Thursday, January 27, 2011

Tips for PUPCET

It’s been years ago when I took my PUPCET. I remember taking PUPCET because I was not sure of passing the UPCAT. For those who do not know, PUPCET stands for PUP College Entrance Exam. PUP or Polytechnic University of the Philippines is the second most popular state university in the Philippines. It has lower tuition fee as compared to the University of the Philippines. PUP is also the school where poor students go since UP increased its tuition fee by 300% from the old tuition fee of 300 pesos.

Because of UP’s exorbitant tuition fee, many students flock the PUPCET in the hope of entering a cheap but reputable university. I remember the last time when I accompanied my sister to take her PUPCET. PUP ground is full with people and I am sure that it will be the same this coming Sunday, when I accompany my brother to PUP.

Taking and passing PUPCET is easy, especially if you prepared and studied well for the exam. Visit my article, Tips on Taking UPCAT, ACET, DLSUCET other College Entrance Exams, for general tips on preparing for an exam. Scroll down for tips in taking the PUPCET.

1. Go to PUPCET Examination Area Early

Going early to examination area is a must so as to avoid being late. I have seen many students running like mad just to reach their rooms after the bell signaling the start of the PUPCET rang. If your testing area is in PUP Main Campus in Santa Mesa, Manila then you must expect heavy traffic because many people will go to the PUP Main Campus and the volume of people creates traffic jam.

The advantage of reaching the PUPCET test area early is that you have time to relax and prepare yourself for the exam to come.

2. Bring Your Test Permit and Your School ID and other Documents

Never forget to bring your test permit! There are PUPCET examinees who forgot their test permits and they try to beg the examiners to take the exams. Examiners may allow you to take PUPCET but you have to pass many processes, which put you in great stress and might affect your mood in taking the exam.

Bringing your school ID and other documents like school record is also good because if there are some problems, then you have the documents that you need to back yourself up. You should always prepare for the worst.

3. Do Study the Exam Subjects

According to my sister, who took PUPCET two years ago, the exam is subdivided into four subjects and those are Mathematics, Science, English, and General Information. For the English subject, expect that there will be reading comprehension. For the General Information, expect questions about current events so be sure that you updated about the recent events and the big news in our country.



4. Mind the Time When Taking the Exam

PUPCET is easy and most of the questions are multiple choice questions so it is easy to guess the answer if you do not know the answer. Though PUPCET is easy, the catch is the short time limit for every subject. The trick here is to be fast when answering questions. Answer the questions that you know the answer first and skip those questions that you have no or unsure answers. This will make sure that you have at least sure points for the exam. Then, start answering the questions that you skipped. If you don’t really know the answer, then all you have to do is to guess.

Be always mindful of the time when taking PUPCET. Time during the exam run very fast and if you are a slowpoke then you’re doomed. However, don’t sacrifice speed for correctness. You must make sure that you are shading the right letter when you are answering the exam.

5. Don’t Rely on Leaks or Cheat Sheets

There is cheat sheet or a leak of the PUPCET that circulated when I took my PUPCET. I got hold of the cheat sheet and studied it diligently. However, I did not trust the cheat sheet much so I continue my review routine. Then, when the exam came, there’s a rumor that the PUPCET admin changed all the questions because they discovered the leakage. Thus, those people who relied on the cheat sheet were fried and failed the exam. The moral of the story is not to depend on cheat sheet or leakage. It is ok to study the cheat sheet to give you insight of the exam but don’t rely on it alone because if the leakage was discovered, you will surely fail.

So that is my tips when you are taking PUPCET. Hope that my tips help you and if you have other tips or experience when taking the PUPCET, then don’t be shy to share it by leaving a comment.

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Sunday, January 23, 2011

List of Tagaytay Homes

Tagaytay City is one of the favorite places that I visited. I like the city for its climate that is relatively cooler than the climate in Metro Manila. I also like Tagaytay City for its scenic spots like the Picnic Grove, People's Park and Sonya's Garden. Another thing is the scenic views of Taal Lake from Tagaytay City. These are the reasons why many people want to live in Tagaytay City and a buy a piece of lot at Tagaytay homes that are springing up in the city. Tagaytay homes is the term I used for subdivisions and townhouses that could be found in Tagaytay City.

Buying house and lot in Tagaytay City is as risky as buying house and lots in other areas of the Philippines. You have to contend with high prices of lots and the risk of being tricked by lot sellers and land developers. There are many Tagaytay homes to choose from, so before buying any house and lot in Tagaytay, it never hurts to visit different Tagaytay
homes so as to make you decide better on where do you want to have a piece of Tagaytay City.

To help you decide, I listed four Tagaytay
homes that you could choose from.

1. Palm Crest (AustAsia Real Estate)

A taste of Bali at Tagaytay, this is how their website describe this Tagaytay
homes. Palm Crest offers two model town homes, namely, Iora (250 sq m lot area, 2 storey, 8.5 million pesos) and Jasmine (300 sq m lot area, 2 storey, 9.5 million pesos).

2. Royale Tagaytay Estates

According to this website, this Tagaytay
homes is just few minutes away from important establishments like shopping mall, police station and hospital. Royale Tagaytay Estates is located at the fringes of Taal Lake. Lot prices ranges from 3,800 pesos/sq m to 7,500 pesos/sq m.

3. Southridge Subdivision

Based on this website, this Tagaytay
homes' house and lot cost 11,400,000 pesos with lot area of 344 sq m.

4. Villa Chiara Subdivision (Santa Lucia Realty)

The developer of this Tagaytay
homes brags that Villa Chiara is near People's Park. According to this website the total contract price for a 240 sq m lot is 1,248,000 pesos. Monthly amortization with 5 years to pay. There is no interest for the first year of payment.

So that's the four of the Tagaytay
homes that you can choose from when you decided to buy a piece of land in the wonderful city of Tagaytay.


Looking for more options? Read my second list of Tagaytay homes.

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Saturday, January 22, 2011

Are You Under the Thirteenth Zodiac Sign?

I read from Claire's and Caroline's blog about the new zodiac sign for the European Horoscope. The thirteenth zodiac sign is named Ophiuchus.

Ophiuchus, according to Wikipedia, is a large constellation located around the equator. It is usually treated as the thirteenth zodiac sign by some astrologers. Ophiuchus is a constellation that represents a man that holds a serpent, which is represented by the constellation Serpens. Ophiuchus was listed by an astronomer named Ptolemy and is considered as one of the modern constellations.

According to some astrologers, Ophiuchus is the only zodiac sign that is referenced to real persons that existed in history. Some astrologers say that the thirteenth zodiac sign represent the 27th Century Egyptian doctor Imhotep or the Bilical Joseph. Other astrologers say that Ophiuchus represents the Sumerian god Enki. In Japan, Ophiuchus is popular and he is called as hebitsukai or the snake messenger.
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Ophiuchus

Ophiuchus is considered as a healer or a doctor of medicine or science. Therefore, people under Ophiuchus have inborn talents in healing techniques and are excellent doctors or medical practitioners. Also, people under the thirteenth zodiac sign seeks enlightenment and higher education. People under the thirteenth zodiac sign are expected to acheive high position in life.

This is the sign of Ophiuchus
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Ophiuchus

The symbol for the thirteenth zodiac sign is a capital letter U that is superimposed with a tilde (~).

The news about Ophiuchus became hot when an astronomer Parke Kunkle announced the existence of a thirteenth zodiac sign located between Scorpio and Sagittarius. The reason for the addition of the thirteenth zodiac sign is the wobble of the earth's axis in relation to the sun. The wobbling of earth is a contniuous process and the positioning of constellations and other heavenly bodies are different when astrology started as compared to the positioning of constellations today. This is the reason why Ophiuchus was being considered as an additional zodiac sign.

Here is the new zodiac calendar. Notice that Ophiuchus was placed after Scorpion and before  Sagittarius.
    Capricorn: Jan. 20 - Feb. 16
    Aquarius: Feb. 16 - Mar 11
    Pisces: Mar 11- Apr 18
    Aries: Apr 18 - May 13
    Taurus: May 13 - June 21
    Gemini: June 21 - July 20
    Cancer: July 20 - Aug. 10
    Leo: Aug. 10 - Sept. 16
    Virgo: Sept. 16 - Oct. 30
    Libra: Oct. 30 - Nov. 23
    Scorpio: Nov. 23 - Nov. 29
    Ophiuchus: Nov. 29 - Dec. 17
    Sagittarius: Dec. 17 - Jan. 20

So, are you under the thirteenth zodiac sign? Do you believe is astrology? Do you believe that that Ophiuchus should be added to the list of zodiac signs?
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