UP Admissions and University of the Philippines Acceptance Rate
UP Admissions
I. First concern: Quota Courses
For the record, these no longer "exist" in the way past students thought it did.
Choosing a non-quota course will definitely not help your chances of admission since you have to pass your campus first by attaining the required "University Predicted Grade," a number that predicts your grade in college. (Remember that in UP, 1 is the highest grade, meaning the lower your UPG, the higher it is.)
Just FYI, the UPG is composed of the following: [60% UPCAT Score + 40% HS Weighted Average]
It is still the case, however, that their programs that are in high demand and are thus more selective than others, so you should still choose your courses well. Take this example:
Student A chose the following as his courses for UP Diliman:
1st Choice-Business Administration and Accounting
2nd Choice-Civil Engineering
He gets the required UPG but isn't ranked highly enough among the passers to merit acceptance into these programs which are among the most selective in UPD. Hence he ends up with this when he finds out about his acceptance:
DPWAS or Degree Program With Available Slot - meaning he may only enroll under a course that has an available slot. Sure, he's in, but he doesn't really have complete control over his course choice, though transferring is always an option. This is not something you'd like to do, right? Thus, it might be better to select a relatively less in-demand course that you still like for your second choice, just in case.
II. Admission Rate
The general admission rate for the entire UP system is somewhere between 17-18%, but for the most popular campuses, UPD and UPM, the acceptance rate is 10-11% making it the most selective university in the Philippines.
Needless to say, it is very difficult to get in, mostly because the competition is fierce. You will be pitted against over 68,000 students, some of whom are valedictorians and participants in international math olympiads, ensuring that even good students will encounter stiff competition for places.
