UP, Ateneo, DLSU, UST: a parent's no-panic review guide

If your senior-high child is targeting a top Philippine university, here's a framework that works:

1. Start early. Earliest meaningful prep: Grade 11, mid-year. Behavioral habit >> cramming.

2. Subject-area diagnostic. Establish a baseline. Where does your child score on a sample test? Plan around the gaps, not around the strengths.

3. Mock tests under time pressure. Doing the questions is not practicing. Practicing is handling the format, the pacing, the panic.

4. Reward the process. Acknowledge small wins. Studying for 4 hours one day is more meaningful than "sitting at the desk for 4 hours."

5. Don't burn out before the test. The final 2 weeks should consolidate, not introduce.