University and college admission
University admission or college admission is the process through which students enter tertiary education at universities and colleges. Systems vary widely from country to country, and sometimes from institution to institution.
In many countries, prospective university students apply for admission during their last year of high school or community college. In some countries, there are independent organizations or government agencies to centralize the administration of standardized admission exams and the processing of applications.
Armenia
Admission to the Armenian state institutions of higher education is centralized. Students apply to universities during their last year of high school. The standardized university admission tests are administered every summer right before the start of the new academic year starting each September. Currently, there are 26 registered State and private universities in Armenia. Admission to private universities is dependent upon the policies of each private institution.Australia
As Australia uses a Federal system of government, responsibility for education, and admission to Technical and Further Education colleges and undergraduate degrees at universities for domestic students, are in the domain of state and territory government. All states except Tasmania have centralised processing units for admission to undergraduate degrees for citizens of Australia and New Zealand, and for Australian permanent residents; however, applications for international and postgraduate students are usually accepted by individual universities. The Australian government operates the Higher Education Contribution Scheme for undergraduate students, so admission is rarely limited by prospective students' ability to pay up-front. All states use a system that awards the recipient with an ATAR, and the award of an International Baccalaureate meets the minimum requirements for admission in every state. ATARs are awarded based on the level of attainment in each State's individual secondary schooling exams. For individuals without an ATAR, or recent secondary schooling certificate, the Special Tertiary Admissions Test is used as the standard test to provide an ATAR. The maximum possible ATAR rank is 99.95, based on a 2000-point ranked scale.New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory
The Universities Admissions Centre processes applications for admission to most undergraduate courses at participating institutions, mainly in NSW and the ACT.It also:
- processes applications for admission to many postgraduate courses
- calculates the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank and notifies NSW HSC students of their ATAR
- administers tertiary admissions tests, such as the Special Tertiary Admissions Test
- processes applications for Educational Access Schemes and for some Equity Scholarships.
Northern Territory
Queensland
The Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre accepts applications for Queensland tertiary institutions. Year 12 students are awarded an Overall Position, based on their performance in class subjects and their school's average result in the Queensland Core Skills Test, as well as meeting course requirements.South Australia
The South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre accepts applications for South Australian tertiary institutions. Year 12 students are awarded the South Australian Certificate of Education, and must meet course requirements. Their year 12 results are compared with students from the same year to determine their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank.Tasmania
n school leavers applying for entrance at the University of Tasmania need to apply directly to the university. Tasmanian school students receive a Tertiary Entrance Rank on successful completion of the Tasmanian Certificate of Education. Students wishing to study at the University of Tasmania must directly apply through the university.Victoria
The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre accepts applications for Victorian tertiary institutions. Applications consist of standardised test results and meeting institutional requirements. The standard certification for school leavers is the Victorian Certificate of Education.Western Australia
The Tertiary Institutions Service Centre accepts applications for Western Australian tertiary institutions. The standardised test for school leavers is the Tertiary Entrance Examination.Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium
, Switzerland, and Belgium have a comparatively open system of university admission, where anyone with a Matura or equivalent qualification may enroll in most subjects at public universities. In Belgium as well, the only prerequisite for enrolling in university studies is to have obtained a high-school diploma. In both Switzerland and Belgium, medical studies are an exception, which have a numerus clausus system due to overcrowding. This open admission system has resulted in higher enrollment rates in popular fields of study such as psychology and journalism, which has coincided with higher dropout rates in these areas.. Following a ruling by the European Court of Justice issued on July 7, 2005, which forces Austria to accept nationals of other EU Member States under the same conditions as students who took their Matura in Austria, a law was passed on June 8 allowing universities to impose measures to select students in those fields which are subject to numerus clausus in Germany. Starting in 2006, the three medical universities did introduce entrance exams. There are no intentions to introduce a numerus clausus in any subject field.Brazil
In Brazil, the most common selection process happens via the ENEM - Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio. Annually designed for high school seniors and open to people of any age, it allows people with a high school certificate to enter public and private universities. There are also different types of entrance exams in public and private universities, since not every higher education institution accepts the ENEM score. Around 3 to 8 million people register each year to take the exam.Vestibular
In order to enter university in Brazil, candidates must undergo a public open examination called "Vestibular", which lasts about 1 week and takes place once a year. Some universities may run Vestibular twice a year, for two yearly intakes instead of only one. This option is popular with private universities, while public universities usually run Vestibular only once every year. Universities offer a limited number of places, and the best-ranked candidates according to their overall Vestibular grade are selected for admission. Although the Vestibular format changes from university to university, it typically consists of a week-long examination on compulsory high school subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, Portuguese language and literature, and a foreign language. Private universities usually "condense" this week-long examination into a couple of days, but some public universities still require a week-long marathon.In Brazil, public universities are tuition-free, leading to high levels of competition for limited spots, especially in popular programs. Due to the high number of applicants, the Vestibular at some public universities may include a preliminary elimination phase, typically consisting of multiple-choice questions and held between one and two months before the subject exams. A minimum cutoff score is normally required at the elimination phase to advance to the second part of the Vestibular.
National Unified Admissions System
In recent years, university admission criteria have been considerably changed by the introduction by the federal government of a new national secondary school exam known as ENEM and the creation of a unified, national university application system known as SISU. Candidates in any Brazilian state can now apply for admission into courses available in the SISU system, even if the course of interest is offered by an out-of-state university. Places in any given course within the system are then filled based on the ranking of the applicants in descending order according to their overall grade in the ENEM. The application process is divided into three stages and candidates who fail to get a place in their course/university of interest in a given stage may re-apply either to the same or to a different course/university in subsequent stages.In theory, any Brazilian university, either public or private, is free to join the SISU system and select their incoming freshman class based on ENEM marks. As of today, most public universities have joined SISU, but a few of them, most notably some of the most prestigious federal universities have retained their own independent Vestibular exams, on top of the national ENEM, either for admission into all or part of their undergraduate courses.
Sometimes the ENEM replaces the old elimination Part I of the Vestibular. Alternatively, ENEM results may be used as part of the final overall grade in the Vestibular. More rarely, a few public universities have decided not to use ENEM grades at all and continue to base their admission criteria on the Vestibular only. Notable examples in the latter group include the highly prestigious federal military schools like ITA and IME. Some public universities have opted to retain their independent Vestibular exams, citing concerns about the comparative selectiveness and rigor of the national federal ENEM exam.