Kwentong UPCAT

My older sister recounted of an occasion where a farmer all the way from Samar traveled to Tacloban with his son on the day of the UPCAT thinking it was a walk-in exam. 

Behind the novelty of the experience and the quaint stories everyone is sharing about good snacks and unreliable IQ booster tips, these are the kinds of UPCAT stories that must be projected and discussed. 

Access to the University is becoming more difficult for the poor especially that our presence is lacking in the countrysides. 

UP, para tayo kanino? (from a post by Joshua Musico Sagdullas)

2004. I learned about the UPCAT application days before the submission deadline. I learned it from our high school valedictorian Angelle when she asked me whether I've finalised my documents for the application.

I didn't know. I wasn't informed.

At first, I thought the reason I know nothing was because I was not listening during homeroom class; but the look on our class adviser's face when I asked her about the requirements told so much more. She was aghast, to say the least, that I have learned about it. "Who told you?" she asked, low-voiced and forehead creased. I only got the answers when I said that I heard it from Angelle. And Angelle never lies.

Apparently, the information was relayed only to the Top Ten students of the batch. I was ranked thirty-something. I was not supposed to know. The rest of the batch is not supposed to know. Why would they share the news to the rest of the school population and risk low passers' turnout?

Of course, I blabbed it to the rest of the class and together we submitted our (haphazardly done) applications along with the top ten. It was an intense three days of cramming and the only thing I can remember of it was me ticking the boxes for degrees that are not even offered on my school of choice (UP-Manila).

When the exam results came out early 2005, I secretly typed my name on the UPCAT results search bar while the gang of cool kids who frequent Cyber(something), the preferred Internet cafe near the school, searched who among the top ten got in.

"Hala, walang nakapasa. Si Cabañog lang."
"Si Abdulkarim rin!"

I felt someone hover above me and then a voice filled with disbelief floated over the babble. "Huy tingnan niyo, nakapasa si Bai Shaima!"

I passed. Along with Angelle, Yasmin, and Cathy. Two from the top ten. Two others from the "rest". Among the four of us, it is only Yassie who pursued UP. She finished her BSBAA in UP Diliman with flying colours. 

Perhaps I'm still immature about this but whenever people speak of the UPCAT, I always feel the need to say that I passed it. As if I have to prove myself again and again. Despite the years and the once-strong-emotions-now-turned-memories gradually fading, I once again become an insecure fifteen year old who feels the need to hold on to it as if it is a badge that confirms my worth.

When my brother was in his fourth year of high school in 2011, I asked him how his applications for UPCAT was going. He didn't know. He wasn't informed. And so was our youngest in 2013. And now I am sure that ours isn't an isolated case.

My story happened thirteen years ago. I am telling this for the first time today. The post below reminded me of this wound I long thought have completely healed. To be honest, passing the UPCAT is just half the struggle. In rural areas far from Manila, the bigger challenge is knowing that something like the UPCAT exists and then actually studying there when you get accepted.

Our country has indeed developed through the years but that development does not include much of the peripheries. The capital, and the areas close to it, will always be a hundred steps ahead. There is still so much that needs to be done to make sure the rest of the country keeps up. Education is one of which. UPCAT is just one story. There are scholarships and many other opportunities that are only shared with a few while the rest lag behind running after scraps left by the privileged. By restraining people's access to quality education, we limit the number of hands that could help us in moving the country forward.

Regardless of what we think about people's abilities, ACCESS to education, health, and economic opportunities is a right and not a privilege!