More than 44,000 students in Catalonia begin university entrance exams

At 9am on Wednesday morning, 44,238 students in Catalonia began three days of university entrance exams (PAU).

This year is notable for changes introduced in accordance with Spanish education law.

Students will face "a single exam model – reducing optionality so that all exercises in an exam are mandatory, although some of these exercises may offer internal options."

There are also updated guidelines on spelling assessment.

The exams – commonly known as "la selectivitat" – begin with Spanish language and literature and will finish on Friday.

Catalonia's universities department initially announced that spelling would only be assessed in language subjects, with a maximum penalty of two points (out of ten) in Catalan and Spanish, and no penalties in other subjects.

Last Wednesday, the department confirmed that penalties would only apply to Catalan and Spanish language exams.

But just 24 hours later, they reversed course, stating that up to one point could also be deducted for spelling, coherence and presentation in six additional subjects: Latin, Greek, geography, history of philosophy, history, and dramatic literature.

Record enrollment

This marks the fourth consecutive year of record PAU enrollment, following last year's milestone of over 42,000 students for the first time.

As well as changes to the exam model and spelling assessment, multiple-choice questions can comprise a maximum of 30% of each exam this year.

What remains unchanged is the overall structure of the exams, which is the same as in previous years and divided into two phases.

The access phase (formerly known as the general phase), which is mandatory, includes five exams: Catalan language and literature, Spanish language and literature, a foreign language, history or history of philosophy, and one elective subject from the standard high school curriculum.

Then there's the admission phase (formerly specific), which is optional and used to improve students' overall scores.

Students may choose to take exams in up to three optional subjects. The two best marks – after being weighted – are used to calculate the final admission score, which can reach a maximum of 14 points.

Most of the exams will take place at universities, as well as in some secondary schools where exams have been held in previous years.

By region, 33,776 students will take the exams in Barcelona; 4,168 in Tarragona; 3,819 in Girona; and 2,475 in Lleida.

Catalonia is the only Autonomous Community in Spain holding the PAU this week, with the rest of Spain holding theirs last week.

There are plans to coordinate exam dates with other Autonomous Communities for the 2027 PAU.

Results

The exam results will be published on June 25.

University pre-registration is open from June 3 to June 30, and the first allocation of places will take place on July 11.

The September PAU session will be held on September 3, 4, and 5.