Talk:University and college admission

Request for Update

The Brazil section needs to be revised to take into account recent changes in university admissions brought by the introduction of the national ENEM exam and the use by the federal universities of a racial quota system. Here is a proposed revised text:

"Brazil is a federal republic consisting of different states, each of which has its own local government. All public universities in Brazil are 100 % tuition-free and funded either by the federal government or one of the individual state governments with tax-payer money. Until recently, admission to undergraduate courses in all public universities (federal or state alike) was based solely on the marks obtained in a competitive entrance exam popularly known as Concurso Vestibular. Candidates would apply to a course of interest within a given university and available first-year places assigned to that particular course would be filled according to the ranking of the candidates in descending order based on their overall final mark in the Vestibular.

Generally speaking, each public university was responsible for organizing its own Vestibular and the format of the exam varied greatly from institution to institution. In most cases, candidates had to take multiple papers including both multiple-choice tests, write-in problems, and written essays. Irrespective of the format however, the entrance exam syllabus had to be based on the curriculum guidelines set by the federal Ministry of Education for secondary schools (Ensino Médio) and therefore any Vestibular exam typically consisted of a mix of questions on core subjects such as Portuguese (Language and Literature), Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, and Geography, plus a foreign language (usually English). Due to the relatively high number of tested subjects, Vestibular exams were typically spread out over several days and were often divided into two parts (in Brazilian terminology, "fases"). Candidates were normally required to achieve a minimum cutoff score in Part I to be eligible to take Part-II papers.

In recent years however, university admission criteria have been considerably changed by the introduction by the federal government of a national secondary school exam known as ENEM (Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio) and the creation of a unified, national university application system known as SISU (Sistema de Seleção Unificada). 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 mark 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 (e.g. UNIFESP, UFRJ, UFMG, UFSC) 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 Part I ("primeira fase") of the Vestibular. Alternatively, ENEM results may be used as part of the final overall mark in the Vestibular and may account for up to 1/3 of the final score. More rarely, a few public universities have decided not to use ENEM marks 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 and, as of 2010, the prestigious state research universities in the state of São Paulo (USP and UNICAMP). Resistance to the ENEM among some top public universities comes mostly from the perception that the national federal exam is less selective/rigorous than the older independent Vestibular.

Another important recent development in university admissions in Brazil has been the introduction in most federal universities of a quota system where a certain number of places are reserved a priori to applicants of a certain racial/ethnic background who have completed their pre-university studies in a public (i.e state-funded) school. Candidates who qualify may apply to a course of interest under the quota system either through the national SISU system or directly at their university of choice ( in case that university uses both its independent Vestibular and the national ENEM exam to select applicants). Again as a notable exception, the selective federal military schools and the state universities in São Paulo have so far refused to use any quota system based on race or schooling background. USP and UNICAMP, however, have instituted a race-blind "social inclusion program" that gives a bonus in the final Vestibular mark to candidates who come from the public secondary schools, thus boosting their chances of securing a place in certain university courses of interest without necessarily using a pre-determined quota. "

Please review.161.24.19.112 (talk) 20:48, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

External link to www.nomajordrama.com = free online software for choosing college majors in the US and Canada

I added this external link (www.nomajordrama.com) ... but it was deleted by John for being inappropriate (spamming perhaps?). It's true that I am one of the creators of the No Major Drama website (the external link), but it is completely free, and it helps users to choose college majors in the US and Canada. That is, readers of this article stand to benefit from the External link. Would editors please check out the site (www.nomajordrama.com) and decide whether it is an appropriate External Link or not? Thank you. Best wishes Paulwizard (talk) 07:16, 27 February 2011 (UTC)