Entering the academic world is a big step that can determine your future. If you have already decided what you want to major in, this article will help you understand what the mechanism of admission to university is this year.
When the 12th grade comes to an end, many students who want to continue their studies face the crucial question: what to do next? We have already covered the issue of enrolling in higher education in Portugal, but after some time, we would like to update the information a bit. Enrolling in higher education involves requirements and deadlines that cannot be neglected. At the end of each academic year, the Directorate General of Higher Education (Direção-Geral do Ensino Superior) organizes a national competition, which is divided into three stages: July, August and September.
Let's find out who can apply for higher education? In general, students who meet the following requirements can apply:
- Having completed secondary school education in Portugal (ensino secundário) or having the appropriate equivalent of secondary school education obtained abroad (prova de habilitação legalmente equivalente);
- Having a score equal to or higher than the minimum required score on the entrance examinations provided by the institution to which they are applying (the examinations must have been taken in the year of application or in the two immediately preceding years);
- Completed prerequisites of the institution and course, if any;
- Having a grade at application that equals or exceeds the minimum score established by the chosen institution and course.
Can international students apply? The Regulation on International Students (O Estatuto do Estudante Internacional) provides for a special competition for international students. Thus, this degree can be applied for by those who:
- are nationals of a member state of the European Union;
- are family members of Portuguese nationals or nationals of a European Union Member State;
- are not citizens of European Union countries but have resided in Portugal for more than two years without interruption;
- have the status of equal rights and obligations under an international treaty at least as of January 1 of the year in which they intend to apply;
- have a qualification/authorization that guarantees access, or a high school diploma or any legally equivalent qualification.
- And of course, for future foreign students it is compulsory to take the entrance exams, but they can be avoided by following the provisions of article 20-A of Law 90/2008, of May 30 (artigo 20º-A da Lei n.º 90/2008, de 30 de maio), provided that the student has passed the External testing or the State final certification (it is necessary to request the Portuguese equivalent of the academic disciplines on the official website of the Direção-Geral do Ensino Superior - DGES.
What are the prerequisites for admission to higher education? Universities, colleges or polytechnics may define prerequisites for admission of trainees. These may be physical, functional or vocational, and are often qualifying or contribute to the ranking of candidates.
Please note the application deadlines for admission to university for the academic year 2024/2025! The National Competition (concurso nacional) has three application stages, which are published annually. The schedule of the competition for access to higher education for the 2024/2025 academic year consists of three stages and is as follows:
- Stage 1: application from July 22 to August 5 | results will be published on August 25 | admission from August 26 to 29
- Stage 2: application from August 26 to September 4 | results will be published on September 15 | admission from September 16 to 18
- Stage 3: application from September 21 to 24 | results will be published on September 30 | enrollment from September 30 to October 2
What is the classification of an application for access to higher education and how is it calculated? The classification of an application is, so to speak, its strength, its advantage over other applications, if you like. It is calculated using the following formula: [(High School Classification x value) + (Entrance Examination Classification x value) + (Pre-requisite Classification x value)]. Let's look at an illustrative practical example to see what we're even talking about:
Joao, a high school student with a science and humanities background, wants to enroll in a higher education course at a university that assigns the following grades:
- 60% is the final classification based on high school graduation results
- 20% - entrance exam 1
- 20% - entrance exam 2
No prerequisites are required for admission to this institution.
Joao got it:
- 14.6 grade point average in the senior year of high school (on a scale of 0 to 20)
- 172 points in entrance exam 1 (on a scale from 0 to 200)
- 175 points on placement exam 2 (on a scale of 0 to 200).
The calculation of the classification of Joao's statement would look like this:
- We convert high school graduation grades (obtained on a scale of 0 to 20) to a scale of 0 to 200: final high school grade = 14.6 * 10 = 146 points
- Multiply the scores by their respective values: high school final grade: 146 points * 60% = 87.6 points; entrance exam 1: 172 points * 20% = 34.4 points; entrance exam 2: 175 points * 20% = 35.0 points.
- We add up the results obtained in step 2: 87.6 points + 34.4 points + 35.0 points = 157 points. Thus, the student's application score is 157 points.
You can do this exercise on the online simulator provided by DGES to make the calculations easier.
What the application process for admission to a higher education institution technically looks like. In order to apply for admission to a higher education institution in Portugal, the following steps must be followed in sequence:
- Access the General Directorate of Higher Education portal.
- Request a password to access the application system. You can do this during high school graduation registration (February-March) or starting in May at any Office of Access to Higher Education office.
- Print the confirmation and take it to your high school or to one of the offices of the Office of Access to Higher Education (see point 2).
- Check the email account to which you will receive the password.
- Use your password to access the application system and submit your application by the deadline.
What documents are required to apply for higher education? To apply, you must present the National Secondary School Examination Form (Ficha ENES) (read more in Guia Geral de Exames 2024) and authenticate on the application platform. What is the Ficha ENES? It is a form issued by the high school and contains the student's final classification and the grades obtained in the entrance exams. It also contains an activation code that must be used when applying online.
When will you be able to know the application results for higher education institutions? Keep an eye on the DGES platform to find out the application results.
- Stage 1 - August 25
- Stage 2 - September 15
- Stage 3 - September 30.
Once you know the results of your application, you can start preparing for a new stage of your life! For first-year students, a cool guide Primeiro ano na universidade: guia essencial has been produced with the support of Santander Bank. In case you didn't get through in the first stage, don't get upset, take a deep breath - you can always try your luck in the second round of applications.
Let us dwell once again on the admission criteria of universities. Each institution independently determines the admission criteria for its courses. As a rule, the following elements are assessed:
- Entrance examinations. Entrance examinations are the final examinations of a national secondary school, which are valid in the year in which they are taken and for the following two years. Each school independently determines which examinations are required for each course, as well as the minimum score to be obtained. This may be equal to or greater than 95 points on a scale of 0 to 200, and the classification of entrance examinations may constitute 35 percent or more of the total admission criteria for higher education.
- Classification for admission. Institutions of higher education also consider a minimum classification (0 to 200) for admission to a course. The classification value of high school graduates can never be less than 50%.
- Physical, functional, or occupational prerequisites. Some institutions also require prerequisites that demonstrate a candidate's physical, functional, or occupational suitability for study in a particular field. For example, a student seeking admission to a music course may be asked to attest to his or her functional competence and vocation for that field. Or a candidate for a physical education course may be asked to attest to his or her motor skills. In certain cases, these prerequisites may be waived or may be up to 15% of a student's admission grade.
How to enter higher education if you are over... There is a special competition for applicants over the age of 23 for higher education. Here the assessment and qualification of students differs from the general regime and usually takes into account the following factors:
- Academic Program;
- Professional Summary;
- The candidate's motivation, which can be assessed during the interview;
- Results of theoretical and/or practical tests to assess knowledge and skills that the institution believes are relevant to the course for which the student is applying.
Students over the age of 23 must register for the tests at the institution of higher education to which they are applying, following the deadlines and rules set by them. In the end, when the various scores are added together, the institution's jury assigns a score between 0 and 20 points, which does or does not allow admission to the desired course.
If you are about to go to university and start to become financially independent, you can open a bank account, even if you have no money, with zero service charges and no annual fees, ideal for this stage of life. You can usually find it in banks under the following name - conta universitária. You will actually need it for scholarships and other types of government support, which we will discuss below.
Scholarships and support (new rules). The Portuguese government has announced changes to the rules for awarding scholarships to higher education students in order to reach more students and thus contribute to their success. The new rules will come into force in the next academic year 2024/2025. These are measures already announced by the government in the May 2024 youth package.
What is stated in these changes:
- Increasing the income that working students can earn without losing scholarship eligibility by setting a maximum of 14 minimum wages per year;
- Support for housing for displaced students who are not grant holders at 50% of the cost of the supplement provided to grant holders;
- Renewal of scholarships for students enrolled in Cursos Técnicos Superiores Profissionais (Higher Professional Technical Courses) who meet the necessary criteria.
- Updating the ceilings of the accommodation allowances from the previous academic year in accordance with the change in the Social Support Index (IAS -Indexante de Apoios Sociais).
Under another support program announced on June 14, 2024, + Aulas + Sucesso, the Government has already announced 2,000 annual additional scholarships. Those who are interested can read the full text of the program.
The only thing left to do is to decide which university you will apply to! You may find it useful to familiarize yourself with the rankings of Portuguese universities. More recent version of the rankings for 2024 can be found in the Portuguese version here.
As tradition, I wish everyone good luck, especially applicants! I hope you find this guide useful. For more information about education in Portugal, you can always refer to our collection of articles in the Education category. Also in the Articles section we have already published about 450 useful materials about life in Portugal. On our website you can find contacts of recommended specialists to whom you can always contact on all pressing issues - from buying and renting real estate to exchanging cryptocurrencies and much more.
