Tips for ACET (Ateneo College Entrance Test)

Posted on August 4, 2008
Filed Under Information, School, ACET, UPCAT, etc | Viewed 1720 times

Now that the UPCAT is over (4 batches in all, on 2 and 3 August), others still could not take a breather, with the Ateneo College Entrance Test (ACET) scheduled in September. My advice is—relax, do not make it too hard on yourselves. The results of your exams, as in UPCAT, are dependent on your stored knowledge, how you have fared in your high school days, and how you write your essay (an additional requirement for ACET). Whatever you get (or got) from review centers are add ons—to give you practice and exercises, perhaps to give you more self-confidence, yes, gain friends and learn tips from the instructors. My sons who took UPCAT and ACET were thankful they took review classes.

It’s now the time for submitting ACET Forms. Do keep in mind that part of the submission is to “write an essay—How can you be a man/woman for others”, the basic philosophy of the Atenean (Man for Others). Make your essay positive and as candid as possible. I saw my sons’ essays—considering that they came from the Ateneo High School (except Angelo who came from Claret), they knew what to write and how to write their essay. It would perhaps be helpful if you show your essay to an Atenean, and ask for his advice before you finalize it. Better still, show it to your review center instructor and ask for his/her advice.

Most of the UPCAT Tips I wrote, particularly the general ones, are still applicable to ACET. Many have said that ACET is more difficult than UPCAT, but it is easier to pass for the simple reason that with UPCAT there are about 70,000 testers each year, and there are slots for only about 10% of the total testers. With ACET, there are less testers, maybe not even 1/4 of UPCAT’s.

Math and English are two of the most talked about subjects by those who have taken the ACET. They advise to STUDY HARD IN MATH (caps intended), particularly Math 2—Problem Solving, and Math 4—Statistics and Conic Sections.

It also pays to write well and have a good vocabulary, then you should not have difficulty in English, particulalry with reading comprehension. There are the usual logic and vocabulary types—which you have to finish in only five minutes. By the way, you will also be requird to write an essay as part of the exams (this is different from the essay that you submitted with your ACET forms). Again, be positive, write the best that you can and try to convince that you are indeed Ateneo material. Have a good introduction, write your details and arguments, then a good conclusion.

For Abstract Reasoning (and yes Reading Comprehension), be sure to read the instructions well, even if you are pressed for time. Oh, yes, there are a few questions on current events.

ACET is not Right Minus Wrong (or 1/4th wrong in UPCAT), so be sure to answer as many questions as you can. Answer the easy ones first, let go of the difficult ones, and just come back if you have the time. Do not dwell for a long time on one item. Remember, time is gold.

There will be only 1 break, and that includes the break for both snacks and water break (toilet), unlike with UPCAT where your snacking and going to toilet is part of your exam time.

IF YOU HAVE TIPS TO SHARE, PLEASE DO SEND THEM THROUGH THE COMMENT BOX. I will also add more tips every now and then, so you are always welcome to come back.

Come back to this site in January 2009 for announcements of online posting of the ACET Results, details of posting of the list of successful and waitlisted examinees, observations, and updates, as the ADMU/ACET website could be really congested. Last year about 8,000 visitors viewed the article I posted, called 2008 ACET Results Link and almost 9,000 visitors for ACET for SY 2009-09 Results Now Posted Online.

DISCLAIMER: As I mentioned in the UPCAT Tips, these are just tips and information I have gathered from my sons who took the ACET in 1997, 2005 and 2007. There may have been changes since then. Some of the facts may not be complete or may not be current anymore. In this world we move in, the only thing constant is change.

GOOD LUCK to you all. Believe in the power of prayer.

Comments

8 Responses to “Tips for ACET (Ateneo College Entrance Test)”

TIPS for UPCAT Takers (ACET, too) : The D Spot on August 4th, 2008 4:38 pm

[...] 4 August 2008: TIPS FOR ACET [...]
annamanila on August 4th, 2008 11:09 pm

You got the pulse for what the readers need, Dine.

What will I add?

Have a good night’s sleep before the exams. Or did you cover that too?
jam on August 6th, 2008 7:47 pm

thanks for those.! i find your site the most reliable one for ACET tips…
Danaë on September 8th, 2008 6:14 pm

thank you. these tips are really helpful.
Cres on September 9th, 2008 11:17 pm

greetings maam

just want to ask, is it true that there is no science part in the exam?

thank you
mika on September 12th, 2008 7:33 pm

hello ma’am..

thanks for the tips for ACET. Now I need not to worry about which ones to concentrate on…
ACET Takers and Ateneo Blue Eagles and Fans in the UAAP–Good Luck! : The D Spot on September 14th, 2008 5:01 am

[...] the young boys and young girls who are taking the ACET today, GOOD LUCK to all of you. I have prayed for you, and I will continue to pray for you while [...]
Susan on September 15th, 2008 11:36 am

Is it true that this year’s ACET was not as difficult as the previous ones? I have spoken to other parents and all our sons finished the ACET which was not supposedly meant to be finished per the Ateneo web site. I am not sure if our boys reviewed harder for the ACET after the difficulty they encountered with the UPCAT Math. You see, they were prewarned that UPCAT would be a walk in the park compared to ACET. On the contrary, all the parents I spoke to said that their boys found the UPCAT much more difficult than the ACET.

Sexy Mom: My daughter and her cousin found UPCAT more difficult than ACET, while my 3 elder sons mentioned during their time that ACET was more difficult that UPCAT, alhthough it was easier to pass as there were pretty much less examinees. Anyway, my sons said, no one would really know among the examinees, as they are allowed to take ACET (and UPCAT for that matter) only once in their lifetime. Good luck to your child!