The application process

The Evaluation for University Access (EVAU / EBAU, or PAU) is a national exam taken in Spain for university admission purposes.

For applicants with Spanish qualifications

For students from the Spanish education system, the EVAU has two phases: 

• a general stage 
• optional (voluntary) stage.

The PCE tests are, however, only optional if admission to the chosen degree course does not require selection. If the course is competitive, such as Medicine and Engineering, and no PCE results are submitted, the candidate may not be admitted.

For applicants with non-Spanish qualifications

Students applying with non-Spanish qualifications will need to obtain accreditations that match the Spanish grade system. In particular, Cambridge International A levels will be accredited to obtain an Access Score (Calificación para admisión) with a maximum of 10 points. Additionally, the student may need to sit the PCE in order to increase their score by a maximum of 4 points, or if they apply to university through the homologation process. This is explained further below.

For applicants with non-Spanish qualifications, there is a choice of two main pathways when applying to Spanish state universities:

• Direct access: the student only needs to prove that their qualifications give them access to higher education in the origin country of their qualifications. This path applies for students who have completed their school studies in an education system in the European Union or in a country that has an agreement with Spain. Students applying with UK qualifications, including Cambridge A Levels, continue to be eligible for the Direct Access path, on the basis of a bilateral agreement signed by the two governments in July 2023.
  
• Homologación / Homologation / Validation: the student needs to demonstrate that their qualifications are equivalent to the Spanish qualifications. This path is for students applying to Spanish universities having completed their studies in an education system from any foreign country, either within the European Union or elsewhere.

For both pathways, students can apply for accreditation through UNEDasiss. Taking either of the two routes will ultimately involve the calculation of a score for the selection purposes mentioned above. This score is calculated on a scale of maximum 14 points, as explained in this factsheet (PDF, 98KB).

In this factsheet (PDF, 101KB) you can find a brief comparison of the two pathways to help you decide which route to take.