The Truth AboutUPCAT Review Centers

Are you being scammed?By Leopold Laset

Most parents and school administrators believe that UPCAT is highly competitive, and they’re right. And most think that some sort of review program is a good thing. After all, who would take the UPCAT

without studying for it? And yet most have no idea how to determine a “good” review center from a “bad” review center. Anyone can claim to be an UPCAT expert, so why are so many parents willing to

give them Php5,000 (or more) without a thorough investigation? Why are schools partnering with Review Centers that do not improve their passing rate? I’ve worked in the review program and college

admissions sector for almost 15 years. I’ve conducted R&D for college entrance tests, marketing for UPCAT and testing companies, and directed operations for one of the biggest UPCAT Review companies

in the Philippines. Here’s the scoop.

Reputation. Here’s the biggest scam of all. People in UPCAT Review Centers know that the single greatest factor in determining whether a student or parent “likes” and “would recommend” an UPCAT review center or program has nothing to do with passing rate. Nothing. Recommend rates are primarily tied to whether the Review Center is popular or not, and secondary to whether it is cheap or not. That’s it. I’ve seen and conducted many studies that show that people rarely recommend (or don’t recommend) a review center based on results. What if the student did not pass? If the student or parent likes the “popularity” or “affordability” of the Review Center, the student/parent blames themselves. If they can’t accept the failure, they blame the Review Center. It’s that simple. The problem is that recommendations and reputations depend much more on “likability” than actual results. And you’re not paying for a friend; you’re paying for points. So be wary about choosing a review center based on a recommendation alone; investigate the important stuff.

And here’s what’s important:

Teachers. The primary benefit you should get from a good review program is great teachers – it’s really what you’re paying for. You can buy the materials of most review centers in any bookstore and save Php5,000. So your money is going towards the teachers. You’d be surprised who review centers hire: kids who attended average colleges and got average test scores themselves and probably know the test no better than your own child. Either massive training or lots of teaching enables these subpar teachers to mask their inability to really explain the UPCAT.

Ask: where did my child’s teachers attend college? While some review centers will lie about their teacher’s credentials, they usually won’t lie about where a teacher attended college. That will be a great indicator as to the teacher’s academic credentials. Is this teacher qualified to teach such a rigorous test as the UPCAT? Do not believe the marketing; actually find out where a teacher attended college. At one review center, they’d advertise that their teachers were all graduates of UP and that they had scored in the top 5% on the UPCAT. In reality, they hired teachers who attended average colleges and had average test scores.

I suppose if somebody had asked, they would have told them the truth, but nobody ever asked. You should.

Materials. Want to know a secret? About 60% of all UPCAT Review materials are the same. The only significant difference is the practice sets and practice tests: are they close to the actual UPCAT or are they just copied from some quarterly tests of some schools? The answer will surprise you. But first, it’s important to use tests very close to the UPCAT: the question types, question distribution, answer choice creation, etc., are finely tuned on the real UPCAT and no quarterly test accurately replicates that. Further, Review Centers create tests similar to those found in the bookstores, so a similar one is an inaccurate reflection of where the UPCAT has been.

Since the UPCAT is leak-free and 100% secured, the best indicator of a good set of UPCAT Review materials lies in the way a review center extracts the actual test questions from the test-takers themselves and recreates the exact questions for the next batch of test-takers. You couldn’t be closer to the actual UPCAT!

Refunds. Some Review Centers offer refunds or cash rewards. Yes, but to who do they offer them? To those who didn’t pass? Of course, not! They offer it to those who would land in the top 99 percentile or to those who could get an almost perfect score in their Simulated Test. This is some kind of a deception since refunds are supposedly for those whose expectations from the product or service are not met.

If their service is as good as their marketing claims it to be, then they won’t be so afraid offering refunds to those who didn’t make it. So be wary of those ads that offer refunds.

Past Results. Why don’t most Review Centers publish the UPCAT results of their clients? Because they either aren’t proud or don’t want you to know, and neither should inspire confidence. A good Review Center knows how their students are doing on the UPCAT and are willing to share the data with you. But most don’t want you to know, so how do you get that information? It affects their popularity. If a Review Center does not post their clients’ UPCAT Results, then they know something they’re not willing to share: their program isn’t that effective.

Class Size. The effectiveness of a teacher is partially determined by class size: a great teacher is less effective with 60 students than with 30 students. Here’s another secret: the fulcrum of profitability of every Review Center is “average class size.” The cost of running a class is fairly set, so more students per class means more profit. It’s that basic. Some Review Centers weigh profitability against effectiveness while others don’t care and maximize class size. You want a Review Center that guarantees a maximum class size.

The Class Size Scam. Any Review Center that markets an “average” class size instead of a guaranteed maximum class size is scamming you. Why? Because an “average” means half the classes were smaller and half were bigger. Some may be much smaller and some much bigger. What if you’re in one of those bigger classes?

Those claims of an “average class size of 35” don’t mean anything to you if you’re in a class of 50. AReview Center that markets an “average” instead of a “guaranteed maximum” is unwilling to cap their classes. Don’t let them bait-and-switch you with “average” instead of “guaranteed maximum.” Avoid any Review Center that doesn’t have a maximum guaranteed class size (the smaller, the better). And make sure the Review Center offers a refund once the course begins so if your class has 50 students in it, you can get out and get your money back.

Total Number of Review Hours. Review sessions aren’t always enough. Forty to sixty hours of attending a review class is not enough. UPCAT is fierce competition. So what can you expect from a Review Center that offers even a lesser number of hours? With no online support or extended consultation beyond the scheduled review hours? A good Review Center would provide continuous support right until the day before the UPCAT. So before you decide, you must think of the other benefits other than the review sessions you’re going to attend so that you’ll get all your money’s worth.

UPCAT versus ACET. Review Centers will review you for anything you ask for, even if they don’t have the expertise. So if you want to review for both UPCAT and ACET, ask a simple question: what’s the difference between these two tests? The answer is: the ACET has an essay part; the UPCAT has none. If the Review Center says “they are basically the same,” find someone else. Sure, the ACET and the UPCAT cover the same topics in Math, Science and English. But in order to review for the ACET, essay writing skill is the primary requisites to raising your score.

For over six years Prof. Leopold Laset has been working with Review Masters League, an elite test prep company in the Philippines, traveling across the country to help students maximize their UPCAT scores. He is one of the authors of 37 PROVEN TIPS TO PASS THE UPCAT THE SURE WAY! To learn more about Prof. Laset and how to pass the UPCAT and any other high school or college entrance test, visit upcatreview.com and remove all fears for your future academic and career success now!

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