ABOUT 46,700 aspiring Thomasians have taken the UST Entrance Test (USTET) for Academic Year 2025-2026, the Office for Admissions (OFAD) said.
This year’s USTET is the first to be held since the passage of Republic Act 12006 or the Free College Entrance Examinations Act, which exempts indigent students who belong to the top 10% of their graduating class from paying the admission fee.
OFAD Director Emelda Dakis told the Varsitarian that the total number of USTET takers includes 36,700 undergraduate applicants but did not account for UST General Santos, where applications are still ongoing.
Of the total, applicants for basic education, such as Senior High School (SHS), Junior High School (JHS), and Education High School (EHS), stood at about 10,000 students since applications ended on Jan. 15.
This year, UST Manila designated five buildings as testing areas, down from last year’s nine: the Main Building, St. Raymund de Peñafort Building, Albertus Magnus Building, Roque Ruaño Building, and Benavides Building.
The USTET fee was waived for applicants who had attained the highest honors in Grade 9 (for SHS applicants) or Grade 11 (for college applicants), as well as for children of UST Manila support staff.
The USTET was conducted on six Sundays at the Sampaloc campus: Oct. 20, Nov. 17, Dec. 15, Jan. 12, Jan. 26 and Feb. 9.
Exams at 35 provincial testing centers and eight international sites were completed on Feb. 2.
UST administered the USTET in two satellite testing centers in Metro Manila, 23 provincial testing centers in Luzon, eight testing centers in the Visayas, and four testing centers in Mindanao.
The OFAD also opened testing centers in Jeddah, Riyadh, Al-Khobar, Doha, Oman, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong.
Applications were accepted beginning August 2024, and closed on Dec. 31 for college, Oct. 31 for LEAPMed, and Jan. 15, for SHS, JHS, and EHS.
USTET results are expected to be released in the second quarter of 2025.
