How your foreign school grades become a Spanish admission mark

Key rules

• School weight: Your converted school mark counts for 60% of the admission mark.
• Conversion anchors: The minimum pass in your system becomes 5 and the maximum becomes 10.
• Exam minimum: If you sit the exams, the exam phase must be at least 4 for admission to a degree.
• IB diploma: An IB pass of 24 points becomes 5, and 45 points becomes 10.

The short version

Your foreign school average is converted into a Spanish mark from 0 to 10. That mark counts for 60% of your admission mark. Your exam results make up the rest, and subject weightings can add a bonus.

How your average is converted

Each country and school system has its own conversion table. It turns your average into a 0 to 10 mark. The lowest passing mark in your system becomes 5. The highest possible mark becomes 10. Marks in between are placed proportionally on that scale.

The converted mark appears on your credencial de acceso, the document issued by UNED that universities ask for. Your estimate should match the figure on it. Tables are updated, so use the current table for your country on the UNED website.

If you have an IB diploma

Your total points out of 45 are converted with the same kind of table. The minimum pass of 24 points becomes 5, and 45 points becomes 10. You still need a credencial from UNED.

IB holders do not have to sit the exams. Your converted mark alone can serve as your admission mark, with a maximum of 10. You can sit the exams as well, to raise your mark up to 14 points.

How the admission mark is built

The admission mark is 0.6 times your school mark plus 0.4 times the exam phase, plus up to 4 points from subject weightings, to a maximum of 14 points.

• School part: your converted mark times 0.6.
• Exam part: your exam-phase mark times 0.4. To be admitted to a degree, the exam phase itself must be at least 4.
• Only subject marks of 5 or more count. Add the results, up to 4 points in total.

A worked example

Say your converted mark is 8 and your exam phase is 7. The school part is 4.8 and the exam part is 2.8, so you have 7.6. If two subjects, marked 8 and 9, are weighted at 0.2 each, they add 1.6 and 1.8, which is 3.4 points. The total is 11.0.

The checklist below walks you through the steps, and the questions below it cover common doubts.

Checklist

• Find your country and school system in the table of equivalences on the UNED website.

• Work out your foreign school average in the scale your country uses, with the minimum pass mark and the maximum mark for that scale.

• Convert your average to a 0 to 10 mark, where the minimum pass mark becomes 5 and the maximum becomes 10.

• If you have an IB diploma, convert your total points out of 45 using the same table; 24 points becomes 5 and 45 points becomes 10.

• Multiply your converted mark by 0.6 to get the school part of your admission mark.

• Multiply your exam-phase mark by 0.4 and check that the exam phase itself is at least 4.

• Add up to 4 points from subject weightings, using only subject marks of at least 5, and keep the total at 14 points or less.

• Check that the converted mark on your credencial de acceso matches your estimate.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to sit the exams if I have an IB diploma?

No, IB diploma holders are exempt from the PCE and can enter with their converted mark as a base of up to 10 points. You can still sit the exams optionally to raise your mark up to 14 points. You need a credencial from UNED either way.

What does the IB minimum pass of 24 points become in Spanish marks?

The IB minimum pass of 24 points converts to a 5 in the Spanish 0 to 10 scale. A total of 45 points converts to 10. The conversion uses the Ministry of Education table.

What is the lowest exam mark that still lets me be admitted to a degree?

You need an exam-phase mark of at least 4 to be admitted to a degree. Subject marks only count toward the extra weighting points if they are at least 5.

Where do I find the conversion table for my country?

The country tables are published on the UNED website. Find your country and education system there, and check that the table is the current one.