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| Source: http://www.rappler.com/nation/168998-list-2017-philsat-results |
The Philippines had no national examination for students who want to get into the legal profession before. But in 2017, this changed with the accreditation of the Center for Educational Measurement to conduct the Philippine Law School Admission Test (PhiLSAT). It is the nationwide test that aspiring law students have to take to be admitted to any law school in the country. I was one of the lucky few who were able to take the very first PhiLSAT in history.
For 2017, the passing score was set at 45 percent, taking into consideration that it is the first time this test was conducted, and there was a scarcity of review materials. To find out more about PhiLSAT, click here.
Application Process
The application process was quite easy. You just had to fill out a form then pay Php 1000 for the exam fee. A few weeks before the test, you just have to check out your account to print out the examination permit. I had a little trouble with this part though. You had to upload a 2’’ by 2’’ picture on the website, and it has to be exactly in those dimensions. You can’t stretch the photo out. I had paid extra during the picture-taking process so I would be able to get a soft copy of the picture, but somehow, the file got corrupted. I had to scan the picture and had to spend quite a long time trying to adjust it to the correct size. But other than that, applying to the exam was easy.
The Morning of the Exam
The exam was scheduled at 7:00 a.m., and it was clearly stated in the examination permit that late students will not be admitted. It’s written in capitals and in red. I took the test at Cebu, where the venue is at the University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR). Since I had not been there before, I had to wake up super early so that if anything went wrong and I go to the wrong location, I’d still have time.
I woke up before 3:00 a.m., even before my alarm went off. It wasn’t because of exam anxiety or anything. I woke up because of the noise. When I finally realized where the noise had come from, I was a bit nervous. It was the sound of heavy rain.
I went out to get breakfast and discovered that the water was already quite deep. But I had to brave the flood because #foodislife. After breakfast, I got ready. I wore yoga pants so I could easily roll them up, and slippers so my feet won’t smell like a dead rat during the exam. I packed my shoes in my bag and prayed that the rain would stop.
Getting to the Exam Venue
I took a jeepney to get to USJR. I was afraid to get on a taxi because they are quite low, and I didn’t know the flood situation downtown. It was a good thing the jeepney had a foreman. I asked him to drop me off at USJR. When I got there, there was already a line formed outside. People of all ages were there, ready to take the exam. I, on the other hand, struggled to find a place where I could change from my slippers to my shoes.
I lined up with the rest, and that’s when I met Zelle, a fellow examinee from Bohol. I was not able to get her full name or her number, but she was truly a blessing to me. She didn’t have breakfast yet, and she just got off the boat from Bohol. She said there was a nearby 7-Eleven where I could change and she could have breakfast. I brought denim jeans with me, but I decided to just go with the yoga pants because they were more comfortable. PhiLSAT does not have a strict rule on the clothes you should wear during the exam. So there were examinees who looked like they were going to do a product presentation while there were others who looked like they were headed for the golf course. I looked like I was going to the gym afterward, but I didn’t care. I didn’t know anybody there anyway.
During the Exam
When I found the right room and the right seat, I stayed put until the proctor arrived. They were tasked to read instructions from a booklet and gave us pointers and reminders for the exam. The test had four parts, which is outlined in the snippet below.
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Source: Center for Educational Measurement
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Each subtest had fifty questions, for a total of two hundred questions. The exam had to be completed in three hours. The good thing was that you were allowed to continue to the next subtest after you’ve finished the previous one. This gave me more time to deal with the harder items. The proctor informed us after the ideal time set for each subtest what subtest we should be on at that moment. She’d say something like “By now, you should be on the third part.”
In terms of difficulty, I would say the test was really quite hard. It not only tested our ability on the areas involved but also tested our personalities. Doing the math, we had only fifty-four seconds to answer each question. Speed was important. There was no time to worry or panic. You had to be fast in reading the questions and, in the last part, in solving math problems.
If you’re looking for a sample question here, however, I’m afraid I’d have to disappoint you. It is clearly stated in the rules that we are not allowed to share any information regarding the content of the exam.
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Source: Center for Educational Measurement
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Results
The exam took place on April 16, 2017, and the results were scheduled to be released twenty-one days after. I found out from my friend that an initial list was out. The Legal Education Board posted on their Facebook page the list of examinees who got 90 percent and above on the exam. By the grace of God, I was one of them. A few days later, we were e-mailed the breakdown of our scores.
Taking the exam was definitely a memorable experience for me, one that I would never forget. It marks the first step of my aspiration to become a lawyer. It is only the beginning though. I hope and pray that I would be able to be consistent in the next four years in law school, which I will be documenting in this blog. For all of you who are aspiring to get into the legal profession, I wish you luck, and let’s support each other. It will be a tough journey, but we’ll get there eventually.
It's a Ping Thing 
Hi. Do you have an answer key for the philsat booklet 2? Thank you.
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Hi. Do you have an answer key for the philsat booklet 2? Thank you.
LikeLike