True enough. But what about the necessary expenses (board, lodging, fare, food, and so on) should said poor student pass the UPCAT and gain admission to UP?

I do agree that entrance exams *help* schools weed out the talented who *must* gain entry into their schools. However, any institution that is capable of fostering excellence is also capable of fostering mediocrity. Entrance exams are *never* an assurance or a proof of excellence; even the best trees make rotten fruit.

Thanks for your thoughtful comment.

The quality of the graduates determines the prestige of a school, just as a tree is known by the fruit it bears. Entrance exams help schools select the talented young blood who will ensure the school retains the prestige that it carries.

If AMA, for example, were to produce mostly incompetent graduates, its prestige will be very low, no matter how much money it spends on advertizing and promotion. But if they get the best minds and train them to become topnotch professionals, their name would be honored far and wide.

Excusez-moi for spelling your name wrong but I did wrote the slang “whatchamacallit” which meant “whatever you call it.”

Just a trivia for you.

Y’know, reading your comment, I’m reminded of small children who, after getting scraped knees, show off the scars even if the wounds have healed.

Move on.

I think as a nation we should stop glorifying schools. Wouldn’t it be better if we judge graduates according to their own ability and not on one’s perceived-ability? Would it be better if we don’t allow stereotypes to cloud our judgments?

Yes, I am guilty of glorifying my own alma mater. You may call me bitter or whatever. It’s not bitterness it a clamor for equality.

By the way, I’m Den, not Dan.

Staci: We don’t agree a lot, but I have to agree with you on that one. Although I think Relojo’s point was motivated by deep-seated resentment. I personally think that glory should be given to a school which accepts only the best, and counts its exponents as the best.

But why should I comment? It’s not just UP who makes up the Philippines’ sphere of academic elites. Though I assume (just assuming here) the only point that Dan (whatchamacallit) was trying to make was what Margarita Ventenilla Hamada (founder of Harvent Schools Pamapanga) wrote in her book “School Mythtakes: Myths and Mistakes About School”.

According to her: Glory should be given to a school which accepts all kinds of learners.

To be honest, I resent gloryfying any school (including my own). Maybe because I so long realized that amidst all the competencies, the application of that learning never materialized in this country. For A Better Society—words that emulate in every school’s mission-vision.

And I would never frown on people who work with their hands… something an agricultrural country really needs.

“The expectation is not that you will get your much-needed slap-in-the-face when you graduate and get a job, but you get it while you’re still in school.”

my prof RDM calls that “humble pie.” boy, does she dish it out a lot.

(tastes great with beer, by the way. )