UPCAT 2026: Over 18,000 passers, more than half from public schools

MANILA, Philippines – The University of the Philippines (UP) announced on Wednesday, April 22, that over 18,000 applicants have qualified for admission for academic year (AY) 2026-2027.

In a briefing, UP President Angelo Jimenez reported that the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) 2026 had a passing rate of 12.45%, or 18,350 out of 147,437 applicants.

The figure includes degree program qualifiers and waitlisted applicants. 

Jimenez said that while the passing rate dipped from 13% in 2025, the number of UPCAT applicants increased by around 9% year-on-year.

“This year, we saw an increase in the number of UPCAT takers compared to last year — an indication that more families continue to look to UP as a place where their children’s potential can grow,” he said.

“What we find encouraging is not only the growth in numbers, but what those numbers represent,” he added.

Public vs. private schools ratio

Qualifiers coming from public schools continue to increase — a trend observed since 2023.

More than half or 57.1% of the successful examinees came from public schools, higher than the previous 55% and inching closer to UP’s target percentage of 60%.

“This is an example of a very successful policy implementation of a particular objective, which is to have a more inclusive admissions policy. Hindi na totoo na ma-elitista ang UP (The notion that UP is elitist is now false),” Jimenez told reporters.

Passers from low-income families

The share of UPCAT qualifiers coming from low-income households, or those with a gross annual income of P200,000 and below, was at 21.4%. UP said this was slightly lower than the 21.5% logged last year. 

Meanwhile, there were 2,323 first-generation college student qualifiers and 439 passers who were from indigenous communities.

There were also 300 qualifiers from unserved and underserved communities for the Lingap-Iskolar Program, which provides them with housing, food and communication allowance, educational materials, mentoring, student assistantship opportunities, and other forms of aid.

Aside from setting up more testing centers, UP Vice President for Academic Affairs Lorraine Pe Symaco said they are beefing up logistics to help applicants from far-flung areas pass their requirements.

Jimenez also said that through their Ugnayan ng Pahinungod’s Affirmative Action Program, UP students, alumni, faculty, and staff were deployed to remote areas as volunteer teachers to prepare students for college life and help them pass the UPCAT as well.

Metro Manila leads regions

Nearly three out of 10 passers (29.68%) came from Metro Manila in this year’s UPCAT results. Other top regions were Calabarzon (18.77%) and Central Luzon (11.24%).

UP noted that Central Luzon recorded the largest increase in percentage share from UPCAT 2025 to 2026 (+0.39 percentage points).

Where the applicants qualified

According to UP data, 32.4% of the passers are qualified for admission to UP Diliman, 22.6% to UP Los Baños, and 8.5% to UP Manila.

UP noted that 6,701 passers or 36.52% were given notices for admission to other campuses within the university system.

The UPCAT was conducted in August 2025 in 117 testing centers nationwide. – Rappler.com