IskAbelle

Hi! I'm an Iska named Ysabelle. ^-^ Follow me in my IskaAventures (Iska adventures) in the University of the Philippines - Diliman! (Yippiee!!) I'll be sharing my experiences and tips that helped me get this far. And so far, all that I accomplished was get enrolled hehe :) *I update whenever I'm free.*

[iskadventures-blog]

The Freshie Orientation Program!

8-2-15 (late post)

This was the second time that I met my course-mates, batch-mates or whatever you call it. :) I was so excited to see them and of course, I was also very excited to attend the Freshie Orientation Program (FOP).

The orientation was held on July 11, 2015 at the University Theater. It was supposed to be on July 8, the day after our registration, but it was moved to July 11 because of the heavy rains. I like how they care about our safety. I do wish that they’d care for our safety too in the future. (I heard that college students can mutate into a fish and can withstand the typhoons and floods T_T)

By the way, there is also a Parents Orientation Program happening simultaneously in the UP Film Center.

So... On to the FOP!!

There were a lot of colleges on that day, since it was a catch-all orientation, so the student council grouped us according to our colleges and each college had a color code (College of Home Economics was light green) to help us identify each other.

In the orientation, they told us about the different offices and services that we needed to know. One of the offices that they introduced to us was the Office of Student Housing which manages the dorms in UP. Another one is the Office of Counseling and Guidance. I think we all know what that one means right? Hahaha.

Aside from those offices, they also told us the services UP offers, like the University Food Service and University Health Service.

Overall, it was quite boring, to be honest. But what made us stay awake during the orientation were the performances they prepared especially for us. The UP Singing Ambassadors sang three songs for us and they were so amazing! (Ugghh voice goals, hahaha) The UP Streetdance Club also had a performance and they were awesome as well. The UP Pep Squad were there too and they taught us the UP cheers that we had to memorize for the UAAP this year.

By the way, UP is going to be the host of the UAAP this season! #ProudIskaHere I’m so excited, even though I don’t think that I’ll be able to watch the basketball games live. But I still won’t stop supporting UP or hoping that we’d win the championships. I heard that it’s been a long time since they reached that far into the competition. :(

Oh well, back to the topic!

Wait, what was I saying? Oh yeah, the orientation.

The hosts gave us a chance to ask them some questions about the UP life but only a few asked. I guess most of us were still shy (teehee).

So yeah, that was pretty much it. Haha! The orientation was a bit boring but at least it was informative! We were also given some tips and trivias, like not standing up when reciting and that the Acad Oval is approximately 2.2 kilometers.

After the orientation was done, we went out of the theater and into the lobby. There were some organizations (orgs) that gave out flyers and UFM (University Freshie Month) org gave us a Freshie Survival Kit. It’s not an actual kit with a hand fan and things to bring during classes and stuff like that. It was a big piece of paper that was folded like a brochure and it contained the UP jargons, trivias, and other information that we need to know to “survive” UP. Here’s what it looks like:

“IskAbelle! Why is it just the front page?” 

Well, I wouldn’t want to spoil the fun and just show you all the jargons and tips, right? You wouldn’t be excited to start your UP life if you knew everything already! There’d be no suspense! ;)

Oh, did I mention that there’s also a map at the back showing the routes of the 4 types of jeepneys in UP, as well as the buildings? Pretty neat, eh?

After getting the flyers that were being handed to us, the FLCD Buddies (that’s what our group chat is called) took a groufie together before we went our separate ways.

- - - - -

Oh my gosh. I seriously can’t wait for the first day of classes, which will be this Tuesday, two days from now! I wish I could survive the first semester. No, wait. Scratch that.

I wish I could survive the FOUR years in UP. :)

Wish me luck! - IskAbelle

[iskadventures-blog]

Advance Freshie Registration Guide

8-1-15 (late post)

So here’s a quick run-through of what you, a freshie, have to do during the AFR. :)

1. Attend the orientation. They’ll tell you what to do, where to go, and what the Form 5A and Form 5 look like.

2. Go to your home college for pre-advising. Your adviser will tell you the subjects you still need to get, if CRS didn’t give them to you. :( Make sure you have 2 passport-sized or 2x2 ID pictures for the student directories.

3. Pass your requirements at the OUR (Office of the University Registrar). Here’s the list of things you need to pass:

Original and photocopy of NSO birth certificate, 

Form 138 (4th year High school report card) (they will keep this, FYI)

Form 137 (if you have it already)

Medical certificate from the University Health Service (UHS)

2 copies of the student directory (will be given during pre-advising) 

Form 5A (will be given during pre-advising)

2 self-addressed stamped long white envelopes

4. Enlist for the classes you don’t have yet. Make sure that you make use of your freshie priority and get all the subjects you need! If you don’t have a PE class yet, I highly advise that you get one during enlistment. Sayang kasi eh. And upperclassmen say that PE is a good stress-reliever. ;)

You will receive your Form 5, which consists of the subjects you’ve enlisted in and the breakdown and total of your matriculation fee.

5. Pay your matriculation fee through any of the following modes:

Debit (ATM) card (Credit cards aren’t accepted yet.)

Cash (exact, as in EXACT, amount)

Manager’s or cashier’s check (They don’t accept personal checks from freshies.)

Note: Bank validations aren’t accepted yet during the AFR. But you may have it validated during the Regular Registration instead.

6. Pay for your ID and get an ID picture-taking schedule. The later you get a schedule, the later the date of your ID picture-taking.

Note: You don’t have to do steps 1-6 in one day. You may do it during the duration of the AFR and regular registration. You also don’t have to pay during the registration, since they’ll set a later deadline for payment. Although, I still advise that you pay as soon as possible so that you could get your ID picture taken earlier.

If you’re done with the whole thing, pat yourself on your shoulder for becoming a registered UP-Diliman student! Now treat yourself with your favorite food and enjoy the rest of your summer because classes will start sooner than you know it. :)

[iskadventures-blog]

Advance Freshie Registration (My personal experience)

8-1-15 (late post)

Yes! I’m finished with the pre-enlistment in the CRS (Computerized Registration System). I was able to get into the block that I originally wanted and I got 4 subjects too! 

I got the three block subjects (Psych 101, FLCD 101, and Socio 101) and one block-free subject (Eng 1). Hahaha! I only need to enlist in three more subjects: one MST, one SSP and one PE. It's that amazing? Hahaha.

And how will I (hopefully) get these subjects? Well, I need to fight for one during the Advanced Freshie Registration (AFR). This is when all freshies can register starting on the date that their college can begin the process. Since my course is BS Family Life and Child Development (FLCD) under the College of Home Economics (CHE), our registration began last July 7 (Tuesday) from 8am to 5pm. 

The night before, I checked my requirements again, making sure that I didn’t forget anything. The requirements they asked us to bring were the following:

Original and photocopy of NSO birth certificate, 

Form 138 (4th year High school report card) (they will keep this, FYI)

Form 137 (if you have it already)

Medical certificate from the University Health Service (UHS)

2 copies of the student directory (will be given during pre-advising) 

2 passport-sized pictures (we used these for the student directories)

Form 5A (will be given during pre-advising)

2 self-addressed stamped long white envelopes 

So, since I live in Cainta, Rizal, I needed to wake up at around 6am so that I could leave at around 7am (yes I take so long to prepare) and arrive at our home college in time. Sadly, I arrived fifteen minutes late because I had to wait for my Dad to come home from his night shift job (but yay for moral support!!).

Now here begins the steps of the AFR:

1. Orientation

When I entered the CHE Gusali 2, the short orientation had begun. I just sat on an empty chair, unaware that we had to sit with our fellow blockmates.  

During the orientation, we were told the steps that we’ll be taking during the registration, where to go, what the forms look like, and so on.

Later on, once the orientation has ended, we were asked to form in line with our blockmates. I didn’t know where they were, so I relied on my mega hearing skills (just kidding, I have no super powers, sadly) to find out where the FLCD peeps are. And my non-existent hearing powers lead me to the FLCD group and I joined their line. We then headed to the Child Development Center (CDC) for our pre-advising with adviser.

2. Pre-advising

So, what we did during our pre-advising was meet our block advisers and they gave us our Form 5A, student directories, and ESF. 

This was done alphabetically with a twist. The second half of the alphabetical list gets to go first, and the 1st half, last. I was included in the first half (I was near the end, btw) and therefore, had to wait for five hours! The whole pre-advising was supposed to last only two hours! But since we were a lot (35 only actually), it took us that long. :( The wait took a toll on our registration process. :((

While waiting, we had some games to pass the time. We tried memorizing each other’s names, and other fun games whose titles I don’t recall (hahaha). But it was still fun. Our blockhandlers made sure that we didn’t get bored. Oh, and they also shared some tips and guides for us freshies. They also told us some of their experiences in the UP Life. 

Once my name was called for the pre-advising (thank God!), I met my adviser for the first time and she was really nice. In filling up the Form 5A, I got to choose the subjects that I could enlist in:

Bio 1 for MST

Kas 1 for SSP. And if I couldn’t get Kas 1, I could get Kas 2 or SEA 30 for now.

And a PE

Then I also filled up the two copies of the student directory, as well as the survey form. In the survey form, I wrote down the subjects that I wanted to take for the next semester, so that they would know how many slots or classes they’ll open for that class.

After the pre-advising, I rode a Toki jeep and headed to the Office of the University Registrar (OUR) for the next steps.

3. Registration (Passing of requirements)

This step marks the beginning of waiting in long lines! (Hurrah! *cries*)

I got to the OUR at around 2pm. I formed in line along with the people who were also going to the Admissions and Registration Section of the OUR on the first floor to pass the requirements. The line was soooooo loooong! It reached the second floor! :O *starts mourning for the time I have to kill*

Tippies (tips) for Freshies:

Since this is a really really long process, here are some things that made my patience level remain normal (whut? haha).

- Bring anything that could be a source of entertainment for you (anything that won’t disturb fellow mourners), such as: cellphone, tablet, book, gaming device, mp3 (does this still exist?? hahaha)

- Bring a fan with you (Please don’t bring an electric fan because you’ll have a hard time lugging this around in the moving line) (yes, the line moves XD)

- Bring food! Your stomach will thank you for bringing enough supply. From what I’ve heard, some people haven’t even eaten lunch yet because they were afraid of leaving their line. :(

- Have a chat with your seatmate! You’re lucky (like me) if they’re also your blockmates. ;)

After mourning for the dead time, approximately two hours, I was finally able to pass my requirements.

They got everything except the Form 5A and the stamped envelopes.

After that, I formed in line for the second part of registration: the enlistment. The enlistment center was at the third floor of the OUR. And believe me when I tell you that the end of the line was at the first floor. I am telling the truth. Of course they didn’t cover the whole three floors but it was really long. After an hour of waiting, I only reached the second floor, and wasn’t even close to the stairs going to the third.

Gosh, it was already 5pm and I needed to get home before it turned dark. It was raining already at that time so I left before the rain fell harder.

4. Enlistment 

So, I came back to the OUR the following Monday, the last day of enlistment. Why? Because classes and offices in Quezon City were suspended from July 8 to 10 because of the heavy rain. Some people still went on July 9 and 10 since UP opened their offices for the registration. I didn’t want to risk it so I decided to just go on Monday.

On Monday, I arrived there at half past 7am, so that I would be somewhere near the start of the line. A lot of people arrived there early, but most of them were still going to submit their requirements. There were only a few who were going to enlist already and even fewer people who would pay their tuition.

About an hour later, I was already enlisting the subjects that I needed. I got SEA 30 for my SSP and Bio 1 for my MST (yes!). I couldn’t get a PE because the guy handling my enlistment told me that all the PE’s that were left were not that nice. He probably meant that I couldn’t join them because of my heart condition. Yes, I have a heart condition that prevents me from joining majority of the sports offered by UP (*cries* haha, but I’m okay with it). Then, it took a bit longer to get my Socio 11 because there was only one person out of (i guess) ten who could change pre-enlisted subjects. 

Once I got my Socio 11, they printed my Form 5, which states the classes that I took and the matriculation fee.

After that, I was able to go home at lunch time. :)

5. Payment

I didn’t get to pay during the AFR because my father needed to prepare the amount, which was almost Php 30,000.

Here were the modes of payment for us freshies during the AFR:

Debit (ATM) card

Cash (exact, as in EXACT, amount)

Manager’s or cashier’s check

Then during the Regular Registration (when all the other UP students started enlisting), they also included bank validations if you paid through Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) or Developmental Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

I paid through DBP and I brought the bank receipt (or whatever it’s called, hahaha) and went to the University Theater (the payment center during regular registration) on the second day of the regular reg.

Oh, by the way, freshies had a priority for enlistment on the first day of regular reg, but on the second day, they didn’t have any priority anymore. It didn’t really affect me because I was done enlisitng (yus!).

This process was my favorite part of registration because it only took less than ten minutes. <3 It was probably because I was just validating my bank payment, and most people pay through cash. I was wondering where those people got the courage to bring such a big amount outside their homes or bank. O.o They probably came here in a private vehicle, unlike me, a commuter. :(

After the validation, I paid for the ID fee and got my ID picture-taking schedule. I would get my pretty face’s (just kidding) picture taken on September 16. And they said that I would be able to get my ID right away!

Anyway, I was officially done with registration!! And I am now a registered UP student!! :D *fist pump*

- - - - -

So I hope that you guys enjoyed reading my very first article! I’m sorry if it was so long, but I’m thankful to you guys who read it from start to end. :)

I’ll post a quick guide for things to do during AFR and I hope that it would come in handy for the next batch of freshies. ^_^

With so much love, IskAbelle

P.S. Tell me what you think of my “IskAdventures” okay? Hehehe ;)