How I Prepared for the Philippine Science High School NCE

Last October 20, 2018, 32 651 bright students took the Philippine Science High School National Competitive Exam (PSHSS NCE) and only 1,470 students (4.5%) passed and only the top 240 (Top 0.7%) were qualified  to enroll at the Main Campus.

Luckily, I was one of the lucky ones who got admitted at Main Campus.

All throughout my grade school days (and probably kinder too), I was preparing for this tough exam.  Good thing my parents had that foresight.

My parents made sure that I have a solid foundation in Math, Science and English early on. They bought a lot of books in these subjects, enrolled me in enrichment classes in math & reading.

Most importantly, they also made me join math training organizations like MTG and AMSLI.  This ensured that my Math competency is way advanced than most.  They were also very supportive in sending me for local and international math competitions.  This developed not only my math competency but my test taking skills as well.

I was a bit confident on the Math part already, so 1 year before the Pisay NCE, I started to focus on High School Science subjects such Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.  I must admit I didn't fully grasp all the concepts but it still added something in my Science knowledge.  I also joined Vanda International Science Competition thru AMSLI, and luckily I got a Silver Award.

Three months before the NCE, I shifted my focus on Verbal Ability.  For this, I used mostly SAT books, which is actually for incoming college.  It was very challenging for me, especially the vocabulary and the reading part, but I reckon if I find this difficult, hopefully I will find the English part of the NCE easy.

Last week before the exam was spent preparing mostly for the Abstract Reasoning.

I will sharing more tips on how to increase your chances in passing the Philippine Science High School NCE in my next blog.