Higher-Education Applications Reach a Record Even as Digital Exam Marking Sows Doubt
First-phase applications to Portugal's universities and polytechnics passed 55,000 — above all of last year's first phase — as the window closes Thursday. A troubled switch to digital marking of some 300,000 national-exam scripts delayed grades and triggered more than 20,000 appeals.
Applications to Portugal's public universities and polytechnics have hit a record for the first phase of this year's admissions round, even as the process unfolds against a backdrop of confusion over how national school-leaving exams were graded. The first-phase window of the Concurso Nacional de Acesso (National Access Competition) closes on Thursday, and by Tuesday roughly 55,000 candidates had already registered — comfortably above the 49,595 who applied across the entire first phase last year.
The final tally is being managed by the Direção-Geral do Ensino Superior (Directorate-General for Higher Education, or DGES), which this year is offering 56,790 places under the general-access regime that covers both universities and polytechnics. That is 834 more than a year ago, a modest expansion of a system that remains the main gateway into Portuguese higher education for school-leavers.
What makes the record striking is how slowly the round began. On the opening day, just 304 students submitted applications, against roughly 10,000 on the first day of the equivalent 2025 process. The near-standstill start reflected an unusual source of anxiety: uncertainty over the grades from this year's exames nacionais (national secondary-school exams), which for the first time were marked through a new digital system covering some 300,000 scripts.
That transition did not go smoothly. Processing errors delayed the release of results, leaving students unsure of the final marks they would carry into the application formula — a decisive factor, since placement in the most competitive courses can turn on tenths of a point. With grades in flux, many candidates held back, waiting for firmer numbers before committing to an ordered list of course preferences. The late surge that pushed applications past last year's total suggests most eventually filed once the picture cleared.
The grading troubles also generated an unusually heavy volume of appeals. More than 20,000 requests for re-evaluation of exam scripts were filed — roughly triple the number lodged a year earlier — as students sought to challenge marks they suspected had been mishandled in the switch to digital assessment. Each successful appeal can alter an applicant's standing, adding a further layer of uncertainty to a system already under strain.
The stakes are high for families across the country, for whom a university place can hinge on the accuracy of a single grade and the timing of a single deadline. With the first-phase window now closing, attention turns to the results: DGES is due to announce placements on 23 August, after which a second phase will run from 24 August to 20 September for students who miss out or seek a different course. For this year's cohort, the record turnout is a sign of undiminished demand for higher education — but the shaky rollout of digital marking has been a reminder of how much rests on getting the mechanics right.
