🇨🇱 How to apply to university in Chile

Applications go through Sistema de Acceso a la Educación Superior (DEMRE / acceso.mineduc.cl). Programmes usually start: March.

Checked on 20 October 2026 against the official sources listed below.

The essentials

Application system: Sistema de Acceso a la Educación Superior (DEMRE / acceso.mineduc.cl)Centralised admission to most universities runs on the PAES entrance test; registration for the 2027 process closed on 27 July 2026.
When programmes start: March.
International applicants: Students schooled abroad can sit the PAES and apply through the centralised system, and many universities also run special admission routes for foreign or foreign-schooled applicants, applied for directly.
Language: Spanish.

Key dates

Add all these dates to my calendar (.ics)

Registration for the PAES Regular for 2027 entry ran from 1 June to 27 July 2026 (extended); it cannot be joined now.

Date	What	Who	Intake	Source
30 November 2026 –2 December 2026	PAES Regular entrance test	Candidates registered for the PAES Regular 2026	Admisión 2027 (March 2027 start)	DEMRE — Calendario del Proceso de Admisión 2027
4 January 2027	PAES results published	PAES candidates	Admisión 2027 (March 2027 start)	DEMRE — Calendario del Proceso de Admisión 2027
4 January 2027 –7 January 2027	Centralised application window (closes 13:00, mainland Chile time)	All applicants through the centralised system	Admisión 2027 (March 2027 start)	DEMRE — Calendario del Proceso de Admisión 2027
18 January 2027	Selection results	All applicants through the centralised system	Admisión 2027 (March 2027 start)	DEMRE — Calendario del Proceso de Admisión 2027
19 January 2027 –21 January 2027	Enrolment, first stage	Selected applicants	Admisión 2027 (March 2027 start)	DEMRE — Calendario del Proceso de Admisión 2027
22 January 2027 –28 January 2027	Enrolment, second stage	Applicants admitted from waiting lists	Admisión 2027 (March 2027 start)	DEMRE — Calendario del Proceso de Admisión 2027

A window shows its opening date above its closing date. Individual universities and programmes can set earlier dates of their own — always confirm on the official page before you rely on a date. The calendar file adds each date as an all-day event with a reminder a week before.

Your checklist

The usual steps for an international student applying to a bachelor's in Chile, in order. Tick them off as you go — your ticks stay in this browser, with no account.

1.Choose programmes and check whether each university admits you through the centralised system (PAES) or a special admission route for students schooled abroad.
2.Register for the PAES on acceso.mineduc.cl or demre.cl in the registration window (June–July of the year before entry).
3.Sit the PAES at the end of November or start of December.
4.Apply for up to your chosen programmes in the four-day window in early January, after the results.
5.If selected, enrol in the January enrolment stage.
6.Have your school certificates legalised or apostilled for the university.
7.Apply for the student residence permit (residencia temporal) with your enrolment certificate.

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Next steps

Sources

Written by CollegeMatcher in our own words from these official pages, checked on 20 October 2026. Dates change every year.

DEMRE — Calendario del Proceso de Admisión 2027