University News

22,000 PUP hopefuls take first batch of PUPCET 2025

Lance Dionisio, Kier James Hernandez, News, PUP Campus Journalists

The Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) Sta. Mesa Campus welcomed thousands of hopefuls as the first of four batches of the 2025 PUP College Entrance Test (PUPCET) commences on Sunday, January 12.

Approximately 22,000 examinees comprised the first batch of PUPCET 2025, according to Vice President for Student Affairs and Services Tomas O. Testor, surpassing last year’s count of 20,160.

The university’s East and West Wings as well as the Laboratory High School (LHS) were occupied as the testing rooms to conduct the one-hour and 30-minute examinations.

In an interview, VP Testor mentioned that prior to this year’s entrance examination, the University set up a committee designed to regulate and monitor unexpected circumstances to ensure the smooth operations of the said examinations.

Additionally, he advised applicants, parents, and guardians to strictly follow the rules and regulations released by the university. Examinees are allowed to bring one companion during their exam schedule, while adjacent roads are closed to traffic to ensure the safety of pedestrians.

VP Testor furthered that applicants’ top choice of programs are engineering, architecture, accountancy, computer sciences, and psychology, to name a few.

Overall, the university has already received an estimated number of 125,000 potential examinees and only 12,000 of them will be accepted as first year students of the Sintang Paaralan for Academic Year 2025-2026.

In relation to PUPCET, the application deadline has been extended until January 31, as per the advisory announced by PUP on January 3.

Hopes of being an Iskolar ng Bayan
As the first batch of PUPCET 2025 commenced today, students from different parts of the country shared a multitude of reasons as to why they want to study in the university.

For Adriane Kent Nuñez, he shared that he wants to choose a well-known university because he will be the first one to enter college in his family, resulting in him deciding with PUP.

An aspiring Bachelor of Science in Psychology student, he prepared for the examination by looking for reviewers online such as mock tests and joining Facebook pages to ask for some exam tips.

Meanwhile, Kristoffer Gawaran, a PUP alumnus and a guardian of an applicant who traveled all the way from Western Visayas, said that he recommended the university to his cousin because according to him, the university offers an eye-opening experience to the students about the realities of life.

He added that when accepted, he hopes that his cousin gets the education they need.

“Hindi kasi kami galing sa [maykayang] pamilya, we’re family of farmers so malaking tulong talaga ’yong free education ng PUP ngayon,” Gawaran said.

(We’re not from a [wealthy] family; we’re a family of farmers, so the free education at PUP now is a huge help.)

The next exam scheduled for PUPCET 2025 will be on January 26, February 16, and March 23. The administration is eyeing to release the PUPCET results in June, three months after the last batch of exams, as per Testor.

Moreover, other PUP systems have already released their schedules for application and examination.

_{(Note: English translation generated from AI.)}