Before I transferred to SBCA, I exhausted all the remedies possible just to stay in San Beda Mendiola. In fact, I wrote a letter to our Dean that I am willing to re-take all my second year subjects including those subjects which I passed.
The QPI negotiations were not enough to include me in the list of those students who are retained in the College of Law.
Our Dean did not grant my petition to retake all my 2nd year subjects instead he offered me to retake all my subjects. It means I would be back in first year. The term used in Mendiola if a student goes back to First Year in Law is called "whitewash".
I did not agree with the condition he gave so the most logical thing for me is to transfer to San Beda College Alabang to continue finish my 2nd year level. Both schools employ practically the same system. Almost same line-up of Professors and same style of teaching. If you factor out the travel time to Alabang, it is really the best alternative if you were not retained in Mendiola.
New Place, Familiar Faces|
Although I was new in the school, I recognized almost 40% of the students because I have already seen them or meet them in Mendiola. My fellow transferees call it 'Mini-Mendiola'. It is then I learned that Alabang is also the alternative school chosen by those who transferred from Ateneo Law School.
Culture shock
As the first semester progress, I noticed that some of my classmates are fond of using 'team' play during quizzes and exams. They have this formation in the examination room and the necessary signals to execute their plan. And when the results are released, they have the audacity to gloat their scores. In fact, sometimes the one who copied gets the higher grade than the person he copied from.
I was shocked because in my 2 year stay in Mendiola, I have never encountered such a thing. Maybe because the students there are afraid of Karma or maybe because I was 'fortunate' enough not to be included in a class where there are rampant cheaters.
My fellow Mendiola transferees talk about this trend in our new school. We made a disputable presumption that the reason why SBCA School of Law has not fared well in the recent BAR exams is because some of the students 'cheated' their way in order to graduate.
I would rather prefer to being surrounded by those sycophant or "sipsip" rather than the cheaters because a professor cannot grade a student based on the flattery he gets. I also noticed that I was wrong in judging other students as sycophants. In fact, they were just really friendly. My Bad...
Chill Atmosphere
Generally, the studentry is on 'chill' mode. When you enter the Library, you could likely see students chatting rather than reading books unlike in Mendiola where the competition is really high. In fact, it so intense that you could smell it. Making unnecessary noise in the Library will merit a lot of angry and resentful faces.
In addition, the staff in the Registrar, Deans Office and even in the Cafeteria are very accommodating.
Travel time
I chose not to lease an apartment nor be bedspacer in a place near the school. I prefer commuting everyday from Quezon City to Alabang everyday. I get-up at 6 am. Get-out of the house at around 8-9 am. I arrive at school around 11-12nn. My allotted travel time is always 2 hours.
A Year Later
Fortunately, with the Grace of God, I was able to successfully pass all my subjects during my first year in Alabang. Hopefully, this trend will continue until I graduate.
