The Philippine Online Chronicles

Fresh high school graduates are awash with thrills and jitters. To them, graduation is saying goodbye to the best friend, the barkada, the first love,  the favorite teacher, the beloved campus of their youth. It is turning their backs on childhood and irresponsible ways. It is also the excitement of the senior ball, the battery of final exams, the career orientation seminar. The anticipation of yet another phase of student life: college.

As they get ready for college, there is one major challenge they have to hurdle, one that can send chills down their spines. Will they pass the college entrance tests? Will they get accepted to the universities and courses of their dreams?

How did the successful ones do it? Let’s hear it straight from the winning horses’ mouths:

How they did it

Michelle, who made it through the UPCAT and thence into the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Home Economics a few years ago, said she went through a stoic regimen worthy of military cadets. She made sure she spent at least three hours a day for her self-review. She would rise an hour earlier and go to bed two hours later than her usual waking and sleeping schedule. Saturday was the Great Review Day when she would work from break of dawn to the wee hours of morning. Sundays, however was R’n’R day – she needed that weekly break to unwind and recharge.

As Michelle was a self-reviewer, she bought review manuals from a reputable review center which she mastered with a discipline she didn’t know she had. Not content with that, she prepared detailed outlines for all subjects and exchanged notes with fellow self-reviewers – sometimes by phone, at times by Internet chat, occasionally by meeting together for a combined “group study and social” encounter.

Eric, who passed both Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and UP entrance tests but finally enrolled at ADMU, partly because he couldn’t imagine himself cheering for other than the Blue Eagles come UPAA season, believed in the minimalist approach.

He took care to study only subjects he was weak in. A constant essay-writing contest winner and an editor of their school paper, Eric felt confident he could breeze through the English grammar portion of the exam – which he did.

However, he knew Math was his waterloo. Abstract reasoning, too, was almost esoteric to him. Thus, he spent time grilling himself in numbers and abstract-thinking exercises. Weekends, he would go to his uncle’s house in Pasig City (Eric lives in Novaliches, Quezon City) and stay there overnight. The uncle would oblige with lessons Eric calls “algebra for dummies.” “He was better than my Algebra teacher,” he gushes about his uncle “he made finding those elusive X’s easy or at least doable for me even if it took me double the time it would for a regular Math whiz to get it.”

Sam thinks he may have luck on his side. He was a student of the UP Integrated School and weekly UPCAT reviews were integrated into their school calendar. He made it to the State University’s College of Architecture. He reckons that during his time, the passing rate of UP Integrated School graduates was about 70 per cent.

Michelle might have worked as hard as never before. She says her mother was also a sigurista who made her take fish oil and ginkgo bulova capsules, said to be great memory aids. She can’t say whether they worked. But look, she made it to where she wanted to be.

Sam’s mom had her own way of “loading the dice” for her son. She and the whole family stormed the heavens. They lighted candles at the shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan before the exams and went back to light some more when Sam passed. His mom finished countless rounds of novenas to the Sacred Heart before her son began to take the exams.

To each his own way of “climbing the mountain,” or "skinning the... uhrmm ... CAT."

Expert advice

Needless to say, many high school graduates take review classes at review centers that proliferate in the country.

Here are some ways to maximize benefits from review classes, from teenager.com:

After answering your homework from the review center, calculate your baseline scores. Plan how much time you will spend studying the different subject areas and how much time you will devote for each item. Practice time management and retake exams under the subject areas in which you scored badly. When you take a series of tests, see if you are improving your scores.

Reading aloud while studying your review materials enhances your learning abilities. You are able to receive the information through your two senses – sight and sound. It helps you to focus on the content of what you are studying.

Remember your mistakes. Be conscious of these and tuck them in mind. Analyze the right answer and why it is correct.

Participate in group study. Interaction with other reviewers allows exchange of knowledge. Having studious groupmates inspires you to study more and may make you ashamed of your laziness.

Have enough sleep and a balanced diet.

Ms. Rossana L.  Llenado, directress of Ahead Tutorial and Review Center, asserts that the youngster who wants to get into the college of his or her dreams should do well to ponder, prepare and pray.

Pondering means figuring out what you really want to be. What are your passions, dreams, and strengths? How realistic are the goals you have set for yourself? Which schools do you want to go to? Which schools specialize in the course you want to take up? What do you have to do to get into these schools? Consult with your parents, guidance counselors, and school advisers before making any decisions. Attending career orientation seminars can also provide you with valuable insights.

Preparing means getting ready and working hard. It might mean studying all your notes and textbooks from first year upwards. Or buying self-review books. Or enrolling in a review center. Make sure that the center you choose has a good record of efficiency and success. Do this by asking around not only among friends and relatives but also among teachers themselves.

Power of prayer

Certainly not the last nor least, pray.

After all, in everything we want desperately to accomplish, we need divine help and intervention.