Second-year Baccalaureate students face the final stretch of the course and little by little the time is approaching to decide what they want to do once this educational stage in which they find themselves ends. Between a gap year, Vocational Training or a course of any type, there are more and more options to continue studying. However, the one that continues to be chosen year after year by thousands of students is the EBAU, one of the ways they have to study a university degree.
For students, this test can be confusing, especially due to the rules that exist for taking it, the strategic approaches it may have, the volume of syllabus that it groups together and the ways there are to prepare it. Although it has always been a complex test, it has changed along with educational laws. Surely the EBAU that young people will face today has nothing to do with that of their parents.
This test is made up of several phases that make up a scoring system that ranges from 0 to 14. Firstly, part of the EBAU grade is based on the average of each Baccalaureate student. That is why students’ grades during these last two years of study are so important, since they can determine whether or not they access their dream career at the university.
In the General Phase, it is made up of 4 points and to obtain them, students take exams on subjects common to everyone, regardless of the itinerary they have taken during the Baccalaureate. These exams are mandatory and include the subjects of History, Spanish Language, English and Philosophy or History, here students can choose which of the two they want to take. In addition, they must also take a specific exam of the official language of each province. In the case of Catalonia, students must take the Catalan Language and Literature exam.
The Specific Phase allows you to raise the grade you have, which you have obtained from the previous phases, to gain entry into a career whose cut-off grade is higher than 10. During this Phase, students will be able to take the exam in four additional subjects to choose from. that have been taught during the Baccalaureate.
Although students normally choose those subjects that they have taken during the two years of Baccalaureate, the truth is that they can choose the subject they want, even if they have not taken it. In addition, they may also choose to take the exam in a foreign language, different from the one they took the exam in the General Phase.
Students who wish to do so may take the Musical Analysis, Performing Arts, General Sciences or Artistic Drawing exams, all introduced from the new existing Baccalaureate modalities. These 4 subjects are added to those already known by the educational community: Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Social Sciences and Latin, expanding this selection up to 7 for students to choose from within the general phase of the EBAU.
After finishing the exams, we have to wait for the grade obtained from the aforementioned phases, each one with a different percentage. The Base Grade is obtained from the Baccalaureate average, which counts for 60%, and the one obtained in the General Phase, which counts for the remaining 40%. To calculate the Base Note, the percentage of each phase must be calculated and added together.
On the other hand, the Specific Phase grade is used to obtain a sufficient grade to access careers that have a cut-off grade higher than 10. The exams in this phase have a score: 0, 1 or 2. If the exam is passed , that score is added to the Base Note to increase it. The value of each subject will depend on the university and the career you want to access.
Even if your grade is above 14 when the final grades are released, that means that over time it will continue to be that way. The grade you obtain in the Base Grade is valid indefinitely, you could say it is eternal. However, the grades obtained in the tests to improve the admission grade will be valid for the two academic years following their passing.
Afterwards, the grade obtained in the specific part will not be valid and, if you want to enter a university study after those two years since you took the EBAU exam, you will have to take the exam again if the grade obtained, from the Baccalaureate and the General Part, It is not enough to access the degree you choose.
Even so, don’t get frustrated if you don’t get into the university degree you want. There are different paths to enter university and not choosing the most common one does not mean that you will not get there anyway. Whether accessing from a Higher Degree, or from a similar career, there are different ways and strategies to continue training and achieve your goals.
