Thousands of ‘Isko, Iska’’ hopefuls take UPCAT

Aspiring students swarmed the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman and other UP campuses this weekend for the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT), prompting university officials to issue traffic warnings in affected areas.

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs (OVCCA) reported that 23 academic buildings on the UP Diliman, Quezon City campus served as testing centers from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Tests had also been scheduled for today.

In a memorandum issued Thursday, the OVCCA cautioned motorists of severe traffic congestion and implemented a 10-second rule for loading and unloading passengers at designated drop-off points.

A strict “No Parking/No Waiting” policy was also enforced along the Academic Oval and three other streets within the campus.

The advisory, issued in Filipino, stated: “An estimated 30,000 examinees are expected to arrive on campus each day of the exam, so heavy traffic is anticipated within the campus and nearby areas.”

The advisory also urged everyone to seek alternative routes and informed the public that the Academic Oval would be closed to joggers and cyclists for the weekend.

In addition, one-way and two-way traffic schemes were implemented on several streets, and parking areas were designated inside the campus.

On Saturday, many examinees were seen arriving on campus by motorcycle taxis to navigate the traffic and make it on time for their scheduled exams.

The UPCAT, which resumed in 2023 after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, serves as a gateway for successful examinees to gain admission for the first semester of the school year 2025-2026.

The exam consists of four subtests: language proficiency (in English and Filipino), reading comprehension (in English and Filipino), science, and mathematics.

UP also announced that it had increased its testing sites to 113 from last year’s 102, aiming to have at least one UPCAT test center in every province.

New testing centers have been added in Davao de Oro, Zamboanga Sibugay, Sarangani, Maguindanao del Sur and Lanao del Sur.

Additionally, the UPCAT will be administered in Oman, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Jeddah, Riyadh and Al Khobar for applicants based in the Middle East.