About this UPCAT reviewer
A free, open collection of 205 original practice questions for the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT), each with a worked explanation. Built 2026-07-31.
What this is
Most reviewers circulating online are scans of scans, often re-uploaded behind a paywall by someone who did not write them. This one is written from scratch and given away. Every item has its own page so you can link to a single question, and the whole bank is available as plain JSON so it can be reused elsewhere.
What this is not
It is not the UPCAT, and it is not affiliated with the University of the Philippines in any way. It contains no past papers and no leaked content. The colour scheme takes its cue from the official UP admissions site, but nothing here is official UP material and the UP seal is deliberately not used. The UPCAT is administered by the UP Office of Admissions, and upcat.up.edu.ph is the only authority on the current format, requirements and schedule.
Two honest caveats
- Difficulty labels are judgement, not data. Each item is tagged easy, medium or hard, but those are authored estimates. Real difficulty only emerges from how people actually perform.
- The Filipino section would benefit from a teacher’s review. It covers well-established rules, but a native-speaker check on phrasing would improve it.
Common questions
What does UPCAT stand for?
UPCAT stands for the University of the Philippines College Admission Test. It is the entrance examination administered by the UP Office of Admissions for applicants to undergraduate degree programmes across the University of the Philippines System. It is often written as the "UP College Admission Test", which is the same test.
What subtests does the UPCAT have?
Four: Language Proficiency, Reading Comprehension, Science and Mathematics. Language Proficiency and Reading Comprehension are each set in both English and Filipino. UP does not publish the exact number of items per subtest, so the counts in this reviewer are a practice spread rather than an official breakdown.
Is the UPCAT score the only thing that matters for admission?
No. UP combines the standardised UPCAT score with a composite of your final grades from Grades 8 to 11 to produce the admission score, and also factors in socioeconomic and geographic considerations as part of its democratic-access policy. Admission to a campus then depends on your rank against that campus's quota or cut-off.
Is this the real UPCAT?
No. These are original practice questions written in the style of the UPCAT. They are not past papers, they are not leaked material, and this site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of the Philippines. Treat them as revision practice, not as a preview of the actual test.
How many questions are here, and what do they cover?
There are 205 questions in total: 45 English and 25 Filipino under Language Proficiency, 35 Reading Comprehension items across 8 passages in English and Filipino, 50 Science items spanning biology, chemistry, physics and earth science, and 50 Mathematics items from arithmetic through basic trigonometry. They span 36 topics.
Does it cost anything or require an account?
No. There is no paywall, no sign-up, no advertising, and no tracking. Every question and every explanation is on a public page you can read without an account, and quiz results stay in your browser.
Are the answers explained?
Yes. Every question has a written explanation of why the correct option is correct, and where a wrong option is a common trap the explanation names it. The reasoning matters more than the key.
Can I reuse these questions in my own material?
Yes, under CC-BY-4.0. Attribute the source if you redistribute them. The underlying data is plain JSON with a published schema, so it can be imported into another app, a spreadsheet, or a printed handout.
How should I use a reviewer like this effectively?
Spread the work across days rather than cramming, and switch to quiz mode once you think you know a topic instead of re-reading answers you have already seen. Repeated exposure to a fixed question order teaches you where the answer sits rather than why it is right, which is why the quiz reshuffles the options on every attempt.