🇬🇹 How to apply to university in Guatemala

There is no central application system: you apply to each institution directly. Programmes usually start: USAC admits once a year, for the academic cycle that begins early in the calendar year (the 2027 cycle next); private universities set their own calendars.

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

The essentials

Application system: None — apply to each institution on its own website.
When programmes start: USAC admits once a year, for the academic cycle that begins early in the calendar year (the 2027 cycle next); private universities set their own calendars.
International applicants: International students apply to each university directly, through the same admission process as Guatemalans, with extra documents for schooling completed abroad. At USAC the annual enrolment fee for foreign students depends on nationality (Central American, other Latin American, rest of the world).
Language: Spanish.

Key dates

Add all these dates to my calendar (.ics)

There is no central system: each university admits directly. The dates are USAC's (the state university). Registration for the last 2027-cycle sitting of its basic-knowledge tests closed on 8 October 2026, so a new applicant is realistically aiming at the 2028 cycle — the 2027 cycle's sittings ran from May to October of the year before — or at USAC's preparatory programme (PAP). Faculty-specific tests and enrolment dates are set by each faculty and by the Registry; private universities publish their own calendars.

Date	What	Who	Intake	Source	Calendar
15 October 2026 –30 October 2026	Fourth basic-knowledge test (PCB) sitting (USAC)	Applicants to USAC registered for the fourth sitting	USAC, 2027 cycle	USAC Sistema de Ubicación y Nivelación — Pruebas (calendario PCB ciclo 2027)
4 November 2026	Results of the fourth PCB sitting available (USAC)	Applicants to USAC who sat the fourth sitting	USAC, 2027 cycle	USAC Sistema de Ubicación y Nivelación — Pruebas (calendario PCB ciclo 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 Guatemala, in order. Tick them off as you go — your ticks stay in this browser, with no account.

1.Choose a university and programme; each university admits directly and sets its own requirements.
2.At USAC, take the vocational-orientation process first (psychometric tests and a results session) to get your orientation card.
3.Register online for USAC's basic-knowledge tests (PCB) in one of the year's sittings and pass the subjects your programme requires — the tests are free; the preparatory programme (PAP) is the alternative.
4.Pass the faculty's own specific tests (pruebas específicas), which are valid for two years.
5.Have your secondary studies recognised (equiparación de estudios) by Guatemala's Ministry of Education — a recognition still in progress is not accepted.
6.Get your diploma and your course certificate apostilled or legalised through diplomatic channels, with sworn translations by a Guatemalan sworn translator for anything not in Spanish.
7.Pre-register on USAC's Registry portal, then enrol in person with the original documents and your passport (copy authenticated by a Guatemalan lawyer); foreign students pay an annual enrolment fee set by nationality.
8.Arrange your immigration status for study with Guatemala's migration authority before your course starts.

0 of 8 done · ticks are saved in this browser only

Next steps

Sources

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