Aerospace Engineering in Porto once again receives the highest score

The number of places moving to the second phase increased by 130.4% compared to 2024, with 11,513 places still unassigned. However, this is unlikely to happen, as 90.1% of students have already found a job—and 90.9% were placed in one of their top three choices, according to the Ministry of Education.

Regarding scholarships, fewer students benefiting from Tier A of the School Social Assistance Program were placed compared to last year. 1,548 students found a place at Portuguese universities, down from 1,655 in 2024. "To ensure better conditions for the start of the academic year for needy students, decisions on scholarship applications submitted by students placed in the first phase of the National Entrance Exam who are recipients of family allowance up to the 3rd tier are being brought forward to the placement phase, which will be decided and notified immediately. Subsequently, decisions regarding the award of +Superior scholarships will be made and notified, which aim to support higher education attendance and contribute to the retention of young people in regions of the country with lower demand and demographic pressure," announced the Ministry of Education.

However, this year there was also a decrease, of 21.1% compared to last year, in the number of students placed in institutions located in regions with lower demand and less demographic pressure.

After this first phase of the higher education entrance exam, two institutions have filled their places. This is the case of ISCTE, with 1,214 applicants and where the program with the highest average score (16.65) is Psychology, and the Lisbon School of Nursing, with 278 applicants in the only program, which gives the school its name, and where the last applicant received a score of 15.1.

Lisbon also boasts the institution with the most students in this first phase: the University of Lisbon, with 7,076 students. Next comes the University of Porto, with 4,929, and the University of Coimbra, with 3,475 students. At these last two institutions, the number of places filled includes those placed at the Nursing Schools in the two cities, respectively.

On the other hand, Trás-os-Montes is home to the institution with the most vacancies. At the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, 1,282 places are still awaiting students, with 762 of them continuing their studies there.

…and the courses that nobody wanted

From one year to the next, the number of higher education programs in which no one was placed increased. In 2025, there will be 41, ten more than a year ago. The Polytechnic Institute of Bragança once again has the most vacant undergraduate programs, eleven instead of the nine registered in 2024. Gerontology, Renewable Energy Engineering, Environmental Education, and Oenology were some of the programs that attracted no applicants.

The top 3 is closed by the Polytechnic Institutes of Guarda and Portalegre, with five empty courses each.

The undergraduate programs that no one chose are all offered at Polytechnic Institutes, with the exception of two: Agronomy, at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Algarve, and Sustainable and Smart Cities, at the School of Science and Technology of the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro. By 2024, there would be four empty programs outside of a Polytechnic Institute.

When choosing a course, Portuguese students appear to be more inclined towards Engineering, Health and Business Sciences as their first choice, a different order from last year, when degrees aimed at training new health professionals were in third place.

However, compared to 2024, all three areas have fewer placements and applicants, with the largest drop in placements being in Engineering (down 1,018). 236 fewer students found a place in Health, and 758 fewer in Business.