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Open spots at Spanish universities in August: what "resultas" are and how to get one
The July admission round is already behind us, but that doesn't mean the opportunities are gone. Every August, dozens of degree programmes across Spain still have open spots that keep getting released, or are offered directly to whoever asks. Here's what you need to know.
July is when most of the noise around Spanish university admissions happens: first allocation round, second allocation round, waiting lists. But the process doesn't end there. Many universities keep receiving withdrawals and releasing spots throughout August, and some degree programmes — especially lower-demand ones — still have room by September.
Why spots are still open in the middle of August
When a student is admitted to several degree programmes at once and chooses to enrol in only one, the others are left vacant. That trickle of withdrawals doesn't stop on the day of the official allocation: it continues as admitted students make their decisions, which is why universities keep opening new allocation rounds in August to fill those gaps. The University of Zaragoza, for example, still had open spots in four degree programmes at the end of July — including History, History of Art, and Environmental Sciences, with a cutoff grade of 5 — with an additional round scheduled for 24 August.
The August cutoff grade isn't the same as July's
This is the part that matters most if you narrowly missed getting in: if a degree programme still has open spots, the cutoff grade to get in can drop compared to July, because it's no longer competing against the same volume of applicants. There's no guarantee it will drop enough, but checking directly with the university whether your programme still has spots is free and takes only a couple of minutes.
Watch the deadlines: an open spot can be lost too
The mechanism is the same as in July: if you're offered a spot and don't formalise your enrolment within the given deadline, the spot is released again and passed to the next person on the list. There's no second chance until the next admission cycle, so it's worth acting quickly once a spot is confirmed.
Still haven't taken your entrance exam? Catalonia has the last sitting of the year
Almost every Spanish region already held its extraordinary EBAU sitting in late June or early July. Catalonia is the exception: its extraordinary sitting takes place on 2, 3 and 4 September, the last exam window of the year for anyone who still needs to pass or raise their grade before trying to get into a programme with open spots.
What to do if your programme has no spots left anywhere
If, after checking several universities, the programme you want still has no room, the most common alternatives are: looking at the same programme in a different autonomous community (cutoff grades vary a lot from one region to another), considering a related degree where credits can later be recognised, or looking at private universities, which generally don't apply a cutoff grade and tend to keep enrolment open longer.
Compare cutoff grades, prices and available spots by university at Vocaria →