NOY MORCOSO / INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The University of the Philippines (UP) on Friday announced that it will start accepting applications for first year students on January 7, 2021 without administering the UP College Admissions Test (UPCAT) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The University of the Philippines will begin accepting applications for first-year students for Academic Year (AY) 2021-2022 on 7 January 2021, via an online portal especially for admissions applications,” read the statement.
“First-year applicants to UP for AY 2021-2022 will not undergo the UP College Admissions Test (UPCAT). This decision follows the unanimous vote by the University Councils (UCs) of all the UP constituent universities not to administer the UPCAT for AY 2021-2022 in light of health and logistical issues brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic,” it added.
UP also set the deadline for submission of applications on Monday, February 15, 2021.
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Instead of UPCAT, UP said it will assess other additional requirements of applicants after the evaluation of high school records.
UP said application forms must be submitted online to minimize the risk of virus transmission.
The following are the necessary admission application steps / requirements:
• Applicants shall accomplish Form 1 (Personal Data Sheet) electronically and upload their photo and electronic signature.
• High schools shall be requested to log on to the Grades Submission link to accomplish Form 2 (High School Records) on behalf of the applicants. An online survey was sent earlier to high schools using their registered email addresses in the records of the UP Office of Admissions (OAdms).
• If a high school has not received the email of the UP OAdms, applicants from that school must inform the Office of the school’s current official email address via dataproc.oadms@up.edu.ph to facilitate communications between the UP Office of Admissions and the high school.
The university also encouraged applicants to use secure e-mail accounts with two-step verification when sending their forms to protect data privacy.
“However, UP is not requiring all applicants to use accounts with two-step verification, as some applicants may not have full access to devices and/or internet connectivity,” the university said in its statement.
For more queries, UP asked the public to contact only their official hotlines and accounts:
Landline: (02) 8981-8500 local 3827 / 3828 / 3830 / 3831
Cellphone: +63 918 904 9195
E-mail: upcatapplications@up.edu.ph
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UPSystemOfficeOfAdmissions
It was in November when UP announced that UPCAT will not push through for incoming first year students for school year 2021-2022.