55 percent of UPCAT passers from public schools

MANILA, Philippines — Successful takers of the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) doubled this year compared to 2024, with more than half of them coming from public schools.

UP president Angelo Jimenez said nearly 17,996 Upcat takers or 13 percent of the 135,236 applicants received their admission notices, much higher than last year’s 6.6 percent.

READ: UPCAT as gateway to being Iskolar ng Bayan

Speaking to reporters, Jimenez noted that 55 percent of those who passed came from public schools while 45 percent were from private schools. He said that three years ago, the majority or 56 percent of the passers were from private schools.

This year, most of the successful applicants were from Metro Manila, followed by Laguna, Cavite, Cebu, Bulacan and Rizal. Based on their socio-economic data, 21.5 percent came from households with a gross annual income of P200,000 or below. —Dempsey Reyes