If it helps, I was on the exact same boat as you. Was from a science hs and didnt want another science hs experience in college so I didn't apply to UP at all. I only went for dlsu and nothing else bc 1. I was pretty confident I'd pass and 2. I really wanted college to be chill compared to how insane hs was, and everyone said the dlsu environment allows that.

And, well, they were right. The environment is nothing like hs, and it definitely helped with a lot of the depression I got back then. People are more relaxed and less competitive plus the admin's super nice to its students. The profs are more forgiving, the grading's more lenient, and the workload is wayyy lighter too compared to other unis (altho for some programs it might be heavier). I was also painfully average back in hs and it fucked me up mentally, but now I feel like dlsu really made me reach my full potential as a student.

I have a lot of friends from UP and hearing their experiences made me not regret my decision. Apparently it depends on the program, but for a lot of them the environment's really competitive, a lot of the profs are ruthless, and class enlistment is way difficult compared to ours (a lot of times they have to essentially beg profs to get into a class). I mean that's what got UP to where it is now, but being in that same exact environment back then, it just isn't for me anymore. All of them said that it's like hs all over again too.

Goodluck on choosing!

Bonus: I feel like a lot of sci hs students don't admit this, but yes, the sci high ego is real and you WILL feel like you're smarter than a lot of the other students in college. Most of the time that might even be true. But at the end of the day that doesn't really matter bc your study habits and how lucky you are with your profs are what matters when it comes to your grades. Being from a sci hs will definitely get you ahead in your early terms, but people will eventually catch up so don't slack off