I read with amusement the pamphlet entitled “Reasons why DLSU-Manila is the best choice for higher education.” I found this pamphlet in the DLSU application package that my fourth-year-high-school sister brought home. Naturally, I wondered what reasons could La Salle have to claim that they are the “best choice” as opposed to UP Diliman and Ateneo de Manila. According to the pamphlet, “DLSU-Manila is…”

“…the only Philippine private university that’s a member of the ASEAN University Network (AUN)…”

I’m glad they qualified it with the word “private” since UP Diliman is also a member of the AUN.

“…the first Philippine university to earn Level 4 accreditation—the highest level granted by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU)—in 2002…”

This is regularly used by the La Salle trolls in bashing Ateneo. Ateneo will get Level 4 accreditation, and being the first to get to that level is not the end-all-and-be-all of university superiority. UP Diliman is not a member of the PAASCU so it doesn’t have accreditation (which it does not need).

“…ranked as the best private university in the Philippines [Asiaweek 2000]…”

Ah, the much touted 2000 Asiaweek Best Universities survey. Aside from the fact that UP Diliman (#48) kicks DLSU’s butt in the aforementioned survey, the lead of La Salle (#71) over Ateneo (#72) is statistically insignificant (a difference of 0.03 percentage points)—Ateneo and La Salle are pretty much in par. More Asiaweek survey madness can be found in “The Academe” threads over at PinoyExchange.

“…tasked by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as a Zonal Research Center in the National Capital Region…”

I would be remiss not to mention the fact that UP Diliman is also a CHED Zonal Reseach Center in Metro Manila.

“…acknowledged by CHED as having 10 Centers of Excellence in the fields of Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electronics and Communications Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Literature, and Filipino and English Languages…”

Yeah, but UP Diliman has 24 CoEs: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Marine Science, Music, Physics, English, Foreign Languages, Literature, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Communication Arts, Journalism, Architecture, Electrical Engineering, Geodetic Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Anthropology, History, Filipino, and Geology.

“…also acknowledged as having Centers of Development in four fields, namely Business Management, Economics, Civil Engineering, and Industrial Engineering…”

UP Diliman has 8 CoDs: Business, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electronic & Communications Engineering, Mining Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Information Technology.

“…granted Level 3 re-accreditation by PAASCU in the graduate programs of College of Science, College of Liberal Arts, and College of Education in 2004…”

See above.

“…recipient of the 2003 Outstanding Library Award from the Philippine Association of Academic and Research Libraries (PAARL)…”

I will admit that La Salle’s library is definitely one of the most high-tech among the universities in the country. Just one question: who were the winners in the other years? (A little digging reveals that 2001’s winner is the IRRI Library, while 2004’s is the SIL Library.)

“…a consistent top performing school in the Certified Public Accountants licensure examinations (Category 2, with 51–99 examinees) since 1996, according to the Professional Regulatory Commission…”

So DLSU-Manila is probably the best choice when you want to be an accountant, but not necessarily the best choice in general. Besides, I would say that the top schools are just about even when it comes to the board and bar exam.

Don’t get me wrong; I don’t hate La Salle. In fact, I would’ve studied in La Salle if I didn’t go to UP. La Salle is a very good school with excellent facilities and provides great well-rounded education. I just wanted to diss their marketing materials.

The decision to go to one university or the other should largely depend on the course you want to take, and not because of the perceived quality of the university. San Beda is not considered to be one of the top universities in the country but they’ve got a very good law program, comparable to that of the Ateneo Law School and the UP College of Law. So if you wanted to be a lawyer, San Beda is definitely one option. A law student should not dismiss it because of its perceived lack of prestige.