UP's University Councils deliberate whether to waive UPCAT for the third time in a row

Will UPCAT be back this year or not?

With the rising COVID-19 cases in the country, the University of the Philippines' (UP) Office of Admissions is proposing to waive the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) for first-year applicants during the AY 2023-2024.

In an announcement, the University said that the members of the President’s Advisory Council (PAC)—which includes the Chancellors of UP’s eight constituent universities, the UP President and Vice Presidents of the UP System, the Secretary of the University and the Board of Regents, the Director of the UP Philippine General Hospital, and the Executive Director of the UP Bonifacio Global City Campus—have agreed to consider the proposal.

Office of Admissions Director Francisco De Los Reyes said the proposed cancellation is due to concerns over the Philippines' "public health situation." The university is likewise facing "logistical challenges" as there are more than 100,000 applicants are and around 1,600 personnel who will administer the test nationwide.

Eight UP constituent units are still deliberating the suspension, namely Baguio, Cebu, Diliman, Los Baños, Manila, Mindanao, Open University, and the Visayas.

It said that further UPCAT-related announcements will be made once the University Council has already decided.

If the proposal gets approved, it will be the third year in a row that UP will not be administering its UPCAT for upcoming college freshmen students. Students were chosen through systems that consider an applicant's high school grades, among others.