Why didn't you enter the degree you wanted?

If the reader has young people around them of university age, they have probably heard the same story more than once: people who pass high school and the PAU with good grades and who, despite everything, do not manage to enter the studies they would like. Then they have to settle for studies that were not their preferred ones or, for those who can afford it, opt for a private university.

These are not anecdotal cases. If we look at the data, we will see that it is a systemic problem that has been brewing for years and has not been addressed, hoping that demographics would solve it. Between 2020 and 2025, the number of first-preference applicants to Catalan public universities and UVic has grown from 55,815 to 62,238 (provisionally, in 2026 it has dropped to 59,653 applicants), while the offer of places has barely moved: from 40,213 to 41,866. When many more people compete for practically the same places, the result is inevitable: cut-off grades rise and more students are left out. The median cut-off grade went from 5.92 in 2016 to 8.16 in 2026, which in no way is explained by an inflation of grades.

Despite the slight decrease, the pressure remains very high: this year, one in five pre-enrolled students has not obtained a place in the public system, and 40% of those who have obtained a place will not be able to study the degree they had marked as their first preference. If we also take into account that there are students who no longer indicate their real first preference in their applications, this percentage is even higher.

All this is the consequence of years of delay: while demand was growing, universities did not have the capacity to offer more places. There are two fundamental reasons. The first, and main one, is the chronic underfunding of our university system since the cuts resulting from the 2010-2014 crisis. According to the report published in February 2026 by CCOO, if in 2010 the investment was 9,249 euros per student, in 2023 it had still not recovered from the 2013 cuts: it stood at 8,276 euros, which in real terms is equivalent to 6,375 euros in 2010. With provisional data, in 2025 we would be at approximately 8,858 euros, which is equivalent to about 6,475 euros in 2010. As with other public services, the stress to which public universities are subjected makes it impossible for them to respond adequately to a demand that has grown significantly.

On the other hand, beyond the chronic lack of resources, our public universities operate in a context of hyper-regulation and rigidity that makes it very difficult for them to adapt to social and economic changes. Opening, closing, or reforming degrees requires long and complex bureaucratic processes, which can last up to three years and involve various levels within the university itself, AQU, the Generalitat, and the State.

The combination of lack of resources and bureaucracy has consequences. The most visible is the growth of private universities. The case of Madrid, which has been much discussed, is perhaps the most extreme. But in our country the trend has been the same. In the 2023-2024 academic year, the last for which data is available from Idescat, students in private centers represented 18% of those enrolled in official face-to-face degrees. If we include the UOC, the percentage is even higher. And if we focus on master's studies, even more so. A case that perhaps deserves special mention is that of the master's degree in secondary school teacher training, which became mandatory without enough places being offered in the public system. This diverts thousands of students each year to private universities, many of which are distance learning and, in some cases, of dubious quality.

All this has important consequences. On the one hand, in terms of quality: in our country, first-level research is mainly carried out in public centers and, although it does not always permeate sufficiently into student training, it does so to a greater extent than in centers where research activity is scarce or non-existent. On the other hand, the demotivation of students who do not get into their first choice is very high, and this exacerbates problems such as absenteeism or dropout. Furthermore, this deficit of public places has evident social effects: the option of private education is only within reach of those who can afford it and, therefore, the meritocratic logic of access to higher education based on grades is broken. This reproduces, reinforces, and perpetuates social inequalities.

When this problem is raised, the answer is often that forecasts point to a decrease in demand due to the demographic decline. The Valencian Institute of Economic Research recently published a report that estimated the expected reduction in demand for university studies in Catalonia between 2026 and 2041 at 5.8%. This is a very modest decrease, which in no way would solve the problem. Even if the reduction were more marked, as other forecasts suggest, without a recovery of resources and greater flexibility, public universities in our country will not be able to face with guarantees the challenges posed by social, technological, economic, and generational changes.