STUDENTS who took the UST Entrance Test (USTET) on Sunday expressed gratitude for the return of a “fairer” admissions process instead of being purely evaluated based on their report cards.
The University on Sunday conducted the first USTET at the Sampaloc campus amid the Covid-19 pandemic, two years after replacing it with the UST Admission Rating (USTAR). This score-based evaluation system focused on the academic record of an applicant.
“I think since nag[lie] low na ‘yung Covid, okay naman na siyang (USTET) ibalik ulit since ‘yun nga, isa siyang basis ng acceptance or rejection ng isang application, so grateful din naman kami,” Cassie Masquedo, a speech-language pathology applicant, told the Varsitarian.
Another applicant, Rubie Mae Abelinde, said the return of the USTET would help the University scrutinize applicants better and with fairer standards.
“For me, okay lang po na nag-exam ngayong taon kasi mas magiging mabusisi po ‘yung pagpili ng mga students sa UST and ‘yung mga mas deserve po ‘yung makakapasok po. Also may iba’t-ibang factors po na pwedeng i-consider [sa USTET],” Abelinde, a civil engineering applicant, told the Varsitarian.
UST shelved the USTET in Academic Years 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022, citing logistical and health concerns.
In the traditional admissions process, UST evaluates applicants through their USTET score (80 percent) and their computed average grade in Math, English, and Science (20 percent).
Darlene Dones, a physical therapy applicant, said the USTET was a more transparent way of admissions, as applicants could see their scores after.
“Through entrance exams, may numerical basis na kung makapasa ka, may basehan talaga. Hindi ‘yung hindi mo alam kung bakit ‘di ka nakapasa,” Dones told the Varsitarian.
Ray Yambao, a father of a chemical engineering applicant, was also glad for the return of the entrance examinations.
“Natuwa kami, kasi importante na may interaction sa school, mahirap ‘yung puro online. I don’t think may impact ang [online school] sa education nila,” Yambao told the Varsitarian.
Parents’ frustration
Some parents became frustrated with how the entrance to the University gates was organized.
Gates were supposed to close by 7 a.m., but students and parents were still queueing outside the España gate past that time, causing some parents to vent their frustrations at security guards.
Applicants and passersby also experienced heavy traffic around the University.
“Dumating kami within the area ng UST at 6 a.m. Nandyan na kami sa may Lacson Avenue, but the problem is, sobrang traffic. It’s not moving. Siguro mga 200 meters away from España, we decided to walk papunta sa Gate 6,” said a mother of an applicant.
The Office for Admissions (OFAD) decided to close the gates by 7:30 a.m. instead.
More than 2,800 applicants took the USTET on Oct. 23 for college, senior high school, and Learning-Enhanced Accelerated Program for Medicine (LEAPMed) admissions.
The admissions office will accept applications until Jan. 6, 2023 for college and senior high school, and until Nov. 18 for LEAPMed.
The USTET results will be released in April 2023. Alexandra L. Mangasar and Logan Kal-El M. Zapanta with reports from Hannah Joyce V. Andaya
