What is the cutoff grade?
The cut-off grade is the university admission grade obtained by the last student to enter a degree at a specific university.
How is it calculated?
The cut-off score is calculated by ranking all the admission scores of students who have applied for a place in that university degree program from highest to lowest. Applications are then accepted based on the number of available places, according to this established score ranking, with the score of the last admitted student being the cut-off score.
We give an example of calculation for a certain race. There are 10 places and 12 candidates (unrealistic case, since normally 100 to 500 places are offered per year). We order their scores from highest to lowest and then "cut" to the candidate who occupies tenth place. That grade will be the cut-off mark for that year for that degree at that university.
Don't confuse the cut-off score with the admission score! The cut-off score is the minimum score required to be admitted to a university program. The admission score is the score each student submits when applying to a specific degree program. If your admission score doesn't meet or exceed the cut-off score, you won't be able to study that program at that university. If you want to know how to calculate it, click here.
Characteristics of the cut notes
1. The cut-off score is a GUIDELINE. It changes from year to year, so it may be higher or lower one year. It doesn't usually vary much, but it can fluctuate slightly. However, don't expect it to drop by more than one point.
2. It is only valid for public universities. If you wish to enroll in a private university, you must consult the admission requirements for that specific degree program.
3. It is unrelated to the difficulty of the degree. High entry grades only explain high student demand, but it is quite possible that one university degree is easier than another with a lower entry grade.
4. Some programs don't have a cut-off score. This means they have a cut-off score of 5. This means these programs offer more places than there are applicants and don't fill their quotas. This is especially relevant if you applied during the extraordinary admissions period and there are no places available in most degrees, as they were filled through the regular admissions process.
Definitions about access to university
access note
The access grade is the result of weighting the high school grade (usually 60% of the grade) with the grades from the general phase presented in Selectivity (the remaining 40%). It is represented with a score out of 10 points. The minimum grade for each of the parts must be 4 points, with 5 being the minimum access grade that is considered for access to the university. This phase does not expire and is valid indefinitely.
Admission note
The admission grade is calculated by adding the weightings of the specific subjects taken to the access grade. These weightings can raise the grade by up to 4 points, with 14 being the maximum score. For this optional phase, exams with a grade of 5 or higher are considered. This grade is multiplied by a weighting coefficient , which can be either 0,1 or 0,2. Therefore, it is very important to know these coefficients in order to obtain the highest possible admission grade. This phase is valid for two years.
What is the cut-off mark for my university degree?
Before finishing, you may want to know the cut-off mark for the course and university you want to access. As we have already mentioned, they vary slightly from year to year, so you should be careful to be aware of these changes. Escuela PCE has the updated cut notes so that you can see in the current school year the grades that you have to have as a reference to know the difficulty of entering the desired grade.
