Rizal in His Higher Education
 Rizal took and passed the examination in
COLLEGE OF SAN JUAN DE LETRAN but he
enrolled in ATENEO when he came back to
Manila.
Academic Performance in Ateneo
 According to Ambeth Ocampo there were
only twelve students in a class, nine of
which, including Jose Rizal, graduated
sobresaliente with the same excellent mark
in all their subjects in school year 1876-77.
 At the age of 16 – Rizal graduated with
highest honors. He took a post-graduated
course there in land surveying.
 1877 – completed his surveyor’s training
 May 1878 - passed the licensing exam
 1881 – granted a license in 1881
 June 10, 1872-accompanied by Paciano.
He took the entrance examinations at the College of
San Juan de Letran which was first wish by his father
but change to Ateneo instead.
 Fr. Magin Fernando refuse to admit him
because:
 LATE REGISTRATION
 SICKLY AND UNDERSIZED FOR HIS AGE
Fr. Manuel Xerez-Burgos (nephew of Fr. Burgos)
interceded
His Activities in Ateneo
 Study and reading until 4 p.m.
 Some of the books read by Rizal:
( 1) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
(2 ) Travels in the Philippines by Dr. Feodor (Fyodor)
Jagor
 4 – 5 exercise
 5 – 6 social and misc obligations.
 1st year in Ateneo
LATIN- Excellent
SPANISH- Excellent
GREEK- Excellent
 2nd year in Ateneo
Spanish- Excellent
Greek-Excellent
WORLD GEOGRAPHY- Excellent
When Rizal Enters Ateneo.
 Returned to Calamba in March 1874 for his
summer vacation.
 2nd year in Ateneo (1873-1874)
Received excellent grades and a gold medal.
Returned to Calamba in March 1874 for his
summer vacation.
 3rd year in Ateneo
LATIN- Excellent
SPANISH- Excellent
WORLD HISTORY- Excellent
HISTORY OF SPAIN & PHIL.- Excellent
ARETHMETIC- Excellent
ALGEBRA- Excellent
GREEK- Excellent
 4th year in Ateneo
RHETORIC & POETRY- Excellent
FRENCH- Excellent
GEOMETRIC & TRIGONOMETRY- Excellent
 5th Year in Ateneo
PHILOSOPHY- Excellent
PHILOSOPHY 2- Excellent
MINERALOGY & CHEMISTRY- Excellent
PHYSICS- Excellent
BOTANY & ZOOLOGY- Excellent
Rizal at the University of Santo Tomas 1877-1882
 Jose Rizal, having completed his Bachiller en
Artes at the Ateneo Municipal, was now
eligible for higher education at a university.
His mother, Doña Teodora, had second
thoughts about sending her son to school
because of the previous incident involving
the execution of friars Gomez, Burgos and
Zamora. However, it was Don Francisco who
decided his son should to the University of
Santo Tomas, a prestigious institution run
by the Dominican order.
 Rizal, upon entering the university, was not
certain which course of study he wanted to
pursue. The Jesuit priests who had been his
former mentors had advised him to take up
farming, or to join the order and be a man
 of the cloth. However, his tastes went He would later find out that his real calling was in
towards law, literature, or medicine. In the the arts, not in medicine.
end, he decided to sign up for Philosophy
and Letters during his freshman year
because of the following reasons:
1. It was what his father would have wanted for him.
2. He had failed to seek the advice of the rector of
the Ateneo, Father Ramon Pablo.
As part of the course, he had to complete units in
the following subjects:
 Cosmology and Metaphysics
 Theodicy
 History of Philosophy
His report card was very impressive.
Shifting to Medicine
 After completing his first year, Rizal decided
to take up medicine as his university course.
This change of heart was due to two factors:
 Father Ramon Pablo, rector of the Ateneo,
had advised him to pursue the course.
 Rizal's mother had failing eyesight and he
thought he owed it to her to become a
doctor and cure her condition.
 Rizal's performance at the University of
Santo Tomas was not as excellent as his
time at the Ateneo. His grades after shifting
to medicine had suffered as well.
 Unfortunately, Rizal was not happy at UST
and this reflected on his grades (Zaide &
Zaide, 1999).
 There were three main factors that
contributed to his unhappiness at the
university, namely:
1. The Dominican professors were hostile to him.
2. Filipino students suffered discrimination.
3. The method of instruction at UST was obsolete
and repressive.
 Likewise, there were three main reasons
for his struggling academic performance
(Guerrero, 1998):
1. Rizal was not satisfied with the system of
education at the university.
2. There were plenty of things to distract a young
man in the peak of his youth.
3. Medicine was not Rizal's true vocation.