The lowdown on law school entrance exams in the Philippines: Getting in on the competition for slots in the 'Big 3' of Philippine law schools (part 2 of 4)
GETTING IN ON THE COMPETITION FOR SLOTS IN THE 'BIG 3' OF PHILIPPINE LAW SCHOOLS (PART 2 OF 4)
Still undecided on which law school to enroll in?
Still undecided on which law school to enroll in?
The top three law schools in the Philippines by reputation, quality of their alumni, and passing rate in the Bar exams are the College of Law of the University of the Philippines in Quezon City, the Ateneo School of Law in Makati, and the College of Law of the San Beda University in Manila. Each year these schools manage to attract graduates from all over the Philippines. As such, competition for slots in any of these schools is intense.
Among the three, the biggest crowd-drawer is the UP College of Law. By chance, it also happens to have the lowest admission rate. Every year thousands of applicants troop to UP Law's testing centers in UP Diliman, Cebu, and Davao for the annual Law Aptitude Exam or LAE. Of this number, only a handful are privileged enough to be chosen -- around 200 or so to comprise the next academic year's freshman batch. The rest? Well, there's always next year. Or other law schools, for that matter.
Of course one can argue about the quality of UP Law's alumni. Over the years, the institution has produced presidents, justices of the Supreme Court, countless legislators, public officials, and leading figures in the private sector. But at the same time, it's difficult not to take notice of the fact that many graduates of UP Law have not turned out so well in the conduct of their profession, with some of them ending up as corrupt leaders and others as characters of dubious reputation.
Still, the allure and grandeur of the unique UP brand of education beckons for many of the country's best minds, more so when the cost of UP education is put side by side with the tuition in other universities. At UP Law, the maximum cost per unit is P1,500, which is dirt-cheap when you think about it. This can even get lower depending on a student's bracket in the infamous STS system of the university.
Not to be outdone, of course, is the Ateneo School of Law in Rockwell, Makati. Entry to this university is just as tough, given the Jesuit-run school's reputation as a breeding ground for some of tomorrow's best lawyers. Ateneo graduates consistently top the annual Bar exams, which goes to show that its students have higher chances of acing, if not actually topping, what is generally considered as the world's toughest licensure exam for future lawyers.
Compared to other law schools, however, the Ateneo brand of education certainly does not come cheap. Perhaps the one word to describe it would be "prohibitive." As such, the claim that it is a learning institution dominated by students hailing from upper crust families is not exactly without basis, although to be fair, there are also a number of students from not so well-to-do families thriving on account of scholarships and financial aids.
Another force to be reckoned with in the field of legal education in the Philippines is the College of Law of the San Beda College (now University) in Manila. This school is known for its rigid indoctrination of codal provisions down to the tiniest detail. No wonder then that similar to UP Law and Ateneo, San Beda has one of the highest passing rates in the Bar.
There are of course a number of other state-run and private law schools in the Philippines. Together, however, the three schools mentioned above are often called the Big Three, precisely because they are on top of every prospective law student's choices.
[Next in the series: Prepping up your mind for the big day]