UPCAT 2026 applications officially open on March 3

Applications for the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) have officially started on Monday, March 3, 2025.

The applications for incoming freshmen for Academic Year 2026 to 2027 will run until March 31, the university said in a statement. 

It is open to Grade 11 students currently enrolled in School Year 2024-2025 and Grade 12 students who have not taken the entrance exam in the previous cycles. 

UPCAT will be administered on August 2 to 3 in 116 testing centers nationwide including in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, and Santa Maria in Davao Occidental. 

The State University said Grade 11 applicants must have their schools confirm their eligibility in the Form 2A online portal by April 4 and complete their grade submission from August 4 to 25. 

Test permits will be released via the UPCAT online portal in July, the university added. 

Further, UP said that UPCAT qualifiers who come from low-income families can benefit from the Lingap Iskolar Program. 

The program provides housing, food, communication, transportation, and educational materials assistance to entrance exam passers whose annual family income is Php 135,000 or below and who are not receiving other scholarships.

“These programs are part of UP’s mission to democratize access to education and uplift marginalized students,” UP President Angelo Jimenez said in a statement.

“Through UPCAT 2026 and Lingap Iskolar, we are working hard so that no deserving student is left behind,” he added.

The program has benefited nearly 200 students from different UP campuses such as Baguio, Cebu, Mindanao, and Los Baños. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News