PMA entrance exam set

PMA cadets in Baguio City. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Military Academy will hold its entrance examination for cadet hopefuls on August 25 in 37 centers nationwide.

Qualified applicants must be born from April 1, 1992 to April 1, 1997; natural-born Filipino citizen, physically fit and of good moral character, single and has never been married, at least high school graduate, minimum of 5’0 but not to exceed 6’4 for both male and female, no administrative/criminal case, must pass the PMA entrance exam, said PMA spokesperson Major Agnes Lynette Flores.

Last year, cadet applicants reached about 14,500, the highest in PMA history.

Flores attributed the increase to reforms in the PMA, such as the lowering of height requirement for both and female which the military academy began to implement last year.

In 2012, there were 14,450 who took the exams out of 22,754 applicants. The previous year, only 6,066 hopefuls took the entrance test out of 20,211 applicants, Flores told INQUIRER.net.

Many applicants had been disqulified for failing to meet the required 5’4″ height for male and 5’2″ for female, she said.

There are 350 slots up for grabs, and successful applicants will be part of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 2018, who will be officially received in in an oath-taking ceremony and reception rites on April 01, 2014.

Graduates of PMA will be commissioned as officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The applicants must pass the PMA Cadet Qualification Test  which covers Algebra and Geometry, Grammar and Composition, Reading and Comprehension, Verbal and Numerical Reasoning and Pattern Analysis before they will be able to proceed to the next phase of cadet selection which is the complete physical examination. In this phase they will undergo medical and physical fitness test to comply with the requirements for the military training they will undergo in the academy.

“Being a PMA cadet gives an individual a noble privilege in serving the country. One is able to avail of a free college education with a well-rounded curriculum, as well as, receive monthly pay and allowances,” Flores said.

“After graduating from the academy, one is guaranteed a progressive career as an officer in the Army, Navy or Air Force,” she said.