Throngs of students were seen as early as 5:30 AM on Saturday at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus in Quezon City for the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT).

Some bikers and joggers, unaware of the UPCAT schedule, were caught off guard as the bike lanes along the Academic Oval in UP Diliman were closed until 3 August.

By 6 AM, students began entering the testing halls to take the exam, which covers Language Proficiency, Science, Mathematics, and Reading Comprehension.

Parents who accompanied their children were instructed to wait outside.

While entrance exams were held in various testing centers nationwide — from Cuyo, Palawan to Bangued, Abra — some chose to take the exam in Quezon City.

“Para po ma-experience ko po yung feeling ng UPD (University of the Philippines Diliman) kasi yun po yung dream ko,” said Lean Ventura, who traveled from Pangasinan with her father, Angelo.

"She really wanted to and because I love her, I will support her," her father said in Filipino.

More than 135,000 students took the UPCAT last year, with only 17,996 admitted into the UP system’s eight constituent universities and one autonomous college.