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Key Facts: Universidad de Panamá Admission PCA Exam

100

Five-option questions

UP Instructivo PCA 2027

60 / 40

Verbal / numerical items

UP Instructivo PCA 2027

2 h

Time for all 100 items

UP admission guidance, 2026 cycle

B/. 30.00

Registration fee

UP Admisión 2027 requirements

1.00

General minimum índice

Universidad de Panamá

The Universidad de Panamá PCA is a 100-question, five-option multiple-choice test in Spanish: 60 verbal items (léxico, reading, redacción) and 40 numerical items (operatoria and razonamiento), with a 2-hour limit. This free bank is an English-language MCQ study adaptation, not an official translation or a simulation of the Spanish-language exam: verbal items keep the Spanish text being tested, while stems and explanations are in English.

Sample Universidad de Panamá Admission PCA Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the Universidad de Panamá Admission PCA exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Synonyms (sinónimos). Choose the word closest in meaning to the word in capital letters, as it is used in this sentence: «El testigo dio una respuesta AMBIGUA y nadie entendió qué quiso decir.»
A.precisa
B.tajante
C.equívoca
D.sincera
Explanation: «Ambiguo» describes words that can be understood in more than one way, which is why nobody understood what the witness meant. «Equívoca» has the same core meaning: open to several interpretations. The clue «nadie entendió» confirms the sense of an unclear, double meaning.
2Synonyms (sinónimos). Choose the word closest in meaning to the word in capital letters, as it is used in this sentence: «La empresa decidió POSTERGAR la inauguración del local hasta enero.»
A.aplazar
B.adelantar
C.cancelar
D.anunciar
Explanation: «Postergar» means to put something off until a later time, and «hasta enero» names the new, later date. «Aplazar» is the direct synonym: to defer an event without calling it off.
3Synonyms (sinónimos). Choose the word closest in meaning to the word in capital letters, as it is used in this sentence: «Su discurso fue tan PROLIJO que, al cabo de una hora, el público empezó a bostezar.»
A.conciso
B.esmerado
C.ameno
D.extenso
Explanation: The RAE dictionary gives «prolijo» two main senses: excessively long and drawn out, or careful and neat. The audience yawning after an hour points to the first sense, so «extenso» (lengthy) is the closest synonym. The PCA synonym items reward exactly this kind of choice between subtle senses.
4Synonyms (sinónimos). Choose the word closest in meaning to the word in capital letters, as it is used in this sentence: «Ante la propuesta, el director se mostró REACIO a cambiar el horario de clases.»
A.dispuesto
B.renuente
C.indiferente
D.hostil
Explanation: «Reacio» describes someone who resists or is unwilling to do something. «Renuente» shares that meaning of reluctance, so a director who is «reacio a cambiar el horario» is «renuente» to change it.
5Synonyms (sinónimos). Choose the word closest in meaning to the word in capital letters, as it is used in this sentence: «El nadador llegó EXHAUSTO a la orilla después de cruzar la bahía.»
A.eufórico
B.ileso
C.agotado
D.mareado
Explanation: «Exhausto» means completely worn out, with no strength left, which fits a swimmer who has just crossed a bay. «Agotado» expresses the same state of total fatigue.
6Synonyms (sinónimos). Choose the word closest in meaning to the word in capital letters, as it is used in this sentence: «El árbitro fue IMPARCIAL: no favoreció a ninguno de los dos equipos.»
A.ecuánime
B.severo
C.indulgente
D.arbitrario
Explanation: «Imparcial» means judging without favouring either side, as the sentence itself explains. «Ecuánime» describes a person who keeps balance and fairness of judgment, so it is the closest synonym.
7Synonyms (sinónimos). Choose the word closest in meaning to the word in capital letters, as it is used in this sentence: «Con un gesto DESDEÑOSO, rechazó la ayuda que le ofrecían sus compañeros.»
A.temeroso
B.agradecido
C.distraído
D.despectivo
Explanation: «Desdeñoso» describes an attitude of scorn, treating something as unworthy of attention. «Despectivo» means showing contempt, so both words describe the dismissive way the help was rejected.
8Synonyms (sinónimos). Choose the word closest in meaning to the word in capital letters, as it is used in this sentence: «La región sufrió una sequía PERTINAZ que se prolongó durante casi un año.»
A.repentina
B.persistente
C.leve
D.intermitente
Explanation: «Pertinaz» means obstinate and, applied to things such as a drought or an illness, long-lasting and persistent. The clue «se prolongó durante casi un año» confirms the idea of something that will not let up, so «persistente» is the synonym.
9Synonyms (sinónimos). Choose the word closest in meaning to the word in capital letters, as it is used in this sentence: «Antes de entrar al museo, la guía nos dio una explicación SUCINTA del recorrido.»
A.detallada
B.confusa
C.breve
D.entretenida
Explanation: «Sucinto» means brief and concise, saying what is needed in few words. «Breve» is the closest synonym; a quick overview before a tour is typically short.
10Synonyms (sinónimos). Choose the word closest in meaning to the word in capital letters, as it is used in this sentence: «Su conducta INTACHABLE le ganó el respeto de toda la comunidad.»
A.intrépida
B.irreprochable
C.inalterable
D.imperceptible
Explanation: «Intachable» describes conduct that cannot be faulted or criticised. «Irreprochable» means the same: free of anything to reproach. The other options also begin with «in-» or «im-», which is a trap for anyone choosing by form instead of meaning.

About the Universidad de Panamá Admission PCA Exam

The Prueba de Capacidades Académicas (PCA) is the Universidad de Panamá's own admission test, required of every first-year applicant. It measures Spanish verbal ability and basic numerical reasoning, and its score feeds the índice predictivo used for admission.

Exam sponsor: Universidad de Panamá — Dirección General de Admisión. The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Assessment

100 items: Área Verbal (60) — léxico, comprensión de lectura and redacción (conectores, eliminación de oraciones, ordenación de oraciones); Área Numérica (40) — operatoria I and II, razonamiento I and II

Time Limit

2 hours (120 minutes)

Passing Score

No fixed PCA pass mark; admission uses an índice predictivo (10th–11th grade average plus admission test results) with a general minimum of 1.00 and higher cut-offs where places are limited

Exam / Certification Fees

B/. 30.00

Exam sponsor website

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

60 questions (60%)

Capacidad Verbal

Léxico (sinónimos and definiciones), comprensión de lectura (main and secondary ideas, inferences, cause and effect, time relations, the author's purpose and true or false statements) and redacción (conectores, eliminación de oraciones and ordenación de oraciones).

40 questions (40%)

Capacidad Numérica

Operatoria I (the four operations with whole numbers, fractions, decimals and integers), operatoria II (ratios, proportions, percentages and square roots), razonamiento I (word problems with the four operations) and razonamiento II (percentages, order relations, simple probability, following instructions and testing hypotheses).

Preparing for the Universidad de Panamá Admission PCA Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: No fixed PCA pass mark; admission uses an índice predictivo (10th–11th grade average plus admission test results) with a general minimum of 1.00 and higher cut-offs where places are limited
  • Assessment: 100 items: Área Verbal (60) — léxico, comprensión de lectura and redacción (conectores, eliminación de oraciones, ordenación de oraciones); Área Numérica (40) — operatoria I and II, razonamiento I and II
  • Time limit: 2 hours (120 minutes)
  • Exam / certification fees: B/. 30.00 Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

  • Work through all 100 available questions
  • Review every answer and explanation
  • Track weak areas and revisit them
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

Universidad de Panamá Admission PCA: Suggested Study Strategy

1Work through the sample items in the official instructivo: they show the exact formats for synonyms, definitions, connectors, sentence elimination and sentence ordering.
2Practise arithmetic by hand every day, including fractions, decimals, percentages, proportions and square roots, since the numerical area tests exact operations.
3The official booklet writes decimals with a comma (0,25), so get comfortable reading both 0,25 and 0.25.
4In two-connector items, both connectors must come from the same option, so check each blank separately before choosing.
5In sentence-ordering items, look for clues that fix positions, such as pronouns that need an earlier noun or connectors like «Por ejemplo», «Además» and «Por todo ello».
6Pace yourself at about 1.2 minutes per question (100 questions in 2 hours), and remember that UP's 2026 guidance said you cannot return to earlier questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Universidad de Panamá Prueba de Capacidades Académicas (PCA)?

The PCA is the admission test that the Universidad de Panamá's Dirección General de Admisión builds each year and that every first-year applicant must take. According to the official instructivo, it measures broad verbal and numerical abilities developed during primary and secondary school rather than memorised facts.

How is the PCA structured and timed?

The PCA has 100 multiple-choice items, each with five options and one correct answer, worth one point each: 60 in the verbal area and 40 in the numerical area. UP's guidance for the 2026 admission cycle gave a maximum of 2 hours for the 100 questions and said applicants could not go back to a previous question.

How is the admission decision made at the Universidad de Panamá?

Admission uses an índice predictivo that combines the 10th- and 11th-grade average with the admission test results. UP sets a general minimum of 1.00, and programs with limited places fill them in descending order of índice. Applicants to programs in Medicine, Dental Surgery, Nursing, Pharmacy, Engineering and Psychology, among others, also take the PCG Científica, and Law applicants take the PCG Humanística.

What are the Admisión 2027 dates and fee?

Registration ran from 30 June to 30 September 2026 on the SIUP platform, and the fee is B/. 30.00, paid only after the payment authorization arrives by email. The PCA is scheduled for 17–24 October 2026, the PCG for 14–21 November 2026, and results for 11–15 January 2027.

Is the PCA taken online?

UP has given its admission tests virtually since the 2021 admission process. For Admisión 2027, the Faculty of Dentistry's notice says the PCA is taken in person on the applicant's own phone, tablet or laptop, so check the instructions in your SIUP profile for your own venue and time.

Is this practice question bank an official translation of the PCA?

No. This is independent practice by OpenExamPrep and an English-language MCQ study adaptation, not an official translation or a simulation of the PCA. The real test is in Spanish with five options per item, while ours have four. Verbal items keep the Spanish words, sentences and passages being tested, with English instructions and explanations; numerical items are written in English.