Getting into Bukidnon State University is not simply a matter of passing a test. BukSU ranks every applicant by percentile against everyone else who sat the exam in that period, and that rank decides not just whether you get in but whether you are allowed to choose a board course at all. That is the single most important thing to understand before you apply.
Here is the whole process, from what you upload to what your Report of Rating actually means.
The BukSU-CAT
Undergraduate entry runs through the BukSU College Admission Test (BukSU-CAT), administered by the Admission and Testing Unit. It is free for all Grade 12 students and senior high school graduates who have not yet enrolled in college. Second coursers pay a testing fee, published by BukSU at ₱300, and BukSU states that if more than five years have passed since your last school attendance you must take the test.
You can take the BukSU-CAT once per school year. Duplicate accounts are not allowed.
What you need to apply
Everything goes through the online portal at admissions.buksu.edu.ph. You will need:
- A personal Gmail account
- A soft copy of a 2x2 ID picture, wearing a plain white t-shirt on a white background
- One document matching your applicant category, as listed below
| Applicant type | Document required |
|---|---|
| Currently enrolled Grade 12 student | Certification from the school principal confirming you are a Grade 12 student |
| Senior high school graduate | Report card or high school diploma |
| Transferee | Transcript of Records or Honorable Dismissal, or a certification from your registrar confirming current enrolment |
| Lifelong learner | High school diploma |
| ALS graduate | ALS Certificate of Rating (Secondary Level) and ALS Diploma or Certification of Completion from DepEd |
| Second courser | Transcript of Records |
| Returnee | Certificate of Last School Attended from the Registrar |
BukSU has separately noted that returnees who stopped studying at BukSU before 2018 request their certification through a dedicated form rather than through the normal registrar route.
The ALS route is a real, published pathway here, which is worth knowing because many Alternative Learning System completers assume state universities are closed to them. Our ALS to college pathway guide covers what to prepare.
Rules the university spells out
BukSU is unusually direct about the mistakes that get applications thrown out. From its own guidelines:
- Fill everything out accurately. Incorrect or incomplete entries can lead to disapproval or disqualification, or to errors on your Report of Rating. The Admission and Testing Unit will not edit your entries afterwards.
- Consult your parents or guardians before choosing your preferred campus and testing venue. Campus transfers are not allowed during enrolment. This matters more than it sounds, because BukSU runs a main campus on Fortich Street, Malaybalay City plus sixteen satellite campuses, and the programme lists differ.
- Upload all documents before the stated deadline. Late or incomplete applications are not accepted.
- No onsite applications on test day. Only scheduled applicants sit the exam.
- Keep your phone line open for verification calls if there is a problem with your uploaded documents.
The application window is a pattern, not a fixed date
For the AY 2026-2027 cycle, BukSU ran its online application from mid-November through late March, with the document upload deadline falling at the end of March. That has been the general shape: applications open in the last quarter of the calendar year and close before the start of the second quarter of the next.
Do not treat that as next cycle's schedule. BukSU publishes the actual dates on admissions.buksu.edu.ph and through the Admission and Testing Unit's official channels, and they move. Check the portal.
What your Report of Rating means
This is the part most guides get wrong. BukSU does not publish a raw passing score. It publishes a percentile rank, which tells you how you performed relative to the other people who sat the test in that admission period.
For the AY 2026-2027 cycle, BukSU published these bands:
| Percentile rank | What BukSU said it means |
|---|---|
| 80% and above | You scored higher than 80% or more of the group. BukSU offers enrolment in either board or non-board courses. |
| 45% to 79% | You can enrol at BukSU, but offerings are limited to non-board courses only. |
| 44% and below | Your score falls below the university cut-off, implying a minimal chance of admission. |
These bands are set per admission cycle and BukSU can change them. Treat the numbers above as how the system worked in one recent cycle, not as a permanent rule.
Passers are also grouped into batches by percentile rank, and the batch determines when you may confirm your enrolment. Higher-ranked applicants confirm first and get priority for programmes with licensure examinations. Missing your confirmation window can forfeit your slot, and BukSU states the slot may then be offered to other applicants.
BukSU also stresses that passing the BukSU-CAT is only one step. Admission also depends on programme-specific requirements and available slots, and some programmes run further evaluation because slots are limited. For the AY 2026-2027 first semester, BukSU said the main campus could accommodate a maximum of 2,190 first-year students across all programmes, in line with its absorptive and carrying capacities.
On the Affirmative Action Program: BukSU has informed applicants that it will no longer accept letter requests for AAP, and that AAP admission is granted only where the percentile rank on the official Report of Rating already meets the requirement of the preferred course.
Your Report of Rating and your enrolment confirmation both live inside your BukSU Admissions account. Log in at admissions.buksu.edu.ph with your registered email.
Board versus non-board courses at the main campus
Because your percentile rank can lock you out of board courses entirely, it is worth knowing which programmes fall on which side. This is the split BukSU published for its main campus:
Board courses
- College of Business: BS Accountancy
- College of Education: Bachelor of Early Childhood Education; Bachelor of Elementary Education; Bachelor of Physical Education; Bachelor of Secondary Education majors in English, Filipino, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science
- College of Technologies: BS Food Technology
- College of Nursing: BS Nursing
Non-board courses
- College of Public Administration and Governance: Bachelor of Public Administration
- College of Arts and Sciences: BA Economics; BA English Language; BA Philosophy; BA Sociology; BS Community Development; BS Development Communication; BS Mathematics; BS Biology major in Biotechnology; BS Environmental Science major in Environmental Heritage Studies
- College of Business: BS Business Administration major in Financial Management; BS Hospitality Management
- College of Technologies: BS Automotive Technology; BS Electronics Technology; BS Entertainment and Multimedia Computing major in Digital Animation Technology; BS Information Technology
If a licence is the point of your degree, the courses with board exams guide explains which fields require one and which do not.
Separate tracks: law, medicine and graduate study
Three parts of BukSU do not run through the BukSU-CAT.
College of Law
Entry is through the College of Law Admission Test (CLAT). Applicants submit a 2x2 photo, an undergraduate transcript, honorable dismissal for non-BukSU graduates, a certificate of general weighted average with a minimum of 2.5, an accomplished Juris Doctor application form, a letter of intent addressed to the Dean, and an accomplished recommendation form.
The recommendation requirement is stricter than most: two recommenders, each an academic, professional or character reference not related to the applicant within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity, and the form must be submitted by the recommender directly, either onsite at the Dean's Office or by email. Applicants are not permitted to hand-carry it.
Graduating students apply with a registrar's certification of graduating status instead of a transcript. Transferees submit a Juris Doctor transcript and a certificate of transfer credentials.
College of Medicine
BukSU launched a Doctor of Medicine programme, and applicants apply directly to the College of Medicine. The published criteria:
- Filipino citizenship
- At least a baccalaureate degree, preferably in the health sciences, completed within five years of application. If it has been longer, a health-related refresher course of at least one semester totalling 12 units is required, with Biochemistry, Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy and Organic Chemistry recommended. This may be waived for applicants with health-related research work or healthcare institution employment.
- An NMAT result of at least 60, taken within two years prior to admission
- A general weighted average of at least 80%, certified by the registrar and noted by the dean
- Good moral character, with no final conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude
BukSU also states a preference for applicants who are members of an Indigenous Cultural Community and who come from Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas, or from conflict- or disaster-prone areas.
Documents include the completed BukSU-COM application form, a recent 2x2 photo, a certified true copy of the transcript, the GWA certification, a certified true copy of the diploma, a photocopy of the NMAT result, and honorable dismissal for non-BukSU graduates. Our NMAT guide explains how the NMAT percentile is computed and when to sit it.
Graduate studies
Graduate programmes use a Graduate Program Admission Test with its own schedule. Requirements published for a recent cycle: a soft copy of a 2x2 ID picture, a scanned transcript of records, a scanned honorable dismissal, and proof of payment of the admission exam fee, published at ₱675.00. BukSU noted that walk-ins are accepted provided you bring the requirements. Our graduate school admission requirements guide covers what most Philippine universities ask for.
Cost
BukSU is a state university, so tuition and other school fees for qualified Filipino undergraduates are covered by Republic Act 10931, the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. The law covers tuition and school fees only. Books, board, transport and living costs are not included, and students who already hold a bachelor's degree are excluded from free tuition.
BukSU publishes a detailed list of tuition and standard school fees as a downloadable document rather than as a table on the page, so specific amounts should be taken from that document or from the Cashiering Office rather than from a third-party estimate. For what free tuition does and does not cover, see our free tuition guide.
Practical order of operations
- Decide on your campus first, not your course. Campus transfers are not allowed during enrolment.
- Prepare your category document and a compliant 2x2 photo (plain white shirt, white background, unfiltered).
- Register at admissions.buksu.edu.ph within the published window, upload everything, and double-check every field before submitting.
- Wait for your schedule, sit the test, and keep your phone line open.
- When your Report of Rating appears in your account, note your percentile band and your batch, because both control what you may choose and when you may confirm.
- Confirm within your batch window. Missing it can forfeit your slot.
- If your programme runs further evaluation, complete it with the college.
For contact, the Admission and Testing Unit sits in the College of Public Administration and Governance building, in front of the College of Business building, and handles all admission-related matters. How BukSU's test compares with other state and private entrance exams is covered in entrance exams in the Philippines compared.
What BukSU does not publish
Test coverage. BukSU does not publish the subjects, item count or time limit of the BukSU-CAT. Any "BukSU-CAT reviewer" claiming to match the actual coverage is guessing.
Per-programme cut-offs. The percentile bands are university-wide. BukSU does not say what rank a specific programme requires, only that programmes with limited slots evaluate further.
Satellite-campus programme lists in one place. The board and non-board split above is for the main campus. If you are applying to one of the sixteen satellite campuses, ask that campus what it offers before you lock in your choice.
Sources
- Bukidnon State University, Admissions portal and announcements: https://admissions.buksu.edu.ph/
- Bukidnon State University, BukSU-CAT online application steps and requirements: https://admissions.buksu.edu.ph/posts/8/
- Bukidnon State University, BukSU CAT application requirements and guidelines: https://admissions.buksu.edu.ph/posts/24/ and https://admissions.buksu.edu.ph/posts/25/
- Bukidnon State University, Program offerings, main campus (board and non-board): https://admissions.buksu.edu.ph/posts/21/
- Bukidnon State University, Graduate Program Admission Test announcement: https://admissions.buksu.edu.ph/posts/23/
- Bukidnon State University, College of Medicine online admission application: https://admissions.buksu.edu.ph/posts/26/
- Bukidnon State University, College of Law Admission Test requirements: https://admissions.buksu.edu.ph/posts/28/
- Bukidnon State University, List of Tuition and Standard School Fees: https://buksu.edu.ph/tuition-and-standard-school-fees-2025/
- Bukidnon State University, Colleges and satellite campuses: https://buksu.edu.ph/colleges/
- Republic Act No. 10931, Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act of 2017, via LawPhil: https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2017/ra_10931_2017.html
