my goodness. rasputin has changed his theme from being a former student to an owner. I knew all along that rasputin is really the owner of brain train and that is why he is increasingly promoting his review center. look at his answer in a previous question.
https://answersrip.com/question/index?qid=20080212220812AAAdayb
Now to answer your question. You don't really need to enroll in a review center to Pass the UPCAT. however, review centers can really help. However, i do agree with rasputin on one note; fly by night review centers are definitely a waste of money.
here is a more detailed and non compromising review of the review centers as follows, (for some reason that only he knows, rasputin has omitted his best competitor from the list that he has reviewed so i'm including all 5 of the best review centers in the country, including rasputin's review center):
I've selected 5 review centers with websites for you to check. In alphabetical order
ACHEIVERS review:
website: http://www.achieversreview.com
locations: katipunan and marikina
price: quite expensive but their prices vary with the amount of hours.
track record: im not really sure, i cant find any info on this but i could say that a few of the teachers seem to have good credentials.
review programs: review packages and online review
rating: i would rate achievers as ok based on the available info. their website may need some more improvement.
AHEAD Review
website: http://www.ahead.com.ph
location: katipunan, greenhills, alabang, galeria, dagupan
price: quite steep, but if you're willing to shell out the money, the review might be good
track record: 8 years of operation, high in terms of numbers although it's quite confusing to see who passed UP, ateneo or la salle
review programs: 19 4-hr sessions
rating: i would rate AHEAD as high based on the track record and high market awareness. they also have a nice website where you can find lots of info.
BRAIN TRAIN Review
website: http://www.brain-train.com
location: los baños, calamba, san pedro, lucena and davao i think
price: probably the cheapest in the list because of provincial operations
track record: the oldest review center i found. almost 16 years and they do have a high number of passers (more than 100 but i stopped counting at that number).
review programs: 16 4-hr review sessions
rating: quite good. I used to like the brain train website and I personally know a lot of students who enrolled there and some teachers who teach there as well. but i was really turned off by the attitude of the comparison chart. makes me wonder how the owner deals with students.
NEWTON STUDY CENTER Review
website:http://www.newtoninspires.com
location: Quezon city, Sucat, Dagupan and Urdaneta
price: i cant really see the price online. sorry. but you could contact them online
track record: quite good for 8 years of operation. they almost reached 100 students this year.
review programs: i cant really tell from their website but my guess is a traditional review program of about 16 4-hr sessions. (it's just a guess, you could still ask them)
rating: ok to good. but it would depend on the extent of the review program. but i liked the simulated test, although it was a bit hard to find at first.
REVIEW MASTERS Review
website: http://www.upcatreview.com
location: alabang, las piñas, parañaque, sta rosa, los baños, calamba, sta cruz, san pablo
price: fair. they have a good price on the online review and a reasonably priced full review (i think the online review is automatically included in the full review, you might want to check)
track record: i was actually surprised, they are only 3 years in operation but have already hit more than 100 passers this year.
review programs: 18 4.5-hr review sessions and online e-review program.
rating: probably the highest potential of the 5 centers I mentioned. the website was great and contained a lot of info about the UPCAT. i tried the free e-review and found it quite nice. it had exercises, explanations, downloadable files and even a forum area (all in the free area). i was actually quite tempted to enroll just to see the rest of the e-review section.
Final notes.
I thought hard about placing MSA Tutorials here but the website was really confusing, although their books are really really good for studying at home. Another is The High Acheivers but the website is only at multiply so i should't really comment on that.
Another concern is the small review centers or what some may call "mosquito" review centers. be careful of them because they promise cheap rates and we know what cheap means. you'd be better off buying MSA books than enrolling in those centers.
I hope this answer helps. and that this question will be put to rest