Grade 10 students applying to UST Senior High take the SHS form of the USTET (University of Santo Tomas Entrance Test). This guide breaks down all four sections, gives you a review plan to work backward from your test date, and answers the questions applicants ask most — plus a free, timed mock exam built on the same format.
See exam formatSource: UST Office for Admissions (ofad.ust.edu.ph, ustet.ust.edu.ph) · Updated October 2026 · details change each admissions cycle.
Four multiple-choice sections, each timed separately, taken in one sitting. UST doesn't publish item counts for the SHS form, so the counts below are from our mock, which follows the college USTET's structure.
Problem-solving across Grade 7-10 math, from fractions and percentages up to quadratics, sequences, and basic trigonometry.
Tip: Budget about 45 seconds per item. Algebra is the biggest group, so it's the best place to start if your diagnostic shows Math is weak. Logarithms is Grade 11 and isn't part of the SHS form.
See all 29 topics →Broad recall and application across all four JHS sciences, with roughly equal weight on each.
Tip: This is the largest section. Breadth beats depth — a quick review across all four sciences scores better than mastering one. Don't skip Earth Science; it's a full quarter of our mock.
See all 19 topics →Reading comprehension plus vocabulary and grammar items like analogies, synonyms, and error identification.
Tip: It's the shortest section by item count, so each mistake costs more. Read passages actively and watch for signal words like "despite" and "however" in context-clue items.
See all 7 topics →Numerical and abstract (figure-based) reasoning under heavy time pressure — independent of what you learned in class.
Tip: The real section runs at roughly 22 seconds per item. It rewards short, daily, timed drills far more than untimed review, and it's the section applicants most often underestimate.
UST assigns your test date after you apply. Once you have it, plan backward from that date instead of starting review whenever motivation strikes.
Sit a full, timed mock before reviewing anything. It shows which section — Math, Science, English, or Mental Ability — needs the most work, and which specific topics are dragging your score down.
These two sections carry the most items. Revisit the Grade 7-9 topics you may have forgotten — fractions, linear equations, cells, atomic structure, kinematics — alongside what you're learning now in Grade 10.
15-20 minutes a day of timed numerical and abstract reasoning builds the speed this section demands. Short and frequent beats long and occasional.
Review vocabulary and grammar, then run at least one full four-section mock under real timing. Confirm your assigned test date, venue, and what to bring — UST assigns these, so check your permit carefully.
"USTSHAPE" is the name students often use for the UST Senior High School admission test. Officially, UST doesn't run a separate SHAPE exam: Grade 10 applicants to UST Senior High take the SHS form of the USTET (University of Santo Tomas Entrance Test), administered by UST's Office for Admissions (OFAD).
It has the same four sections — Mathematics, Science, English, and Mental Ability — but it's built on Grade 7-10 content instead of senior high material. For example, it doesn't test Grade 11 topics like logarithms.
Students currently in Grade 10 who are applying to UST Senior High School. Applications are done online through the UST Admission Portal: submit your application and documents, wait for OFAD to verify them, pay the exam fee, and download your test permit. Check the portal for the requirements that apply to your situation (for example, PEPT passers or applicants from foreign schools).
Dates change every cycle and UST assigns your specific test date and venue. Testing for incoming senior high students usually happens during the Grade 10 school year. Always confirm current dates on the official UST Admission portal (ustet.ust.edu.ph) or OFAD's announcements.
UST doesn't publish item counts for the SHS form. EdgePrep's mock follows the college USTET's structure for Math, Science, and English (60, 80, and 45 items at 45 minutes each). The real Mental Ability section is about 80 items in 30 minutes; our mock uses a shorter 20-item set at the same pace.
No Filipino section is listed in UST's published coverage. The four sections are Mathematics, Science, English, and Mental Ability, all in English.
UST hasn't publicly confirmed whether wrong answers are deducted. Since it isn't documented either way, answer every item you can reasonably narrow down rather than assuming guessing is free.
Fees differ by applicant type and can change each cycle, and some applicants qualify for waivers. Check the current amounts and waiver rules on the official UST Admission portal before you apply.
Take a full diagnostic mock first, then spend most of your review on the Math and Science topics where you lost the most points — including Grade 7-9 material you may have forgotten. Add short, timed Mental Ability drills every day from early on, since that section rewards speed as much as accuracy.
Every practice session and mock exam feeds into your personal progress dashboard.
A subtopic-level radar so you can spot gaps at a glance — not just an overall score.
Know exactly how long you spend per subtopic — so you can fix pacing before exam day, not during it.
We surface your single highest-impact topic to drill next, based on your recent scores and pacing.
Create a free account and run a full, timed UST SHS mock exam — you'll get a section-by-section score breakdown right after. Also applying to Ateneo or La Salle? See SHS entrance exam prep →