Spain is filling up – and not only with digital nomads and Northern European families chasing sun and remote work, but increasingly with foreign students who want to build their academic future here. In these early June days, hundreds of thousands of students across Spain are sitting the PAU, the university entrance exam still widely known as “selectividad”. For them, the stakes could not be higher: their chances of securing a place at a public university may be decided in just a few days of testing. At the same time, Spanish campuses are seeing a clear trend: more and more international students are choosing Spain as their study destination – and that additional influx is one of the factors pushing admission thresholds upwards.
Spain Expat Press Editorial Team
Spain turns into a study destination – not just for Erasmus
In recent years Spain has moved from being a classic Erasmus stopover to a serious alternative for a full bachelor’s or master’s degree. For many young people from Europe and beyond, the package is appealing: a globally important language, tuition fees and living costs that are still moderate compared with other countries, and the Mediterranean lifestyle that cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Granada or Seville sell almost effortlessly.
For many expat families, the idea of Spain as a complete education pathway is obvious: if their children complete upper secondary school or the Bachillerato here, the ideal scenario is that they also go on to university in Spain.
At the same time, the number of young people coming from abroad specifically to study medicine, engineering, psychology or tourism‑related degrees in Spain continues to rise.
More applicants, hardly any more places
What looks like a success story on paper creates pressure on the ground. The number of applications is rising, but the number of places – especially in the flagship degrees – has remained largely stable. Whether it is medicine, double degrees, engineering programmes or popular social sciences and humanities, the capacity of public universities cannot be expanded at the same pace as demand.
The result is a much fiercer competition. Ten years ago, a solid “notable” – roughly equivalent to a good B grade – was enough to enter many restricted programmes. Today, the admission threshold often sits in A‑grade territory. Hundredths of a point can decide whether a candidate gets a place or misses out. The PAU is no longer just a test of knowledge; it has become a bottleneck that far more applicants are trying to squeeze through than the system can realistically accommodate.
A campus that is more international – and more selective
For universities, this development has an obvious upside. Lecture halls are becoming more international, more English‑language or bilingual programmes are appearing, and partnerships with institutions around the world are expanding. On campus, Spanish, German, English, French, Latin American and many other students now share seminars and cafés as a matter of course, adding diversity that also boosts the reputation of Spanish universities.
The downside is that this internationalisation is also helping to sharpen the selection process. The more well‑prepared applicants there are, from Spain and abroad, the higher the grades needed to secure a place. For Spanish school‑leavers and for the children of expat families, that means planning has to start earlier, the PAU is turning into a real test of resilience, and the idea of a university place in the degree of their choice can no longer be taken for granted.
What is clear is that Spain remains a highly attractive place to study – arguably more attractive than ever. But that is precisely what turns entry to the public system into an odyssey: anyone hoping to study here now needs not only strong nerves, but also an average mark that creeps a little closer to top grades with every passing year.
