The Community of Madrid starts the university entrance exams for nearly 40,000 students next Tuesday

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They are being held until Friday on the campuses of the region's six public universities. On the first day, students will sit the exams in Spanish Language and Literature II and History of Philosophy. On Wednesday, they will take First Foreign Language and History of Spain, and on Thursday and Friday, they will sit the optional and modality subjects. As a novelty, each subject will present a single exercise model, as opposed to the two options of previous years. The regional government is reinforcing the public transport service to make it easier to get to campus, especially Metro Line 6.

On Tuesday 3 June, the Community of Madrid will begin the University Entrance Examination (Prueba de Acceso a la Universidad, PAU) for the 2024/25 academic year, for which 39,801 students will sit this year's exams. Of these, 12,588 will do so at the Complutense University, 9,847 at the Autónoma, 5,930 at the Carlos III, 5,635 at the University of Alcalá, 4,155 at the Rey Juan Carlos University and, finally, 1,646 at the Polytechnic. 

On the first day, students will take Spanish Language and Literature II and History of Philosophy; on Wednesday, First Foreign Language and History of Spain; and on Thursday and Friday, they will sit the optional and modality subjects. Finally, Saturday 7 June will be available for solving incidents or cases in which a candidate has not been able to sit an exam due to a coinciding timetable. 

Those registered who are unable to attend due to exceptional and duly accredited circumstances may make use of the extraordinary call, which will be held between 1 and 3 July, with 4 July for coincidences and incidents. 

One of the new features of the PAU 2025 is that each subject will have a single model for the exercise, unlike in previous years when there were two options, although some sections may be chosen from among several questions. Tests must be completed in a maximum of 90 minutes and questions may be closed, semi-constructed or open-ended, provided that the latter two make up at least 70% of the total. The design should include a minimum of 20% competency-based questions. 

In addition, the guidelines and criteria for assessment and marking which were announced at the beginning of the academic year are maintained. As for the timetable, they will be held from 9.30 am to 11 am, from noon to 1.30 pm and from 4 pm to 5.30 pm. The call shall be made at least 30 minutes before the start of each test. 

MORE METRO AND CITY AND INTER-CITY BUSES 

With the aim of guaranteeing the best conditions for trips and avoiding congestion, Metro is reinforcing lines 2, 3, 5 and 10 by 21% and there will also be an increased service on the section of line 6 that remains open, which will be under construction. In addition, the special arrangements include a 33% increase on the night of Friday 6 June to meet the demand of users who use the underground to mark the end of the PAU. 

As for the EMT, 224 additional buses will be available to cover these routes. In the case of the Moncloa Campus, lines F, G, U, 82 and 132 will be reinforced and, for students going to the Somosaguas Campus, there will be more services on the A and H lines. 

Students travelling to Ciudad Universitaria who are affected by the closure of Metro L6 between Moncloa and Méndez Álvaro have several alternatives available to them, in addition to the Special Replacement Service (SE6) which covers the over-ground route. All information is available on https://www.metromadrid.es/en.

 Regarding intercity buses, those that connect Madrid with the faculties of Alcalá de Henares, line 227 or the Autónoma in Cantoblanco, the 714 and the urban L2 of the town of Alcalá de Henares, will have the same frequency as on school days in winter.