Getting into a public university in Spain can be difficult, both in terms of finding information and in terms of applying.
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The first thing to know about Spanish public universities is that they are selective. Not everyone can get into a university.
The main advantage of studying at a public university in Spain is the financial investment. It is true that you will have to pay several hundred euros a year for your tuition, but this is nothing compared to the several thousand euros a year you will have to pay to study at a private university in Spain.
The main disadvantage is the difficulty of accessing information to implement a request which, linked to the difficulty of understanding and the lack of knowledge of the "habits and customs" and practices of the university administrative services (totally decentralized) of the country, make the procedures very complex.
The second disadvantage is due to the fact that the selection process to study in a public university in Spain is very important.
If your goal is to enter a public university in Spain without support, you risk, mainly, :
- Spend a lot of time figuring out what you need to do.
- Forgetting to implement important steps.
- Not staying on schedule.
- Not maximizing your chances of admission to a public university.
- Wasting time when your application has no chance of being accepted.
- Losing other opportunities for admission to private universities.
- Wasting energy on the studies you are pursuing while preparing your study plan for a public university in Spain.
REGISTER WITH FEEDUC
How to study at a public university in Spain?
Does FEEDUC provide support for Masters courses at public universities?
As specified in the terms and conditions, FEEDUC does not offer support for Masters courses at public universities in Spain (results uncertain and late).
To enter a public university in Spain, you must have a baccalaureate grade higher than the "nota de corte" of the chosen course at the chosen university.
What is the nota de corte?
This is the score of the last candidate admitted to a given course in a given year at a given university. For example, the nota de corte for entry into "Administración de empresas" at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in 2020 was 10.56. This score varies every year, although it is generally stable.
Warning:
the nota de corte is out of 14 points. Having an average of 12/20 in the baccalaureate would not allow a French candidate to be admitted to this program at this university in Spain.How to know your nota de corte?
With a Baccalaureate obtained in a French education system, your grade is out of 20 points. A Spanish organization, UNED, is responsible for calculating your grade out of 10 points. The document obtained with the Spanish grade is called the Credencial.
How to increase your score and be evaluated on 14 points?
As you have seen with the example of Carlos III, in order to enter the "Administración de empresas" program, you should have a grade higher than 20 in your baccalaureate to enter this program. At this time, there are one or two ways (depending on the university you want to enter) for those with a baccalaureate to increase their grade and be evaluated on 14 points:
Take the PCE (Pruebas de Competencias Específicas) tests.
It is to take the Spanish baccalaureate on a Spanish program and obviously in Spanish, during May. This procedure exists for all public universities in Spain.Request a "Reconocimiento de asignaturas":
This process allows students to have certain subjects taken in the high-school diploma recognized, in relation to the studies requested in the university that offers it, and to obtain a maximum of 4 additional points to their grade out of 10 calculated in relation to their initial grades in their educational system. Please note: this "Reconocimiento de asignaturas" process is not valid in all regions of Spain. Universities are governed by the regions and it is therefore the regional authorities that decide whether or not this procedure is valid. Moreover, it is not certain that the "Reconocimiento de asignaturas" will be applicable for all European educational systems.Does the bachibac (doubloe French+Spanish high-school diploma) allow direct access to university in Spain?
Many students choose to enter a bachibac program thinking that it will be "easier" to get into a Spanish public university.
This is not the reality on the ground.
When you study a bachibac, you will receive two different diplomas at the end of your course: the French baccalauréat and the Spanish bachillerato.
In order to access a public university in Spain, you will have to choose a pathway: either the Credencial and the recognition of your baccalaureate in the Spanish system or the passage of the Spanish EbaU (access to the Spanish university). In fact, if you go through your bachillerato, you are like any other Spanish student and you will take the EbaU exams (and not the PCEs, which are reserved for the Credencial).
The bachibac gives you a choice that other students don't have, but it doesn't make it any easier to get into a public university: you will have to take an exam like any other student who wants to enter a public university in Spain. Students from a bachibac stream can apply through the bachillerato and take the EbaU or they can apply through the baccalaureate and take the PCEs or sometimes benefit from "reconocimiento de asignaturas".
Therefore, the bachibac is not a passport for direct access to public universities in Spain because the two diplomas it allows you to obtain, the bachillerato and the baccalaureate, are not passports for direct access to public universities in Spain either.
On the other hand, the bachibac allows you to have a better command of the Spanish language and the habits of working in certain subjects in Spanish and this is not negligible at the time of taking the tests and then to study in Spain.
What are the deadlines for studying at a public university in Spain?
The deadlines for applying to public universities in Spain are different from those in Europe. Students apply in June and the application process closes at the beginning of July.
Therefore, you must have brought your Credencial to the university to which you are applying before admissions close.
If you pass your high-school diploma on July, the deadline for obtaining the Credencial is extremely short and you will often be out of time to apply. This is why, for example, students from French high schools in Spain take their baccalaureate exams earlier than in France and get their results in time to apply to public universities in Spain in their first year after graduation.
Studying at a public university in Spain therefore often requires a year of preparation, for some to get up to speed in Spanish, and for all to have all the documents in time.
What level of Spanish is needed to study at a public university in Spain?
Depending on the region of Spain, the procedures vary and so do the levels of Spanish.
In general, we recommend that you have an official DELE or SIELE Spanish certificate at the B2 level. In some cases it will be mandatory (and eliminatory if you don't have it) and in others it will not. However, sometimes we have seen changes in procedures on this point, and sometimes even late in the year. Anticipating these possible changes allows you to be ready to answer any request, even late, and therefore to be more serene for your application.
Which public universities in Spain can FEEDUC help you with?
After a long research and a rigorous study of the possibilities we have decided to offer you an accompaniment to the "grados" offered by the following public universities:
Universidad de Alcalá
Universidad Complutense
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Universidad Carlos III
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Universidad de León
Universidad de Zaragoza (Zaragoza)
Universidad de Valladolid
Universidad de Murcia (Murcia)
Universidad de Córdoba (Cordoba)
Universidad de Cáceres
Universidad de las Palmas
Universidad de Valencia
Universidad Politécnica de Valencia
SUBMIT A SERVICE REQUEST FOR ONE OF FEEDUC'S SELECTED PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
What would happen if I chose FEEDUC to help me prepare my project?
Step 1:
It all starts with registration on the FEEDUC website. Once you've registered, we'll set up a personal meeting with you. This is when we start to evaluate your project, and in particular its feasibility for studying at a public university.Step Two:
After the interview, if you are interested in the option of a public university in Spain, we will ask you to send us your first and second year grades as well as your high school diploma transcript in order to make a preliminary study of your file.If your grades would not have allowed you to enter at least one of the public universities that we have selected in Spain for their quality in previous years, we will tell you and we will not offer you our service. This will allow you to focus your energy and time on other options for your orientation and you can also decide to do it on your own if you wish.
If you could have mathematically entered at least one of the public universities that we have selected in Spain for their quality in previous years, we will offer you a new interview to present you this specific service that we offer. This new interview will allow us to present you with a quote that could be suitable for you.
Step Three:
Are you interested in all or part of the specific support service to enter one of the Spanish public universities that we have selected? Then you can subscribe to it. If you are not interested, you can continue the project independently.What specific services does FEEDUC offer to help you get into a public university in Spain?
The detailed study of your file:
This study will allow you to know in detail which of the public universities we have selected are likely to admit you and under which criteria (certified level of Spanish, passing of PCE tests, etc.). With this study, you will save a lot of time because you will be able to target the universities likely to admit you. You will obtain a detailed list of the universities to which you have been admitted in previous years and, above all, the practical conditions under which you could have been admitted (PCE subjects, PCE grades, reconocimiento subjects, reconocimiento grades, etc...). This individual and precise advice will ensure that you know what you are getting into and what conditions you need to fulfill in order to have the best chances of success.
La Credencial:
The free support offered by FEEDUC enables you to apply for a basic credencial, which is all you need to get into a private university in Spain. The credencial application, which allows you to increase your individual grade, by being evaluated on 14 points and integrating your level of Spanish, is completely different and much more complex. Registration for the PCE exams, which may sometimes be compulsory to enroll in a public university in Spain, has a deadline and can vary depending on the university you wish to attend.
You can decide to entrust us with this very precise process, which can therefore be complex, or you can decide to do it yourself. On the other hand, if you decide to do it yourself, we will not be able to take over your current file since some options and choices are irreversible once they have been validated.
Implementation of an admission process in a public university in Spain:
This is the 3rd service offered by FEEDUC. We can take care of submitting your applications to the university(ies) of your choice. A service fee will be charged for each application process you ask us to carry out for you. We will take care of your application until you receive your admission decision. If you are accepted, it will then be up to you to finalize your enrolment at the university of your choice, under the conditions and within the timeframe indicated by the university.
You will only be able to subscribe to this service if you have previously entrusted us with the creation of your credencial application, which is a condition for the implementation of your admission requests.
How much does it cost to study at a public university in Spain with FEEDUC?
The budget will vary according to your choices of subscription since each service listed above costs 1.000€. An individual exchange on the estimate will be made with you. Each service can be subscribed independently but some of the services are subject to the subscription of the previous service since it conditions it.
Sound expensive? If you evaluate the time saved in research, understanding of documents and processes, delays, and the increased chances of admission by applying only to the right place, you may quickly realize that this is a well placed investment.
Moreover, if you compare the cost of our support with the financial benefits you can get from the difference between private and public university tuition fees, you will realize that it is also worthwhile to optimize your chances of admission to the public university system in Spain.
Choosing FEEDUC's support in Spain's public universities means :
Gain peace of mind
Gain in serenity
The guarantee of a timely process
The guarantee of the respect of the procedures
Maximizing your chances of admission.
Your admission to a public university in Spain will therefore depend solely on your application and not on your understanding or on the correct implementation of the procedures.
Can FEEDUC help with a project to study at a public university in Spain if the student is in the final year of high school?
FEEDUC can help and advise all students who are planning to study in Spain, both in private universities and in conditional public universities.
As previously mentioned, the candidate's file must have been eligible in previous years and to know this we need the transcript of the high-school diploma results:
A senior in a high school abroad will sometimes get his or her high-school diploma transcript as early as the previous December (if his or her school is in the southern hemisphere) or in June in some countries. In this case, we could offer them our help under the same conditions as those we offer to students who are already in post-bac.
If the student is a senior in a high-school, then we will not be able to guidehim or her for a "classic" application to a public university in Spain because the deadlines do not allow us to offer a reliable and quality service and we therefore do not offer it. However, there are solutions.
What services can FEEDUC provide for a student's plans to study at a public university in Spain if he or she is in the final year of high school and hasn't received his or her baccalaureate transcript by June?
Two options are available:
Or the student wishes to do a year of preparation to optimize his chances of admission the following year and we can help and advise him with a plan in 2 steps: leveling in Spanish + preparation of the PCEs
Either the student is eligible for one of the two UC3M proposals (Universidad Carlos Tercero located in Madrid) and we will accompany him/her for the implementation.
What can UC3M offer to senior high school students who have been supported in their studies in Spain by FEEDUC?
There are 2 options:
The Foundation Year:
This is a transitional year where you prepare for subjects in the engineering or social sciences. This year is conducted either in Spanish or English. A B2 level in the chosen language is required to enter the program. This course is not free but it gives access to the bachelor directly afterwards if you have validated all the subjects of the course. It is therefore a different way to access one of the best Spanish and European universities.Early Admission:
This system is reserved for excellent students who have a very good high school record. Based on academic performance and various program evaluation criteria, Carlos III may offer you direct admission. And as the name suggests, you must apply early, before the end of April.Living in SPAIN
Choosing Spain to study at a public university means choosing a quality of education, but it also means choosing a quality of life.
Culture, gastronomy, landscapes, art, music... Spain is full of riches that will make your student life very pleasant.
Whether in Andalusia (University of Cordoba), Extremadura (University of Cáceres), Aragon (University of Zaragoza), Murcia (University of Murcia), the Canary Islands (University of Las Palmas), Castilla y León (University of León), Valencia or Madrid, the Spanish atmosphere will captivate you
But remember that "Spain is different". Our neighbors go to bed late, get up early, sometimes take a nap, often eat at 3pm and have dinner at 10pm. Coffee is drunk with milk, beer is drunk in front of the king of sports, football and tapas, to whet the appetite before a good dish typical of the region where you will live. Finally, you will often end your weekends in copas bars until the end of the night, whatever your destination in Spain.
Studying in this environment is the dream of many students. So why not you?
Administrative andhousing
ADMINISTRATIVE: Find all the information about the administrative procedures to stay in Spain on the part of our site dedicated to these subjects.
ACCESS INFORMATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.
We have also taken care to offer you :
- A section on the academic vocabulary you will need for admission and enrollment in a university in Spain.
- A section that will allow you to obtain discounts on the medical and paramedical equipment you will need during your training in the health field in Spain.
Where to stay during your studies in Spain?
Find advice and a list of contacts for accommodation during your studies in Spain, university by university.
