Hi. Comment lang ako on some stuff I saw on this board re: ICA. I used to go to ICA, so here are my observations if you guys want to consider the school.
@dramaqueen: the comment about ICA on the verge of bankruptcy and nearly closing down has been around for a long time. I don't think the administration is really considering it. I think this stems from the fact that generally, the school doesn't have a very good marketing program. At least, for the next 3 years I don't see it happening. My younger sister still goes there.
PERFORMANCE: My honest opinion on this school is a little on-the-fence. Generally, the school is at least above-average in terms of performance in top-tier universities' entrance exams (the Big 4). A fair number of the graduates go on to UP, La Salle, UST, and I myself went on to ADMU. UP is now very popular amongst recent graduates. More go there vs. ADMU. Take that as you may regarding their academic standards. The current performance of the school is much better than when I graduated 5 years ago, so there's that.
TEACHERS: But, I feel that the quality of the teachers could be better. The more senior faculty are respectable, most holding Masters from La Salle and UP. I think the salary is not so big for new teachers, so I feel that the newer teachers are the more ---meh--- in quality. The guidance staff could also be improved. They don't do a lot of career guidance.
ACADEMICS: If you are a fan of accelerated curricula, I believe you'd like ICA as it's ADVANCED. Normal schools (pre K-12 era) had Biology and Algebra in 2nd year, Chemistry and Geometry in 3rd year, Physics and Trigonometry in 4th year. In ICA, we had Biology, Algebra, and Statistics in 1st year; Chemistry, Algebra II and Geometry in 2nd year; PhysiChem, PreCal, and Trigonometry in 3rd year, and Physics, Calculus, and Accounting in 4th year. I believe this is similar to top-tier high schools. However, I feel that it needs to be said that in all of these, the strength of ICA in academics is SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES > SCIENCES. English, Social Science, Economics, and Music and the Performing Arts are very strong in ICA. Personally, I was very weak in the sciences entering college. I believe the same for my batch. ICA should be more rigorous in teaching math and science. The upside is that I was included in the Merit English classes of Ateneo.
STUDENTS: The students for me are the crowning glory of this school. ICA's crowd is a good one compared to other private schools around the area. To put it plainly, mas sosyal ang kids sa ICA, but not overly so. I believe this helps in confidence and how they hold themselves in public as well. I've also seen that the lower batches are natural leaders, something which my batch isn't. I also feel that the school generally has a good environment for students of all ages. I honestly believe that ICA students come out well-rounded. Most are Born-Again. Not a lot of international students. Majority are Koreans. Small school, so not a lot of chance for social expansion.
I've said a lot na, so if anyone needs a more in-depth conversation about this school, PM me. Haha. I'm pretty open and honest about what I think about ICA anyway.
tl;dr ICA has some very good graduates and some mediocre ones (university-entry as a gauge), I guess the same as any school. The core of the school is good, but sometimes lacking in execution. I feel like they need more good teachers. A lot of the graduates go to top-tier schools recently.
