Spain's Selectividad (EBAU) and Nota de Corte: How University Entry Grades Work

How the admission grade is built

Spain's university entry grade, the nota de admisión, combines your Bachillerato results with your EBAU (Evaluación de Bachillerato para el Acceso a la Universidad) exam score. Your Bachillerato average counts for 60% of your base grade, and your EBAU general-phase result counts for the other 40%, producing a base score out of 10.

This EBAU structure, published on the Ministry of Education portal, replaced the older Selectividad exam but kept the same core logic: two years of school work and one set of standardized exams both matter for your final score.

General phase vs specific phase

The general (mandatory) phase tests subjects every Bachillerato student takes regardless of track: Spanish language and literature, a co-official regional language where applicable, history of Spain or philosophy, a foreign language, and one core subject tied to your Bachillerato modality (sciences, humanities, or arts). You sit the general phase to get any nota de admisión at all.

The specific (optional) phase works differently. You choose extra subject exams purely to raise your score for competitive degrees. These do not change your base 0-10 grade. Instead, each subject you sit gets multiplied by a weighting factor, 0.1 or 0.2, set independently by every university and degree program, and added on top of your base grade.

How the bonus points push your score above 10

Because specific-phase subjects add on top of your base grade rather than replacing it, your final nota de admisión reaches a maximum of 14 out of 14, not 10. For example, a student with a base grade of 9.5 who sits two specific-phase subjects weighted at 0.2 each, scoring 8 and 9 out of 10, gains 1.6 and 1.8 extra points. That adds up to a final nota de admisión of 12.9, still under the 4-point bonus cap that applies across the specific phase.

This is why two students with identical Bachillerato averages and EBAU general grades sometimes finish with different final scores: the specific phase, and which subjects each university weights highest, decides who edges ahead for a competitive spot.

Nota de corte: the moving target

Nota de corte is not a fixed passing grade. It is the lowest nota de admisión among students who got the last available place in a specific degree at a specific university the previous admission round. Popular degrees at popular universities, medicine and psychology being the classic examples, post the highest nota de corte figures, while less competitive programs accept every applicant who clears the base pass requirement.

Because nota de corte depends entirely on how many students apply and how they scored that year, it shifts from one cycle to the next. Check the current figures directly on your target university's admissions page rather than relying on numbers from a previous year, since even a small shift in applicant numbers changes the cut-off.

Regional differences

Each of Spain's 17 autonomous communities organizes its own EBAU sitting, so exact subject options and exam dates vary by region even though the national 60/40 weighting formula stays the same everywhere. If you study your Bachillerato in one region and want to apply to a university in another, most nota de corte figures still apply, since Spain does not restrict cross-region applications, though some universities give priority to their own region's applicants once your score matches the cut-off.

Private universities in Spain generally do not use nota de corte, since their capacity is not centrally allocated the same way. If a public university's nota de corte for your target degree looks out of reach, compare entry requirements at private alternatives alongside your public application.

Passing and retaking the exam

You need a combined general-phase score of at least 5 out of 10 to pass EBAU and gain university access. If you fall short, you keep your Bachillerato diploma, since passing the EBAU is a separate requirement from finishing school, but you cannot apply to university until you clear it.

Spain lets you resit EBAU in a later sitting without repeating Bachillerato itself, and your university admission system generally keeps your best result from either the ordinary or an extraordinary sitting. If your first attempt leaves you below the nota de corte you need, resitting specific-phase subjects to raise your bonus points is often more realistic than retaking the whole general phase.

International and non-Spanish qualifications

If you hold a non-Spanish qualification, such as an International Baccalaureate diploma or another EU school-leaving certificate, you do not sit the Spanish EBAU directly in most cases. Instead, UNED (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia) runs a credential process that converts your foreign results into an equivalent Spanish admission score, giving you a credencial you then use to apply through the same university admission portals as EBAU-taking students.

This credential route still lets you sit optional subject exams for bonus points to raise your score for a competitive program, following the same weighting logic used for EBAU students. Contact UNED directly for the current application window and required documents, since deadlines for this credential process run earlier than Spain's main EBAU calendar.