BACHILLER EN ARTES - ESPANYOL ARITMETILAN

Student of Manila Rizal was sent by his father to Ateneo Municipal, formerly known as “ESCUELA PIA”,
for a six-year program, Bachiller en Artes. He took the entrance exam on June 10, 1872 using Jose Rizal
instead of Jose Mercado. It was advised by Paciano to protect him from trouble since the former was
known to have link to one of the GOMBURZA who was executed four months earlier the exam. During
this time Ateneo Municipal was known as to offer the best education for boys lead by Jesuits. Their
students were divided into two groups, the Romans and the Carthaginians. The Roman Empire was
composed of students boarding at Ateneo while the Carthaginian Empire was composed of non-
boarding students. Rizal became the emperor, a title given to the most outstanding student in class, in
just a month’s time. He consistently excel in his class and passed the oral exam on March 14, 1877 and
graduated with a degree of Bachiller en Artes, with the highest honor.

After finishing Bachiller en Artes, Rizal was sent to University of Santo Tomas by Don Francisco. He
attended the course Philosophy and Letters and in the same year he took the vocational course in
Ateneo that gave him the title perito agrimensor (expert surveyor) issued on November 25, 1881.

LEONOR VALENZUELA - ORANG

Among Rizal's long list of ex-lovers is Leonor "Orang" Valenzuela, who met Rizal when he was still
studying a medical course at the esteemed University of Santo Tomas. Valenzuela was the next-door
neighbor of Rizal when he stayed in the house of Doña Concha Leyva in Intramuros.