PSU 2013 reaffirms trend to stabilize the performance of applicants to Universities

Of the applicants who took the University Selection Tests (PSU), 731 were high school graduates from 2012, and 271 were graduates from previous years. Regarding gender, the number of women who took the PSU exceeded that of men: 531 versus 471.

The Council of Rectors reminded students to consider the value that the Grade Ranking will have within the 2013 Admission Process when applying.

The Grade Ranking, one of the new features of the 2013 admissions process, is an instrument that will allow the best high school students to receive a bonus for their outstanding academic performance.

A total of 233,284 people took the University Selection Tests (PSU) this year, representing a slight increase (1%) compared to 2012. This was reported this morning by the executive vice president of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH), Juan Manuel Zolezzi.

The PSU exams were administered at 566 locations, distributed across 170 sites, from Arica to Punta Arenas. The process involved 17,575 examiners, 1,133 site coordinators, 499 site managers, and 150 delegates and supervisors.

“We are proud of how the PSU administration process unfolded,” stated Juan Manuel Zolezzi, Executive Vice President of CRUCH. He added, “I want to thank the more than 230,000 students and their families who have placed their faith in a transparent and universally accessible admissions system, which will allow young people to apply to the 25 universities of the Council of Rectors and the 8 private universities that have joined the system since the 2012 admissions process,” explained Rector Zolezzi.

The data provided reveals that the trend regarding the percentage of registered students who did not take the tests (absenteeism level) was maintained, reaching 14% this year, quite similar to the level of 15% registered in 2012. In both periods this figure corresponds to the segments most benefited by the Mineduc free tuition scholarships implemented since 2006.

“Although the number of young people taking the test has increased, many students accept the PSU scholarship offered by the Ministry of Education, register to take the test, and ultimately do not attend, causing the Chilean State to incur a useless expense. We believe it is time to demand a greater commitment from the young people who receive this benefit,” explained Rector Zolezzi.

Figures and results

The analysis of the results showed that, in terms of trends, there are no major changes compared to last year.

Of those who took the PSU, 73% were high school graduates in 2012 and 27% were graduates from previous years. Of these, 47% were male and 53% were female.

Regarding educational institutions, 35.61% of the total students attend municipal schools, 52.91% attend subsidized private schools, and 10.61% attend private schools. This aligns with the composition of the country's secondary education system.

70.6% of those who took the PSU comes from a scientific-humanistic modality and the remaining 28.6% from the technical-professional modality.

National scores

The 2013 PSU process showed some variation in the number of students who achieved a perfect score. Compared to 2012, the number dropped from 316 applicants to 219.

In the case of the Mathematics test, the figure rose slightly to 136. In the case of the Language test, this year only one young person obtained a national score.

This year there was a slight increase in the number of young people who achieved a national score on the Science test, going from 31 in 2012 to 46 in 2013.

The biggest decrease was in the History and Social Sciences test. While 34 applicants achieved a perfect score this year, 148 did so last year.

The executive vice president of CRUCH explained that the number of national top scores in History and Social Sciences this year is completely normal: “Last year was the exception. In previous years, the figure was always close to 30 students,” he explained.

Zolezzi specified that the national scores for all tests tended to stabilize this year. “The number of national scores we see this 2013 is in line with historical results; 2011 and 2012 were an exception to the trend,” he explained.

Socioeconomic gap

Regarding the socioeconomic gap, the 2013 admissions process shows stable patterns compared to the previous year and preceding years, with significant differences in scores remaining between students of different socioeconomic levels.

New Developments in the 2013 Process

The Council of Rectors reminded students to consider the value of the Grade Ranking (RANK) in the 2013 admissions process when applying. This is different from the NEM (National High School GPA), and works as follows:

1. The RANK only applies to students who are above the average grade for their school, whether it is a public, subsidized private, or private school. For those below the average, the RANK will be the same as the NEM (National High School Grade Point Average).
2. The RANK awards a score based on the student's relative position compared to their peers at their school or establishment; not based on the average.
3. The RANK is calculated based on the average of the scores from each establishment's three previous promotions.
4. The RANK can be found on the Demre website, along with the NEM and the PSU result.

“The Council of Rectors diversified the admissions system by incorporating this grade ranking so that those young people who were good students in secondary education, but who unfortunately could not access quality education, can have greater opportunities of access to traditional universities and the eight private universities adhering to our admissions system,” explained Rector Zolezzi.