Cut-off marks (notas de corte) and your real chances

Key rules

• Cut-off marks: A cut-off is last year's result, not a minimum, so it can rise or fall this year.
• Order of your list: Put the degrees you want most first, even if ambitious, because you are given the best-ranked option your mark qualifies for.
• Weighted subjects: A weighted subject only counts towards your mark if you scored at least 5 in it.
• Safe options: End your list with degrees whose cut-off is well below your mark, and only ones you would accept.

What a cut-off mark tells you

The nota de corte is the admission mark of the last student admitted to a degree in the previous year. It is not a minimum set in advance. It comes from how many people applied and how many places there were.

Treat it as a guide, not a promise. It usually moves by a few tenths of a point from one year to the next. In popular degrees such as medicine and some double degrees, it can move by a point or more. Many degrees with free places have a cut-off of 5, the lowest possible.

Work out your own mark first

Your admission mark goes up to 14 points. The access mark itself is up to 10 points.

It is built like this:

• 60% of your bachillerato average (or equivalent).
• 40% of your general phase mark in the access exam.
• Plus up to two extra parts from your best subject marks, each multiplied by the weighting the university sets for that degree.

A weighted subject only counts if you scored at least 5 in it. Because weightings differ by degree and university, the same exam results give a different admission mark for each degree you apply to.

Where to find the numbers

• Cut-offs: Look in the admissions section of each university's website, or on your region's university admission portal. They are usually PDFs by degree and year. The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities also has a national search covering public universities.
• Weightings: Universities publish them per degree, usually on their admissions page, ahead of the academic year in which you sit the exam. They often stay the same for several years, but check the table for your own year.

Regional and university sites tend to have the most detail. Web addresses change, so search for the region or university by name.

Turn the numbers into a ranked list

Compare your mark for each degree with last year's cut-off, then sort the degrees:

• Ambitious: the cut-off is above your mark, or very close to it.
• Safe: the cut-off is well below your mark.

List your options in strict order of preference. The system gives you the best-ranked option your mark qualifies for. So putting an ambitious degree first costs you nothing.

A sound list starts with ambitious degrees, moves to realistic ones, and ends with safe ones. Include only degrees you would really accept, because a place that is assigned to you can be enrolled in. Spread your list across several universities, and remember that cut-offs may change.

If you studied abroad

If your qualification comes from a country with an agreement with Spain, such as an EU country, you apply through UNED. It issues an accreditation (credencial de acceso) with your mark converted to the Spanish 10-point scale.

If your country has no agreement, you usually first need your qualification recognised as equivalent to the Spanish bachillerato. Then you normally sit the access exam for foreign students. Your credential mark replaces the bachillerato average in the formula above, and the exam subjects are used for weighting.

Conversion tables and procedures change, so confirm yours with UNED's access office.

The decision, checklist and FAQ below help you put this into practice.

Choosing between options

Where should each degree go in your ranked list?

• Ambitious option: Your mark is below last year's cut-off or only just around it, but you really want the degree. Put it first, because it costs you nothing.

• Realistic option: Your mark is close to last year's cut-off. Put these after the ambitious ones.

• Safe option: Your mark is well above last year's cut-off, or the degree has free places with a cut-off of 5. Put these last.

List degrees in the order you prefer them, most wanted first. Place a degree as ambitious, realistic or safe by comparing your mark with last year's cut-off, and only list degrees you would accept.

Checklist

• Find last year's cut-off mark for each degree on the university's admissions page or the regional admission portal.

• Look up the weighting each university sets for your degree on its admissions page or the regional admission portal.

• Work out your own admission mark: 60% of your bachillerato average, plus 40% of your general phase mark, plus your two best weighted subject marks multiplied by their weightings.

• Compare your mark with each cut-off and sort the degrees into ambitious, realistic and safe.

• Put your ambitious degrees first, realistic ones next and safe ones last, with a cut-off well below your mark.

• Remove any degree you would not really accept, because an assigned place can be enrolled in.

• Ask UNED's access office how your foreign qualification is converted to the Spanish 10-point scale, if you studied outside Spain.

Frequently asked questions

Does putting an ambitious degree first lower my chances for safer ones?

No, putting an ambitious degree first does not lower your chances for the safer ones, because the system always gives you the best-ranked option your mark qualifies for.

When does a weighted subject count towards my admission mark?

A weighted subject only counts towards your admission mark if you scored at least 5 in it. Only your two best weighted subject marks are used, so a strong result in a subject the degree values can lift your mark.