Students with 'income advantage' more likely to get into UP—study
A study by professors at the University of the Philippines (UP) found that those with “income advantage” have a higher chance of getting admitted to the premier state university than those who are underprivileged.
Analyzing the UP admission data from 2006-2015 using logistic regression analysis, Dr. Sarah Daway-Ducanes, et al. have found that applicants from richer families have higher probabilities of getting admitted to UP. On average, those from the lowest income classification are 13% less likely to be admitted to the state's premier university than those from higher income classifications.
The income advantage was evident for admissions to one’s first-choice course cluster; those underprivileged have a 5% lower probability (on average) of being admitted to their first-choice course cluster compared to those from the top income classification.
Daway-Ducanes, the lead author said that they prompted the study over an untested hypothesis: Free college tuition policy gives an undue advantage in UP admissions to student applicants from more favorable backgrounds in terms of income.
"Intuitively (and as our paper implies through formal statistical analysis), high school students who have an income advantage (in terms of resources available for proper nutrition, schooling, etc.) are more likely to have persistent advantages," she told PhilSTAR L!fe.
"They tend to do better in elementary school and high school; tend to be better prepared for test-taking; and are thus more likely to hurdle the UPCAT. As such, equity considerations would be best served by using the considerable, yet scarce, resources spent for the free college tuition policy to improve instead our primary and secondary school systems, and help 'level the playing field' for students from poorer households."
One of the other authors of the paper, Dr. Vincent Jerald Ramos, told L!fe that they used admissions data only until 2015—a time before the Free Tuition Law was signed in 2017 and the K-12 program was fully implemented in 2016.
The factors
Other than the income advantage, several factors emerged for UP admissions, including a student's grades, high school type, and gender.
Those with higher high school weighted averages are 6% more likely to enter UP and are 2% more likely to get into their first-choice course cluster.
Meanwhile, those who graduated from public science high school were found to have a 15% higher probability of being admitted into the state university and 8% more likely to get into their first-choice course than students coming from private high schools.
Male applicants were more likely to pick science and technology programs and female applicants were 2% less likely to be admitted to their first-choice course.
“These results suggest that the free tuition program will likely continue to disproportionately favor applicants coming from more privileged, higher-income households,” the study read.
Investing in basic education
To promote equity, the study suggests improving the curriculum of primary education and secondary education in public vocational and public barrio schools.
“Measures to improve the quality of teaching at the junior and senior high school levels may also positively affect the student’s performance, not only in the UPCAT but also in the admissions exams administered by other universities. Such a policy move would also facilitate the student’s adaptation to the academic demands of a university,” the study read.
Meanwhile, Ramos said that the paper focuses on how "investments in basic education will supplement the existing free tuition law."
The study also suggests that UP should continue reassessing admission policies to promote inclusivity.
In early 2024, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) launched a P15-million research initiative to assess the admission system and retention of students in select state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the country and to address the issue of attrition rate and equity in higher education.
"If we find out that the admission system disproportionately disadvantages certain sectors. The study will now direct universities about the options that they can take to improve their admission system. So more people from public schools, from rural areas, children of indigenous communities, children of rebel returnees will be able to get in,” CHED Chairperson J. Prospero de Vera III previously said. The initiative will focus on SUCs in three regions namely, Ilocos, Eastern Visayas, and Soccsksargen.
Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines also took the initiative to address the free education inequity. For instance, those who did not pass the UP College Admissions Test may opt for associate degrees, which could determine whether they can qualify for regular courses after two years.
