UPCAT · Mathematics
UPCAT Mathematics review — practice the way you'll be tested
Mathematics is one of the four UPCAT subtests, and you take it without a calculator. UP doesn't publish the number of items or the time per subtest, so the safest plan is to cover the high-school math syllabus broadly and get fast at working by hand.
The official rules
The UPCAT has four subtests — Language Proficiency and Reading Comprehension (both in English and Filipino), Mathematics and Science — in a paper-based test that takes about five hours. Phones and calculators aren't allowed. UP doesn't publish item counts, subtest weights or a rule for wrong answers, and it combines your UPCAT score with your Grades 8–11 grades without publishing the weighting.
The last UPCAT was held on 1–2 August 2026. The next one is expected in August 2027 but hasn't been announced by the UP Office of Admissions yet. In recent cycles applications opened in March and the test ran on the first weekend of August.
Source: UP Office of Admissions — About the UPCAT. Rules can change — confirm with the UP Office of Admissions before you file.
Mathematics chapters in the Super Tutor UPCAT reviewer
- Arithmetic — multiples, factors, PEMDAS, fractions and decimals
- Ratio and proportion
- Algebra — sets, exponents, radicals, polynomials and equations
- Word problems — number, age, work, motion, mixture, investment
- Geometry — lines, angles, polygons, triangles and circles
- Perimeter, area, volume and the equation of a line
- Trigonometry
- Statistics and probability
Where students lose points
Without a calculator, slow arithmetic eats the time you need for the harder problems. Most lost points come from set-up errors in word problems and small computation slips, not from topics you've never seen.
How to study it
- 1Do all your practice by hand from the first day
- 2After each chapter, answer practice questions before you move on
- 3Keep an error log and redo the questions you got wrong a week later
- 4Practice turning word problems into equations before solving them
- 5Take at least one full timed practice test before exam day
How Super Tutor helps
Mathematics in the UPCAT reviewer
The Super Tutor UPCAT reviewer has a Mathematics subject with the chapters above: every chapter comes as a summary, study notes, flashcards, a concept map, a cheat sheet and more, with practice quizzes at three difficulty levels and an explanation for each answer. When an explanation doesn't click, ask the AI tutor a follow-up. Full UPCAT mock exams drawn from 700+ exam-style questions — one on the free trial, more on paid plans.
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