Prueba de Selección Universitaria

The Prueba de Selección Universitaria [ pɾweβ̞a de selekθi̯on uniβ̞eɾsitaɾja ] (PSU, Spanish " university selection test ") is the admission test, select the Chilean universities their students.

Origin and Goals

The PSU was introduced in 2003 as a temporary solution. Originally, the Sistema de la Educación Superior Ingreso a ( SIES, Spanish " system access to higher education " ) to replace the previously used Prueba de aptitud Académica (PAA, Spanish "academic aptitude test "). As its introduction failed, came short of the PSU in its place. The SIES should replace the PSU in 2007, but not implemented until today.

Unlike the old PAA, trying to assess aptitude and talent, measures the PSU candidates' knowledge. The preparation for the PSU therefore does not amount to the mechanical practicing predictable tasks, but on learning new and deepening of ancient knowledge. The test content of PSUs varies from year to year with the subject matter of the Chilean schools.

Although the previous academic performance are considered and some subjects such as psychology, architecture and theater studies require their own entrance examinations, the PSU is at public universities, the predominant selection - all the more so because in recent years the validity of school grades dropped. Private universities set but still give priority to their own test methods.

Form and analysis

The PSU is made up of four individual tests that are stored on two consecutive days. Two of the sub- tests - language and communication and mathematics - are mandatory for all applicants. Whether the remaining parts of history and social sciences and natural sciences must be stored depends on the desired degree program. The partial test of the natural sciences is composed of two modules; one of them is fixed, the other comprises according to the study target biology, physics or chemistry.

Just as the PAA of the PSU is a multiple-choice test. Candidates marked with a special pencil the appropriate one of the five possible answers. The test is analyzed by automated means, each correct answer is worth one point, for every four wrong answers, a point is deducted. The numbers of points to be transferred to a scale that follows a normal distribution. The final scores are in the range of 150 to 850 points.

The PSU- result will be charged with a certain weighting of the university with the school grade point average. Then, the test results of all candidates for a degree program will be arranged in descending order of score and issued by top-down commitments until the quota of the program is exhausted.

Approval process

Due to the importance of the PSUs the approval process to Chilean universities in common parlance is known as la PSU, although he formally Proceso de admision a las Universidades Chilenas means.

The approval process includes in addition to the test itself, the selection of students. He begins with the enrollment for PSU, which is stored in May and August, and the notice of the courses and their requirements and orientation of the scores of the previous semester. Later, the room occupancy, the test itself, the results announcement and enrollment of eligible applicants follows. Jumping from candidate despite passing the exam, followed by a second round of enrollment, move up in the candidate with worse outcome.

In recent years, the approval process was largely automated, so that today all parts of the application and results announcement will be handled via the Internet. Waiting times were significantly shortened by this procedure.