The world of college is basically like a new country you will soon be migrating into. In college, people speak a different language. In order for you to fit into your new surroundings, you must learn the language.
What is a course? A course is a program of study or training that leads to a degree. You can take a certificate course where the program of study lasts only for six months to one year or a diploma course which lasts for two years. At a university you will usually take a degree course which lasts anywhere from four to six years. Political Science is a degree course that lasts for four years; Accountancy lasts five years; Architecture lasts for five years; Dentistry lasts for six years. Some degree courses require a thesis at the end. Some also entail a board examination in order for you to get a license and practice a profession.
What is a degree? It is a title awarded to a student at a university or college after the completion of a period of study or research. If you finish a four-year course, you will usually earn a Bachelor’s Degree. A bachelor’s degree is usually a Bachelor of Arts (AB or BA degree) or a Bachelor of Science (BS degree). If you take two more years of instruction and research after that, you obtain a Master’s Degree. If you take two or more years of instruction and research after that, you get a Doctorate Degree.
What is a major? It is your course concentration or the specialized field of study that you can choose. If you want to study literature, your course will be AB English, major in Comparative Literature. Usually, during the first two years of your university, you will study general education subjects such as English, Communication, Pilipino, History, Science, Physical Education and Math. At Catholic universities such as the University of Sto. Tomas or the Ateneo, Philosophy and Religion are included as part of general education. After you finish your general education subjects, you will begin taking major classes. Usually, major subjects can reach up to 36 unit courses.
What is your minor? A minor is also a course concentration or specialized field of study but the number of units is lesser than the major. A minor can reach up to 24 units. Thus, for example, my course at the University of the Philippines was European Languages. The degree I obtained was Bachelor of Arts in European Languages. My major was French (36 units). My minor was Political Science (24 units).
What is a cognate? A cognate is a field of study that is related to your major. I dreamed of working for the International Court of Justice and so I studied French for my major (French is one of the official languages of the United Nations), I studied Political Science for my minor (as I need that to understand the workings and philosophy of governance and politics) and I had a cognate in Spanish as this is also an official language of the United Nations.
What is a double major? Some students are academically gifted such that their ability to grasp and absorb learning is phenomenal (usually this is signified by a very high score on the entrance examination). They are allowed to enter a program of study which, when they finish, can give them two majors. Ateneo and La Salle have double majors programmes. This is reserved for students who are admitted into the Honors Section or those who managed to achieve a score that is in the top 15 percentile in the entrance exam. The University of the Philippines often allows a double major program but only upon permission from the Chairman of the Department of your College and the Dean.
What is a unit? This is the measure of academic instruction usually signifying the number of hours of academic instruction of laboratory work required for a class. For example, if English 1 is 3.0 units, it means that you will meet three hours every week for this class. Some colleges break down the three hours into one hour sessions. In UP, the classes are for 1 1/2 hours twice every week. Back in my day when Spanish was required, you can take Spanish 1 and meet your professor for three hours each week or take Spanish 1 &2 and meet with your professor for six hours a week. Math 11 is a three unit course and so is Math 14. You can take each separately, or you can take Math 17 and get those two classes it over and done with in a semester (you get to meet your professor six hours a week!)
What is a curriculum? This is a list of all the classes you have to take and pass so that you can be awarded a degree. Your college or department usually hands out copies of a curriculum so that you can see what classes you can take.
What is a grading system? It is the means by which marks are awarded for each class. At the University of the Philippines, they follow the numerical grading system which awards the following numerical grades: 1.0, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75, 2.0, 2.25. 2.50, 2.75, 3.0, 4.0 or 5.0. The highest grade is 1.0. The lowest passing grade is 3.0. A grade of 4.0 is conditional which means you either have to submit a paper or take a written test in order to pass with a grade of 3.0. You may also get a grade of INC which means you also have to submit a project, paper or a written test to complete all the requirements for the class. Only after submission of the missing requirements can your grade be computed. Beware, a 3.0 is not always a bad grade. At the UP, there are some ‘terror’ teachers and so getting a 3.0 from them feels like getting a 1.0. Some teachers are so lenient and ‘mabait’ they practically give 1.0s away so your 1.0 does not mean anything.
At the Ateneo, they follow the letter grading system similar to the American system: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D and F (I think they don’t know their alphabet!) The highest is A+. I got an A+ maybe twice when I was in the Ateneo, and I got them both from Fr. Joseph Galdon in English literature (Classic Drama and Modern Drama). I liked him. He teased me in class and called me a ‘heretic’ because I was a Bible Baptist. He said that being a Baptist was bad enough, being a Bible Baptist was worse! When I gave a cheeky/witty answer (he liked cheeky students) he would say “bind her hands and feet and cast her into outer darkness where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” I liked his class– he kept me on my toes– that was probably why I got good grades in both the classes I had with him. He was a good mentor and a very strict grammarian! From him, I learned to ‘trim off the fat’ from my sentences. And to ‘reflect’ each week (write a paper on something that got your attention that week and something that made you quiver!)
What is a college scholar? First of all, at the University of the Philippines, each student who passes the UPCAT and qualifies for admission is already an Iskolar ng Bayan. This is because education at the University of the Philippines is subsidized by the taxes people pay (and taxes which escape the clutches of people like Janet Lim Napoles, I might add). If you don’t believe it, just consider that 15 units at the College of Arts and Sciences at the UP Manila will cost P26,000+ for the first semester. Compare this with the cost at the De La Salle University– the same 15 units at the College of Arts will cost P59,000+. So, just the mere fact that you are admitted to UP means you are already a scholar of the state.
There are, however, students who excel. They get grades that qualify them for an honorific title of college scholar (average for one semester that is at least 1.5). There are more excellent students who manage to obtain an honorific title (they are just bragging rights as the tuition you pay is not discounted at all) of university scholar (average for one semester is at least 1.25).
During the EDSA People Power Revolution (I am talking about the one that installed Corazon Aquino into power, ok?), as our classes at the University were always disrupted, our professors gave us a grade of P or ‘passed’. Boy am I glad — I got a P in Math! Or else, I probably would have had a 3 or a 5 (ugh!)
At the end of your course, if you managed to keep up those good grades (without cheating, and without getting caught cheating, of course), you will probably get honors. At the University of the Philippines, you are awarded a cum laude (general average of 1.75-1.51) ), a magna cum laude (1.5 up to 1.26) or a summa cum laude (1.25 or higher). When you get honors, your diploma will read: “Bachelor of Arts in European Languages, cum laude”.
What is STFAP or STS? STFAP stands for Socialized Tuition Fee Program. STS Socialized Tuition System. STFAP has been around since 1993, I think (the year before I graduated from the UP College of Law). The STS has been approved and implemented only in Diliman, Manila and LB just this year. Students are assigned a bracket depending upon their gross family income. When you qualify and enroll for the first time and every semester thereafter, you are automatically assigned to Bracket A (where you get the pleasure of paying full tuition of P1,500 per unit). You have to go online and apply for other Brackets (B-E) if you want a discount in the tuition fees you have to pay. Right now, Bracket A is for those whose gross annual family income is P1.3 million or higher. Bracket B is for those whose gross annual family income is between P650,000 and 1.299 million. Bracket B gets a P500 tuition fee discount so you only pay P1,000 per unit. For Brackets C-E, they get bigger discounts and the last two brackets get monthly stipends from the University.
You apply for the STS online by logging into the website sts.up.edu.ph and you log in using your student number and PIN. The PIN appears on the Notice of Admission you were sent through the mail. If you have confirmed your enrollment, and you log in, you will be greeted with “Hello, (your name).” The deadline was last April 23, 2014 for the first batch and July for the second batch. Don’t miss the deadlines! It means paying either P26,000+ (STS Bracket A) or P18,000+ (STS Bracket B) per semester!
When I first enrolled at the UP way back in 1983, the tuition fee was only P180/unit. It then suddenly increased to P300/unit before I graduated. I went to a lot of rallies protesting the tuition fee hike. It was felt that education at the state university should be free. Do you still wonder why 83,000 students applied to take the UPCAT last year? Only 12,000 qualified for admission.
At the Ateneo, when you apply to take the ACET, you are asked if you wish to apply for financial aid. Beware — the form consists of many pages and it requires you to attach to your application: your Meralco bill for the past three months, your credit card bills for the past three months, your ITR and Certificate of Enrollment, a photo of your house, your kitchen and your refrigerator. You will also need a letter of recommendation from two members of the faculty at your high school. The good thing at the Ateneo is that when you qualify for scholarship, they give full scholarships. This covers tuition, miscellaneous, even book and dorm fees! Others may also apply for grants in aid (these are tuition fee discounts). Is it any wonder that of the 2,000 students who qualified as freshmen to the Ateneo, 900 applied for scholarships and only 200 were given scholarships?
I was telling my son: back in my day, when I first enrolled at the UP, I had my eyebrow raised because I kept hearing people say, “Nakakuha ka na ba ng RegMat mo?” What the—? What in the world is a RegMat? I soon learned that it stood for ‘Registration Materials) — this is Form 5 you must fill up. I wonder what they call them today?
If you are a freshman, you will usually be assigned to a block section. Your blockmates will be with you in each and every class for the first two semesters. Assigning you to a block section is meant to give you a group to hang out with so that it won’t be too lonely or frightening for you when you are a ‘freshie’. Your blockmates usually belong to the same degree course or college as you. You will probably elect a ‘blockhead’ (reminds me of Charlie Brown — Lucy always calls him a ‘blockhead’). He will be your liaison officer — one who will talk to teachers and remind you of things you need to submit such as pictures and index cards for your seating plan.
After you sign up for classes, you will be assessed — this means that an officer of the university will put down on your registration materials the amount of money you will have to pay to enroll. Then you will go on to payment and then, after you’ve paid, you collect your classcards (which you will then fill up and give to your professor). At the end of the semester, your professor will return your classcards to you so that you can see what grade you got in your classes. Beware! UP sends your parents copies of your grades each semester. So, you really cannot hide your grades from your parents (for long).
Oh, after you’ve paid and collected your classcards (in my time, the professors gave you your classcards on the first day of class), you are supposed to get your ID ‘countersigned’. This means you will go to the Main Library and show them your ID and they will sign it at the back. If you don’t get your ID countersigned, you will not be able to enter or use the library.
What is an LOA? An LOA is the acronym for Leave of Absence. When you get sick or you want to go abroad or do anything else with your time instead of enrolling, you have to file a leave of absence so that you will not be dropped from the rolls. If you do not file an LOA, you will be AWOL (absent without leave) and when you return, you will have to talk with the College Secretary and explain why you were not able to enroll. The College Secretary (at UPD, the College Secretary held office at the AS 101) will give you a permit to enroll.
What is a DQ? It is not an ice cream brand, it is short for Delinquency. This is when you do not pass half of your classes. You will be placed on probation and you can only re-enroll if you pass all subjects during your probationary period.
What is Maximum Residency? It is the number of years given to you by the University of the Philippines within which to finish your degree course. Ideally, a four year degree course carries with it a Maximum residency of seven years. This means that when you enroll in a four year degree course, you must be able to finish it within seven years or else, you will be booted out of the University. Some people do not finish a four year degree course within seven years, believe me — this is because they keep shifting courses. Some degree courses credit your subjects but other subjects cannot be credited so you end up going to school for a lot longer time than the four years the degree course was designed for. If you breach the Maximum Residency, you will not be given a degree by the university. I finished a four year course within five years because I took a leave of absence for two semesters (I was run down after coming home from the States as an exchange student and my Dad ran for a seat (and lost) at the Interim Batasan Pambansa in 1984. We went to Agusan del Sur and campaigned. I played hooky and did not enroll at the UP. After two semesters, I went back and finished my degree course in record time — I graduated in 1988.
What is QPI? This is the Quality Point Index. Some colleges (the UP College of Law and the Ateneo Law School, in particular), insist that their students maintain a minimum average every semester. If you obtain an average that is lower than the cut-off, you will be dismissed from the college. At the UP Law, the QPI was implemented on my third year of law school.
There are so many many more words you ought to know. But for now, I think that you only need to know that ‘AS’ is also Palma Hall. PHAn (Palma Hall Annex) is also called Benton Hall. And CASAA is the cafeteria located at the back of Benton Hall. There used to be an Aristocrat on that road between Benton Hall and the College of Education. The Main Lib is the Main Library (that big building in the Sunken Garden right smack in the middle of the Academic Oval. The FC is the Faculty Center where professors held office. OUR is the Office of the University Registrar. It used to be on the first floor of Benton Hall. Now they have their own building near Quezon Hall (that’s the Administration building where the naked guy is standing — the UP Oblation!). A bluebook is a test booklet — that is how you take exams at UP, you write and answer tests on a bluebook (I think now, students can also submit written work and tests online). As the world wide web came into official existence only in the 1980s and the IBM PC got really popular only in the 1990s in the Philippines, online submission of written work was unheard of in my day! UP has its own wifi system.
Ikot is a jeep that goes around the UP Diliman. We usually take the Ikot Jeep to get from the Gym back to the AS. Now, I think there is also a Toki (it’s still IKOT, spelled backward) and it plies a different route. There is a Pantranco or a Highway/MRT jeep that goes into the UP. There is also a UP-SM North Edsa jeep. There is also a UP-Katipunan jeep. You can take the jeeps, I suppose, but it is more fun to walk under the shady trees, especially if you are walking with a friend and talking.
Hope you enjoy university life! It might not be quite as carefree as high school, but some of the best friendships and working relationships you will form come from those relationships you make while at the University. Some even meet the love of their life there. So, enjoy!