How to calculate the cut-off grade for 2026? Everything you need to know after taking the PAU exams

Once the selectivity is over, thousands of students from all over Catalonia are impatiently awaiting the cut-off grades to know if they will be able to enter the degree they desire. While it is true that these change every year and that the definitive cut-off grades for 2026 will not be known until next July 10, it is already possible to know the admission grade of the PAU with a simple mathematical calculation.

At ARA we review how to do this simple calculation, taking into account the essential parts of the exam and how each one scores.

Cut-off grade and admission grade

Before getting into the subject, it is important to know the difference between the cut-off grade and the admission grade. The cut-off grade is the qualification of the last student who has obtained a place in a university degree. This is not fixed and varies each year depending on the demand and the available places for each course. Thus, if there is more demand than places, students with higher grades are the first to access each degree until the places are filled.

The admission grade is the final qualification with which the student will apply to enter the degree they want, and it is calculated with the results of the selectivity tests and the average of high school or vocational training. The admission grade can range from 5 to 14 points.

Calculate the grade for the general phase

To obtain the admission grade, we need to look at the structure of the university entrance exam. The PAU consist of two parts: a first mandatory phase and a specific phase that, although voluntary, is key to increasing the final grade and entering degree programs with the highest cut-off grades. If we add the grade from the mandatory phase – which is worth 40% – and the average grade from high school or the vocational training course completed – which is equivalent to 60% – we will obtain an initial final result. Then we will have to add the grade from the specific phase, if the student has decided to take the exam.

Therefore, first we need to calculate the university access grade without the specific subjects. With a calculator in hand, we must multiply 0.4 by the average grade obtained in the general phase – that is, the sum of all the results of the mandatory exams divided by the number of tests taken – and 0.6 by the average grade from high school. Then the two results will be added and we will obtain the general phase grade.

The second part of the grade: weightings

The second part of the calculation is done through weightings, a concept that serves to give more value to the qualification obtained in the PAU in subjects that are related to the degree that the student will finally pursue. In practice, this means that, depending on the subject chosen for the specific phase, the grade of the exam in question can be multiplied by 0.2 or 0.1.

For example, if a student wants to enter the double degree in translation and interpretation and applied languages at UPF, like Laura Tallada, the girl with the best selectivity grade in Catalonia this year, she will be able to multiply by 0.2 the results of her exam in subjects that are weighted for this degree, such as Catalan literature, Greek or cultural and artistic movements.

Each student can take as many specific subjects as they wish, but, in the end, only the two best grades will count. With a calculator in hand again, you have to take the best results from the exams taken in the specific phase, multiply them by 0.1 or 0.2 – depending on whether they are weighted or not – and, finally, add this figure to the grade obtained in the general phase.

Last year's cut-off grades

If you have already calculated your admission grade, while waiting for the cut-off grades to be released on July 10th, you can consult last year's cut-off grades for the degrees offered in Catalonia.