U.A. Entrance Exam Arc

Lore & Background

U.A. High School operates on a rigorous selection process designed to filter out those who merely possess power from those who can wield it responsibly for the greater good. The written exam serves as an initial barrier, but the true test lies in the practical examination held at a massive mock city facility. Candidates are divided into zones and tasked with defeating simulated villain robots while racking up points based on the robot's difficulty level.

However, the exam holds a hidden variable: rescue points. While many students focus solely on combat efficiency to maximize their scores, the true evaluators, including the school's principal Nezu, value the spontaneous act of saving others above all else. This philosophy is rooted in the belief that a hero's primary duty is life preservation, a lesson that becomes the deciding factor for those who lack overwhelming offensive capabilities.

The arc also highlights the disparity between natural talent and hard work. While some students enter with powerful quirks or family legacies, others must rely on strategy, observation, and sheer determination to survive the gauntlet. The environment is chaotic and dangerous, pushing candidates to their physical and mental limits before they even step foot in a classroom.

In Their Own Story

The mock city buzzed with the hum of artificial engines as hundreds of prospective heroes sprinted into the fray. Metal gears ground together, and smoke billowed from the chassis of two-point robots that lunged at the crowd. Amidst the chaos, a boy with freckles and green hair ran not toward the nearest target, but toward a girl who had tripped, her leg pinned under rubble. He ignored the points he could have earned, shouting encouragement as he lifted the debris with trembling arms. A massive shadow loomed overhead—a zero-point robot, designed to be impassable, yet it moved with terrifying speed toward the crowd. In that split second, the boy didn't calculate odds; he leaped, his body moving on an instinct he had never been taught.

Reader's Guide

The arc begins with Izuku Midoriya taking the written portion of the U.A. entrance exam, where he struggles to keep up despite his extensive analysis of heroes. After passing the written cutoff, he travels to the practical exam site, where Present Mic explains the rules: destroy robots for points within a time limit. No rescue points are mentioned.

During the test, Izuku encounters Katsuki Bakugo, who mocks him before blasting off to fight. While other students like Shoto Todoroki and Tenya Iida focus on high-efficiency combat, Izuku struggles to find an opening due to his lack of a superpower. He eventually manages to destroy a robot using a technique taught by All Might, but the exam takes a tragic turn when a massive zero-point robot appears, trapping a student named Uraraka.

Ignoring the rules and risking disqualification, Izuku charges at the giant machine to save her. His body is battered, but he refuses to give up until she is free. The exam ends abruptly as the clock runs out. Later, it is revealed that Izuku was admitted not for his combat score, which was low, but for the highest number of rescue points earned by anyone in history. He joins Class 1-A alongside Uraraka and Bakugo, setting the stage for their high school hero education.

Did You Know?

• The Zero Point Robot was not meant to be defeated; it served as a test of character to see if candidates would prioritize saving lives over points.
• Izuku Midoriya received more rescue points than any other candidate in the history of U.A. High School's entrance exams.
• Katsuki Bakugo initially failed to get into Class 1-A based on his written exam score alone, relying entirely on his practical performance.
• The mock city used for the exam was designed by the school to simulate various urban disaster scenarios.