UPCAT 60-Day Study Plan 2026: Aug 1-2 Sitting Schedule

A 60-day UPCAT study plan is the realistic minimum if you want to walk into the August 1, 2026 testing centre prepared on all four sub-tests. Less than 60 days and you'll cut content corners. More than 90 and most reviewees burn out before test day. Two months is the sweet spot — long enough to cover content, short enough to maintain intensity.

This guide gives you a complete 60-day upcat study plan with weekly themes, daily drill counts, and built-in mock weeks. Designed for Senior High Seniors balancing review with their final SHS semester. Adjust as needed for your starting baseline.

The Plan at a Glance

Eight weeks. Four sub-tests. Roughly 2 hours of focused review per weekday and 4 hours on weekends. Total time investment — around 130 hours across 60 days, which is enough to cover the full UPCAT content map and run two full-length mocks.

Weeks 1–2 — Diagnostic + Math foundation.
Weeks 3–4 — Science (biology and chemistry blocks).
Weeks 5–6 — Science (physics and earth science) + Language Proficiency.
Week 7 — Reading Comprehension + mixed mocks.
Week 8 — Full mock, review, taper, test day.

The four UPCAT sub-tests (Math, Science, Language Proficiency, Reading Comprehension) feed into your UP Predicted Grade. The 60-day plan distributes weight roughly proportional to historical sub-test difficulty, with extra time on Math and Science (the heavier-content sub-tests).

Week 1: Diagnostic and Mental Math

Don't start by reading textbooks. Start by knowing your baseline.

Day 1 — Run a 60-minute diagnostic mock covering all four sub-tests. Score honestly. Identify your weakest two sub-tests.
Days 2–4 — Mental math drills, no calculator. 30 minutes a day. Target — multiplication fluency, percentage swaps, fraction-to-decimal conversions.
Days 5–7 — Math content review. Arithmetic, number properties, basic algebra. 25 items per day with full rationale review.

Week 2: Math Deep Dive

Lock down the math content you can't afford to miss.

Days 8–10 — Algebra. Linear equations, systems, quadratics, factoring. 25–30 items daily.
Days 11–12 — Geometry. Area, perimeter, similar triangles, coordinate geometry. 25 items daily.
Day 13 — Trigonometry basics + functions. 20 items.
Day 14 — Math sub-test mock (50 items, 60 minutes, no calculator). Score, review, identify gaps.

Week 3: Biology + Chemistry Foundation

The two highest-yielding science blocks. Roughly 28 items combined on test day.

Days 15–17 — Biology. Cell biology, genetics, ecology, basic physiology. 25 items per day.
Days 18–20 — Chemistry. Periodic table, atomic structure, bonding, stoichiometry, acids and bases. 25 items per day.
Day 21 — Mixed bio + chem drill (40 items). Review every wrong answer.

Week 4: Physics + Earth Science

Lighter content load, easier content. Bank these items.

Days 22–24 — Physics. Mechanics (Newton's laws, kinematics), waves, basic electricity, optics. 20 items per day. Heavy on proportional reasoning.
Days 25–26 — Earth and space science. Plate tectonics, weather, astronomy basics, Philippine geography. 25 items.
Day 27 — Full science mock (50 items, 60 minutes). Mixed all four domains.
Day 28 — Review the science mock. Document weak topics for week 7.

Week 5: Language Proficiency — English Half

Pivot to verbal sub-tests. English grammar fundamentals.

Days 29–31 — Subject-verb agreement, pronoun reference, tense consistency. 25 items per day.
Days 32–33 — Modifier placement, parallelism, sentence correction. 25 items per day.
Day 34 — Diction and word choice. 20 items.
Day 35 — English language mini-mock (25 items). Review thoroughly.

Week 6: Language Proficiency — Filipino + RC Intro

Filipino grammar plus the start of Reading Comprehension training.

Days 36–38 — Filipino grammar. Mga bahagi ng pananalita, aspekto ng pandiwa, ayos ng pangungusap, panghalip panao. 25 items per day.
Day 39 — Wastong baybay and bantas. 20 items.
Days 40–41 — Begin Reading Comprehension. Skim-first method drills. 2 passages per day, timed.
Day 42 — Full language proficiency mock (40 items, mixed English and Filipino).

Week 7: Reading Comprehension + Mixed Mocks

RC depth plus the first full-length integrated mock.

Days 43–45 — RC drills. 3 passages per day, timed at 10 minutes each. Mix English and Filipino passages.
Day 46 — RC mock (35 items, 60 minutes).
Day 47 — Review every RC wrong answer with passage notes.
Day 48 — First full UPCAT mock (all four sub-tests, full timing). Run as if it were test day.
Day 49 — Full review of mock 1. Identify the two weakest sub-tests for final-week focus.

Week 8: Final Push, Mock 2, Taper

Don't over-study in the last week. Diminishing returns set in. Your nervous system needs rest.

Days 50–52 — Targeted weak-topic review. 60 minutes per day max. Hit the two weakest sub-tests from mock 1.
Day 53 — Second full UPCAT mock. Full timing.
Day 54 — Mock 2 review. Note final gaps but don't panic-cram.
Day 55 — Light review. Re-read your formula sheet for math, your mental math shortcuts, your high-yield science facts. 90 minutes.
Day 56 — Logistics day. Confirm testing centre, print extra permits, organise pencils, plan travel. 30 minutes of light review only.
Day 57 — Rest day. No drilling. Read for fun (formal English or Filipino prose; trains the eye).
Day 58 — Light pre-test review. 30 minutes max. Sleep early.
Days 59–60 — Test days (August 1–2, 2026). Walk in calm.

Daily Time Budget

The plan assumes roughly:

Weekdays — 90 to 120 minutes of focused review. Split into a 60-minute drill block and a 30-minute review-rationale block.
Weekends — 3 to 4 hours. Include one full sub-test mock per weekend after week 2.
Sleep — 7 hours minimum. Sleep debt destroys retention. This isn't optional.

Energy Management Through the 60 Days

Most plans treat energy as constant. It isn't. Sixty days of high-intensity prep takes a real physical and mental toll, and reviewees who don't manage energy crash by week 6 — exactly when the heaviest mocks are scheduled.

Sleep

Seven to eight hours minimum. Not negotiable. Sleep is when your brain consolidates the day's drilling. Skip sleep, lose retention. Late-night drilling sessions feel productive but cost more than they earn. Most students should be in bed by 10:30 pm during the prep, especially in weeks 6 to 8.

Nutrition and Hydration

You don't need a bodybuilder's diet. Three regular meals, water across the day (target 2L), and skip the late-night junk food binges that wreck your sleep. Coffee is fine; cap at two cups before noon to protect your sleep window.

Movement

Twenty minutes a day of any cardio — walking, light running, biking. Cardio improves working memory and reduces anxiety. Reviewees who add a daily walk consistently outperform their pre-walk baseline by week 4.

Social Time

Don't isolate. Two hours a week with friends or family doing nothing related to UPCAT keeps you grounded. Reviewees who go full hermit through the 60 days hit a wall by week 5.

What to Drop From the Plan

If you're starting from a strong baseline (say, a school that's UP-feeder caliber), trim:

Days 8–10 algebra block if you're already strong. Replace with extra word-problem drills.
Day 26 earth science if you're confident on Philippine geography and astronomy. Use the time for math.
Day 35 mini-mock if your English baseline is strong. Skip and add an extra RC day.

Don't trim the full mocks. Day 27, Day 42, Day 48, Day 53. Those four full-length mocks are the foundation. Skipping any of them puts you on test day with no real pacing data.

How Super Tutor's UPCAT Track Implements This Plan

Our UPCAT track ships with a 60-day curriculum that mirrors this plan — daily drill sets pre-tagged by sub-test and topic, with automated weekly mocks at week 4 and week 7. The platform tracks your weak topics across all four sub-tests and adjusts later weeks if you're consistently missing items in a domain. Focused Yearly is ₱1,999/year.

Pair this with the Complete UPCAT Guide 2026 and the sub-test-specific guides — math, science, language, and reading comprehension. STM has a printable weekly tracker at supertutor.ph/resources/exams/upcat/study-plan-tracker and a sample mock answer key at supertutor.ph/resources/exams/upcat/practice-mocks. UP context lives at upadmissions.up.edu.ph.

FAQs

Is 60 days enough if I'm starting from a low baseline?

It's tight. If your diagnostic mock score is in the bottom third of typical UPCAT performers, stretch to 90 days. Add an extra two weeks at the front of week 1 to rebuild math and science foundations.

Can I do this plan while still in SHS?

Yes — that's how it's designed. The 90 to 120 minute weekday budget assumes you're balancing school. Don't try to layer this on top of a heavy school schedule without dropping the lowest-priority extracurriculars.

What if I get sick during the plan?

Two or three sick days won't break the plan. A full week off requires you to compress later weeks — drop the lowest-yield blocks (earth science, polygraph-equivalent low-weight items) before sacrificing mocks.

Should I take more than two full mocks?

Three is fine. Four starts cutting into review time. Each mock requires a full day of review afterwards; without review, the mock teaches you nothing.

Next Steps