Adamson University runs admission as two separate transactions, and confusing them is the most common way applicants lose money. The first is the AdUCET — an application, a ₱500 entrance fee, and a test slot you pick yourself. The second is enrolment — a different document list, submitted in person, with a ₱5,000 non-refundable down payment. Passing the first does not commit you to the second, and paying the second does not get refunded if you change your mind.
This guide covers what each stage asks for, how the four registration routes differ, and the parts Adamson leaves unpublished. For the university's location, contacts and general profile, see our Adamson University page — this post is about the mechanics.
The four routes, and where you register
Adamson does not run one application form. Its online enrolment page opens with four separate registration entry points:
| You are | Register as |
|---|---|
| An incoming college freshman | College Freshmen Applicant |
| Transferring in, or applying to Doctor of Pharmacy | Transferee and Doctor of Pharmacy Applicant |
| Applying to a master's or doctorate | Graduate School / Studies Applicant |
| Applying to the Juris Doctor programme | Juris Doctor Applicant |
Pick the wrong box and your uploads will not match what the evaluator is looking for. Doctor of Pharmacy sitting under the transferee route, rather than with the freshmen, is the one that catches people out.
Basic Education, Senior High School, International Students and Cross-Enrollees are handled as their own categories with their own procedure pages, separate from the four above.
Stage one: the AdUCET
Name check
The test is the Adamson University College Entrance Test (AdUCET). If you search for the Adamson entrance exam you will also hit the name University Entrance Examination (UEE) — that is what Adamson called it in older material, including news items still live on its own site. Same institution, older name. When you are filling in a form or asking the Admissions Office, use AdUCET.
The six steps Adamson lists
- Register for a new account, or log in if you already have one.
- Complete the online application form and upload the initial requirements.
- Wait for the email notification that your application has been reviewed and approved.
- Pay the ₱500.00 entrance fee through the approved payment channels.
- Choose your preferred AdUCET date and time.
- Download, print and bring your examination permit on the day of your test.
Note the order. You do not pick a test date until after your application is approved and the fee is paid. If you are planning around a specific week, that plan depends on an approval step whose turnaround Adamson does not publish. Apply early.
What you upload, by category
Adamson's AdUCET requirements page splits uploads three ways, and all three carry the same ₱500 non-refundable entrance fee:
- Freshmen — Grade 12 first quarter grades.
- Transferees — true copy of grades, transfer credentials or honorable dismissal, and a certificate of good moral character.
- International students — passport bio page, and either an official transcript of records or scholastic records or a Grade 12 report card.
The freshman application page adds that you may upload the scanned back-to-back copy of the Grade 12 report card (DepEd Form 138) or your Grade 12 first quarter grades for initial evaluation, or a Certificate of Rating if you are an ALS or PEPT passer — plus a recent 2x2 photo on a white background. Files are accepted as JPEG or PDF.
If you are not sure which of your school records is which, our guide to Form 137 vs Form 138 explains what each one is and who releases it.
Stage two: enrolment is a different document list
This is where applicants get surprised. The AdUCET uploads are scans for evaluation. Enrolment requires originals, submitted in person to the Admissions Office, and the list is longer.
For senior high school graduates entering as freshmen, Adamson asks for:
- Original Grade 12 report card (Form 138) with the applicant's eligibility for college admission duly signed by the school principal.
- Original Certificate of Good Moral Character from senior high school, with school seal, dated not earlier than February of the graduation year.
- Clear copy of the original PSA birth certificate.
- Two pieces of 2x2 ID picture.
That February dating rule is real and it is easy to trip over. A good moral certificate issued in your junior year will be rejected. Our good moral certificate guide covers who signs it and how long schools normally take to release one.
Two other document sets exist:
- NFE A&E and ALS A&E graduates submit a Certificate of Rating with passing marks in all subjects, a clear copy of the PSA birth certificate, and the original good moral certificate with the same February dating rule. If that is your route, ALS to college walks through what the certificate does and does not unlock.
- Graduates of schools abroad on an international curriculum must have all documents authenticated or apostille stamped by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate in the country where the school is located.
The enrolment procedure itself
- Submit all original credentials to the Admissions Office.
- Pay the non-refundable down payment of ₱5,000.
- Get a Certificate of Registration.
- Proceed to the ID Section for ID processing.
- Proceed to the University Store to buy the school uniform.
- Attend the Freshmen/Transferee orientation scheduled by the Office for Student Affairs.
The money rules worth reading twice
Adamson states these plainly, and they are the reason to be certain before you pay:
- The ₱500 entrance fee is non-refundable.
- The ₱5,000 down payment for enrolment is non-refundable.
- A payment made after the scheduled enrolment date is not counted as a down payment for enrolment unless the Registrar approves it.
- Cancelling enrolment requires emailing the Admissions Office for a Withdrawal and Cancellation of Enrollment Form. Cancellations within the first week of classes are charged 25% of total school fees; within the second week, 50%. Beyond the second week you are charged in full for all school fees, regardless of whether you attended your classes.
That last clause does not care whether you ever sat in a room. If Adamson is a backup and your first choice is still deciding, the fortnight after classes start is not a free trial period.
Transferees: evaluation and interview, then enlistment
Transferees have their own procedure page, and the shape of it differs from the freshman route in two ways.
The documents go to the Admissions Office for evaluation and interview at application: original true copy of grades, original certificate of good moral character, original transfer credentials or honorable dismissal, a letter of application, a clear copy of the PSA or NSO birth certificate, and two 2x2 ID pictures on a white background.
At enrolment you submit your originals together with your approved accreditation of courses, pay the ₱5,000, then enlist subjects yourself through the eLearning account at Adamson's learning platform, using your student number as username. Adamson states subject enlistment is first-come, first-served, and that you pick from a pre-advised subject list.
Two consequences. First, your accredited units are decided before you enrol, not after, so the number of subjects you can enlist in is already fixed by then. Second, arriving late to enlistment costs you sections, not slots. If you are still weighing whether the move is worth the credit loss, our college transferee guide covers that arithmetic.
Cross-enrollees
A separate and much shorter route. Adamson requires a valid permit to cross-enrol granted by the school where you are officially enrolled, two 2x2 ID pictures and a certificate of good moral character, plus Adamson's own application form to cross-enrol (F-OUR-106) and approvals from the Office for Student Affairs, the Deans and the Registrar's Office. Cross-enrollees follow the enrolment procedures for old students. For consortium-member schools, tuition is paid at the host school.
Graduate School and Juris Doctor
The qualifications are stated as standards rather than cut-off numbers. A master's applicant needs a bachelor's degree from a recognised institution, intellectual capacity and aptitude for advanced studies and research, language proficiency, and whatever additional University requirements the unit imposes, including health clearance. A doctoral applicant needs a master's degree or its equivalent under the same conditions. A Juris Doctor applicant needs a bachelor's degree in arts or sciences or higher from an authorised and recognised university or college, English language proficiency, and critical thinking skills and sound judgment.
The process runs: upload transcript of records, résumé, two 2x2 photos on white background — plus passport bio page and vaccination certificate for international students — then your application goes to the respective Dean for evaluation and accreditation of courses once your documents pass initial assessment. Only after that are you notified of your entrance examination and interview schedule. So for graduate and law applicants the test is not the first gate, the document evaluation is.
What Adamson does not publish
Being straight about the gaps is more useful than guessing at them.
- No passing score, and no per-programme cut-off. Adamson publishes neither a qualifying AdUCET score nor a programme quota.
- No test coverage or item count. There is no published syllabus, subject breakdown or number of items for the AdUCET.
- No published AdUCET calendar. An "AdUCET Schedule" entry sits in Adamson's admission menu but is not currently live; the schedules you can actually choose from appear inside the application portal after approval.
- No stated turnaround between submitting an application and receiving the approval email that unlocks the fee payment and date selection.
- No published weighting between your test result and your Grade 12 grades.
Where a number is not published, we are not going to invent one, and neither should any site you read. If a page tells you the Adamson passing score is a specific figure, ask it where that came from.
Timing: treat it as a pattern, not a date
Adamson's freshman flow is rolling rather than a single national test day: you apply, you get approved, you pay, and then you pick from whatever test schedules are open. Adamson has in the past also run satellite testing outside Metro Manila, so provincial applicants should ask the Admissions Office directly rather than assuming Manila is the only venue.
Do not plan around any date you read anywhere other than Adamson's own portal, including here. And if you are running Adamson in parallel with other schools — which you should be — our comparison of entrance exams in the Philippines shows which other tests fall in the same stretch of the calendar, so you can prepare one document pile rather than five.
Once you have a place, the cost picture is the next question. Our Adamson University tuition fee guide covers what the published schedules do and do not include.
Sources
- New Students and Transferees Enrollment — AdUCET online application guidelines, entrance fee, down payment and cancellation rules, Adamson University
- Adamson University College Entrance Test Requirements — uploads and fee by applicant category, Adamson University
- Qualifications and Requirements for Freshmen — application, enrolment requirements and procedure, Adamson University
- Transferees Student Online Enrollment Procedure and Requirements, Adamson University
- Cross-Enrollees Enrolment Procedure, Adamson University
- Qualifications and Requirements for Graduate School and Juris Doctor, Adamson University
- Admission Overview and contact details for the Admissions and Student Recruitment Office, Adamson University
