Taking the UP ITTC Exam

Date: Saturday, May 6, 2006
Time: 8:00 am
Venue: Room 303, Math Building, UP Diliman Campus, QC

First things first, if you're wondering what ITTC means, check out this site. If you're too lazy to click the link, read on.

UP ITTC is the acronym for Univerisity of the Philippines Information Technology Training Center. Its goal is to "fill the IT industry gap in the Philippines" due to "inadequate practical training and industry experience". Ouch!

So there I was last Saturday together with more than a hundred people, ages between (based on the wrinkles, frownlines, and number of white hair) 20 and 40, aspiring to be one of the final 75 who will study for a year, choose among the three tracks: embedded systems, application development, and network administration, and hopefully be UP ITTC certified by 2007. Out of the 75, 50 will be on scholarship grant, and also learn Nihonggo at the same time thereby increasing one's chances of working in Japan. Wakarimasu? (I know it's supposed to be wakarimasuka but I'd like to say understand? as in "understand?" with a question mark in English :D) My friend, who's so interested (bordering on obssession) with Japan's culture, would die with envy if he heard about this, and would most probably not talk to me for a year for not telling him in the first place.

Anyway, going back to the exam, it lasted for a total of 3 hours (that is without the breaks) and it was composed of 4 parts: verbal aptitude, reading comprehension, logic and reasoning, and math. I am going to break them down here, get to the specifics, and tell you what to expect. I am not so sure about the number if items and the total alloted time for each part (If you were there and know that what I wrote here is incorrect, please correct me). On the other hand, I am sure that the total time (in minutes) for the 4 parts is 180. So if you're not interested in taking the exam, click the X button on the upper right of the window because this post won't do you any good.

1. Verbal Aptitude (30-35 items 40 mins)
   I remember the very first item was a sentence with a phrase underlined and one was to choose among the choices. There was no instructions what to look for. The clue was just the underlined phrase. Now this wasn't the sort of verbal aptitude test that I was used to. It took me several seconds to collect my bearing and rearrange my thoughts. I had to reread it a couple of times till it finally sank in. Between the lines, the item said "Choose among the choices that would best replace the underlined phrase." Brush up on your grammar: past, present, past participle, present participle, singular-plural, noun-verb, etc. As far as that exam was concerned, its focus was on sentences. One word though, what's hardwired?
   
   
2. Reading Comprehension (30-35 items 50 mins)
   Prepare to read a lot of essays and portions of essays. This one, I expected. Brush up on topic sentences and contexts. Answer it as fast as you can so that you may spend the remaining time sleeping, or if you want, reviewing your answers. I had a hard time keeping myself from dozing off.
   
   
3. Logic and Reasoning (30-35 items 40 mins)
   As far as that exam was concerned, there was no abstract reasoning, no pictures or images to look at. Brush up on Philo 101. Trust me. You'll ace the test if you do. Remember
   
   No geese are felines.
   Some birds are geese.
   Therefore, Some birds are not felines.
   Think along these lines: What premise would make the conclusion incorrect? Of course, in the above example, the conclusion has already been given but think about premises and given these premises, what would be the conclusion. Think of the premises starting with "always" or "never" and what would negate them.
   
   
4. Mathematics (35-40 items 50 mins)
   Expect algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. Remember these:
   
   
   
   • SOHCAHTOA
     
   • d=rt
     
   • a triangle = 180 degerees
     
   • angles
     
   • pythagorean theorem
   • permutation
   • slope = rise/run
   • volumes
   • formula for the different shapes
   • 2 pie R
   • radius and radian
     
   • and etc
     
   
   Better yet, grab your high school books on these subjects.
   

So there's your UP ITTC exam in a post. If you're going to take the exam next year, I'm telling you, prepare for it! I certainly wish I did!