level passes; or
      • International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma
   3. In the case of an applicant whose native language or whose medium of instruction in the secondary school is not English, a minimum score (500 if paper based or 173 if computer based) in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
   4. Application through automatic admission of international applicants must be submitted to the respective Office of the University Registrar of the constituent university of choice.

4. A graduate from a high school abroad who fails to satisfy the requirements for automatic admission (i.e., item b above) may take the UPCAT;

5. A Filipino who graduates from a secondary school abroad and applies for freshman admission to the University must satisfy the same requirements as those for foreign students. (239th UC Meeting; 15 April 1969 p.2).