Tips for ACET (Ateneo College Entrance Test)

August 4th, 2008 by Sexy Mom · Viewed 8217 times · 19 Comments

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.

Tags: Information · School, ACET, UPCAT, etc

19 responses so far ↓

TIPS for UPCAT Takers (ACET, too) : The D Spot // Aug 4, 2008 at 4:38 pm

[...] 4 August 2008: TIPS FOR ACET [...]
annamanila // Aug 4, 2008 at 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 // Aug 6, 2008 at 7:47 pm

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

thank you. these tips are really helpful.
Cres // Sep 9, 2008 at 11:17 pm

greetings maam

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

thank you
mika // Sep 12, 2008 at 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 // Sep 14, 2008 at 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 // Sep 15, 2008 at 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!
kristel // Jun 8, 2009 at 12:01 am

mam, im grateful for the tips you’ve given
it is a big help for me, i think i hope i could pass my ACET this year 2009. thank you.
Mark Villanueva // Jun 21, 2009 at 9:35 pm

greetings maam

just want to ask if it is advisable to take a REVIEW classes for ACET

thank you for the tips…
Tis the season for college entrance tests again (UPCAT and ACET Tips) | The D Spot // Jul 5, 2009 at 7:12 am

[...] and Alan Jr, though we have been telling them, “No pressures when you take the UPCAT (and ACET). Just try your [...]
ailleen // Jul 19, 2009 at 9:42 am

thanks maam for da tips uve given.actually im so nervous because im gonna take an exam in up on aug. and ateneo on sep..but because of ur tips, it makes me more confident. hehe.but im not attending a review classes.do you think a hav a chance to pass on dat? even im only doing a self review?
Mec Elino // Jul 25, 2009 at 7:58 pm

Ma’am greetings!
I’m Mec Elino a first-year biology student of Davao Doctors College. I want to transfer by second semester of this year 2009 to the campuses of either U.P. (in Los Banos and Manila) or Ateneo de Manila because it’s very conducive there. Although this institution is well-performing but my opted-campuses have higher accreditation. Will I need to take up for UPCAT/ACET? I haven’t taken up these entrance examination yet.
aimee // Aug 11, 2009 at 7:37 pm

omg((:i totally wanna pass ateneo.
i made a pact to take grade 11 if i don’t pass ateneo.
omg.omg.omg.
Nervous_Examinee X( // Aug 18, 2009 at 5:31 pm

Thank you ma’am for the tips! It really made me feel better. I was really nervous to take the exam because I want to study at Ateneo badly and I’ve heard rumors that math there is very hard and math is the subject that I’m worst at. I did’nt get the chance to enroll in review centers because it was already too late when I found out about it. Will it be a disadvantage for me?
kristel // Sep 13, 2009 at 6:57 pm

thank you again ma’am for your kind understanding to us future takers of ACET/ACAT. It has been an immense help to me. I probably need to focus on studying regarding math2&math4. thank you a lot. I believe I was able to read this blog about tips in passing ACET is God’s wasy of letting me be confident in my exams that will be held aproximately 6 days from now, sept.19, 2009. whew. May God Bless us all.
Wok // Sep 19, 2009 at 12:19 am

ahhh! my test’s on Sunday na,, thanks po for the tips, I’ve been studying word problems, conic sections, and statistics like you advised,, there’s this awesome channel on youtube, khanacademy,, where I do most of my reviewing, he covers like everything there, from pre-algebra to calculus,,

I’m really worried about the essay part on the exam, my essay when I passed my ACET forms was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself, but I’m not sure if I’d phase well under time pressure,,

good luck to all ACET takers, may the force be with you, <
lee // Nov 17, 2009 at 12:13 am

thank you.
i have taken the test this year for 2010.
the test was not very hard as i expected but
the time was really short.
the english test was just OMG.
the few minutes of the english test
included the essay which i did not know
untill i found out that i had to write fast
cause i had only 10 minutes left.
and when you go to take the exam, you should go
really early because first of all, ateneo is really
big, it will take you long to go to your assigned
testing area. and second, you are not the only one to take the exam, there would be really alot of students who fall in line..
and dont wear long sleeve or very warm clothes
because there was no aircon when i took the test.
anyway good luck to examiners and god bless~!
Simply nervous // Jan 13, 2010 at 9:23 am

ty
Sana makapasa tau…

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