UPCAT & USTET Tips

10 tips :)

Sorry. I didn't know where to post this so I posted it here in Wattpad.

I promised to give back for all the blessings I've received by giving tips and helping those students who are now in the situation that I've been before. 😂 (I'm from the Middle East and I took the exam there so it might lack important tips for those who are in the Philippines and might not be applicable to everyone.)

1. If you CAN enroll in a review center, go!
But enrolling in a review center does not guarantee that you will be able to pass. Though you will have an idea on how entrance exams go (which is a good thing) because of the simulation exam. During the summer vacation before Senior year, I enrolled myself in a review center. It is both a classroom and an online review. It helped. And I'm thankful because I understood a few lessons I didn't pay attention to before and recalled a lot of past lessons! You would still be able to do that in a self review though and without wasting money, time, and effort. (But the review isn't as useful as I thought it would be. I can't remember any question from the entrance tests which answers I learned from my review center.)
I also attended a review in my school. It was... Okay. Not that useful, too. Well, for Math subjects. For Science... Not really. To improve your knowledge in Science, you MUST read A LOT. I swear. A LOT. I even borrowed a book (Earth Science) from a teacher and read it from start to finish. Well, it wasn't helpful during my time because no EarthSci topics came out (we wouldn't know for you.) But re-reading my Biology book (bec I love Bio!!) helped me. My habit of reading advanced lessons in Chemistry during classes (while the teacher's talking in front about things I know already) made a difference too! Well, Physics... Basics. I knew the basics of Physics already and I tried reading a few advanced lessons when my Physics class gets boring. So try my tactics, if you want to.

2. Take reviews very seriously.
Have your schedule of review. I'm guilty kasi I didn't. Hindi ako nagtake ng online classes. Yes, I attended one VC (virtual class) but hindi pa yata ako naka ten minutes. Nainis rin kasi ako noon dahil ang bagal ng net sa province kaya sabi ko sa *Middle East country* na lang ako manonood ng replay ng VC. Turns out, schoolworks didn't permit me to do so.
Here's how my review came up:
• ten days of review during summer
• "saturdays are meant for review" policy (saturday school review then when I come home from school, I try to browse my reviewers.) But hindi nagtagal yung policy na yun.
• "9PM Review" time sched... pero natigil rin after 1 and a half weeks maybe. Yes, because of school duties. But at least right? At least nag-effort ako. And I learned a lot even just for a few days na review compared to not reviewing at all, isn't it? SEE HOW DEDICATED I AM TO REVIEWING? Please be warned by my experience.
P.S. I'll be posting a schedule which might help you reviewing. From summer sched to school day sched 😊

3. Don't cram. Review as early as possible.
Woop, guilty as charged again! I crammed. SO MUCH. Let me tell you this cramming story.
(November 5 ang schedule ng USTET. Yes, matagal pa. Five more days. Mag-aaral ako sa weekends! "Mareresched ang USTET nyo maybe after three days pa." Yeah!! Mas matagal pa! So as a usual reaction ng isang estudyanteng maraming ginagawa sa school paper at sa mga pa-hassle na subjects, di ako nag-aral nung weekends then busy rin nung first day of the week. I brought my reviewers in school nung second day. Share share kami sa reviewer books. Gumagawa yung isa kong friend ng sariling reviewer sa paper para madaling matandaan so I did the same. Medyo seryoso na kami. And then our high school head suddenly came in "Fourth Year, tuloy ang USTET nyo tomorrow." Kami naman... Literal na laglag panga. I swear to God. We've been using that "laglag-panga" eversince pero nun lang ako talaga nalaglagan ng panga. Panic!!! Omg! We haven't reviewed yet! Parang ang tagal ko nang hindi nagrereview! We requested for a half day para dun sa mag-eexam. And we were allowed naman. My friends and I went to my house. Thank God my Dad was home at that time. Pagkarating na pagkarating... Kuha lahat ng reviewers kong hindi ko pa nagagalaw. Kuha lahat ng lumang libro sa Math at Science. Pinakuha rin ng friend ko ang reviewers nya sa bahay. Doon ko lang nakita kung gaano kami kaseryoso sa pag-aaral. But then that mood vanished rin after two hours. I fell asleep... My friends did too. Pero bumalik naman kami sa study mode ulit after an hour.)
So yep, I think nung oras na yun ako may pinakamaraming naaral. But no, I don't recommend this kasi panic buong system mo plus... Yung sinasabi mong "marami" na naaral mo... Is just a few if you did review for 15 minutes every day. Marami kang naaral... But sobrang dami mo pa ring hindi naaral. You get me? So don't cram. Review even for 15 minutes in a day. That won't hurt.

4. Review basics for USTET.
Basics. As in basic knowledge lang talaga. But don't be too relaxed sa USTET. Still, review. In GenSci, review about earthquakes, volcanoes, layers of the earth, layers of the sun, etc. In Biology, basic facts also. About cells, human bodies, animals, etc. Chemistry on the other hand, elements, compounds, etc. In short, REVIEW YOUR BOOKS NUNG FIRST YEAR TO THIRD YEAR. Then sa Physics, hanap kayo ng reviewer about simple terms and knowledge sa Physics; vector, scalar, (basic) laws, etc. In fact, the questions in USTET during my time were my elementary knowledge elementary knowledge ko sa Physics. Hindi nawawala ang "opposite of love/hate" sa questions sa USTET. Hah, prepare yourself for IQ test. Remember, 30 minutes for 80 items (not sure please double check.) Chill but focus. (Pa-easy easy lang ako no'n when I heard the proctor say "last 5 minutes".. And there were like 35 items left. 😂)
P.S. I'll post pointers for USTET too.

5. Review more complex and situational problems for UPCAT.
When I say complex... I really mean complex 😉 Complicated talaga. It was not that hard naman buuuut it's not the identification type of exam. Something like... Papaikot-ikutin yung situation then there's a question in the end. Situational problems sa Science. Math naman okay lang (for me??), sabi nila mahirap daw. Well, compared sa USTET na ¼ yata ay substitution at finding x, complicated nga ang Math ng UPCAT. Pero direct to the point naman ang questions. May figures na hahanapin mo yung area or perimeter ng unshaded; may algebraic problems na complicated. Hindi mo mamemental ang most problems unlike USTET. Sa UPCAT, You'll really solve for it. Wag sumuko sa pagsolve. Pwede ka pang humingi ng scratch paper! Hahaha 😜
P.S. Wait for UPCAT pointers ;)

6. Bring snacks. AND WATER!!!!
Please don't forget to bring water. Huhu I can still remember the horror. I was thirsty af while taking the exam. Pero wag uunahin ang pagkain kesa pagsasagot kung hindi naman gutom. Hehehe. Eat breakfast too.

7. The "don't review a night before the exam" saying isn't applicable!
LOL! Don't believe others who tell you that. Paranoid ka so hindi yan maiiwasan. You'll still answer your reviewers. Hah. Been there, done that. Wag lang magpuyat para hindi antukin habang nag-eexam. (As if nagawa ko to? Sa sobrang kaba ko nung UPCAT di kaya ako nakatulog nang maaga! 😂)

8. If the world turns your back at you, choose B or C.
Lol!! Basta pag hopeless na, like 30 seconds and you still have 40 items to answer... B and C will save your life!! 💁🏼 But if you think you can still do it na hindi shotgun, then go.

9. Don't leave any number blank.
Answer every question as best and as fast as you can.
ESPECIALLY IN USTET PLEASE. Hindi po right minus wrong ang USTET. So answer everything.
Ang UPCAT, yes, but it's right minus ¼ wrong. So, for every four mistakes minus one sa right answers. But still, the probability of getting a point is higher if you'll answer every number.

10. Pray.
Pray for guidance, knowledge, and wisdom. It's all in God's hands with a little bit of your effort 🙏🏼

*-*-*
UPCAT: first choice campus ✔️ first choice course ✔️
USTET: first choice ✔️ | average: 96
2/2 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Official Iska on August. 31 more days!!
I will forever be grateful. And I will always give back in every way that I can.