If you are an aspiring lawyer and
is due to enroll in any law school in the Philippines this coming school year 2017-2018,
you are among the thousands of examinees vying to pass the pilot test for a
unified admission policy for all law schools. The Philippine Law School
Admission Test (PhilSAT) is conceptualized to become the standard aptitude test
that will measure the academic skills and capacity to be in law school. By
virtue of the Legal Education Board (LEB) Memorandum Order No. 7, series of
2016 the Board declared PhilSAT as a prerequisite in law school admission
either for the Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor degree. This Order is in pursuant
to the power of the LEB on prescribing the minimum standards for admission in
law schools under Section 7(e) of the Legal Education Reform Act of 1993 (RA
7662). The Center for Educational Measurement, Inc. (CEM) will be responsible
in the implementation and operation of the PhilSAT throughout the Philippines.
View the Legal Education Board
(LEB) Memorandum Order No. 7, series of 2016 here.
Considering the predicaments of
future law students who are sending email inquiries from me through my blog, I
try to come up with some comprehensive information regarding the PhilSAT to manage
your expectations and to make adequate preparation of passing the uniform
admission test to law schools in the Philippines.
What to expect from the PhilSAT
The PhilSAT will be a one-day
examination/aptitude multiple choice type of test. The passing rate is 55% and
passers will be given a Certificate of Eligibility valid for 2 years only.
There is no limit on how many times you can re-take the admission test once you
flunk the exam (I hope not!).
Comprehension, critical thinking
and communication abilities are important from lawyers. That is why the PhilSAT
dwells on different subtests involving language proficiency, subtests on communications,
verbal and quantitative reasoning, and critical thinking skills.
Test
for proficiency on language and communications
This will test
your grammar and usage errors, including the determination of the use of
appropriate words and phrases in a sentence. You need to practice various areas
of language proficiency, namely how to improve writing sentences, sentence
completion and identifying error in a sentence.
Test your
language and communication skills by taking this Written
Test of English Language Proficiency and Legal terminology as a good exercise.
Test
for Verbal reasoning
This test
consists of reading passages with subsequent questions about each passage. It
will test your ability to understand what you read and draw out a conclusion
according to its content.
I found this Verbal
Reasoning Practice Test that you may want to try out.
Test
for Quantitative Reasoning
This test will
measure your mathematical skills using interpretation and analysis based on
numerical information in order to draw a conclusion. Subtests include data
interpretation, data sufficiency and pattern recognition.
You may find
these tips
on quantitative reasoning helpful.
Test
for Critical thinking
The test will
measure your analytical skills and reasoning based on the written propositions
from which you will draw out a conclusion. This basically provides two types of
questions namely analytical reasoning and logical reasoning.
I found some helpful
tips and good critical thinking sample tests that you may practice from here.
Who are exempted from taking the PhilSAT
The PhilSAT provides some exemptions from taking the
admission test in law schools. To qualify you need to be an honor student who
is granted with professional civil service eligibility and is enrolling in law
school within 2 years from graduation. All these conditions must be met.
Who are qualified in taking the PhilSAT
To qualify for taking the PhilSAT you must be:
1. A graduate of a 4-year bachelor's degree or its
equivalent.
2. Graduating student of a 4-year bachelor's degree or its
equivalent at the end of the school year when the admission test is
administered.
3. Graduate of a 4-year bachelor's degree from a foreign
higher education institution certified by CHED.
Where to register for the PhilSAT admission test
The Legal Education Board has
revolutionized the registration for the PhilSAT admission test through an online
registration system. The test date will begin on April 16, 2017 with a testing
fee of P1,000.00. You may register from March 2 until April 3, 2017.
Visit the official PhilSAT online
registration website here.
You may register online here.
Testing Centers
The LEB accredited the following testing centers for the
PhilSAT:
1.
Metro Manila
2.
Baguio City
3.
Legazpi
City
4.
Cebu City
5.
Iloilo City
6.
Davao City
7.
Cagayan de Oro City
Side Note:
The PhilSAT should not deter you from pursuing your dream to
become a lawyer. Take this as an inspiring food for thought from Abraham
Lincoln.
