Acceptance in Brazil is based off of the Vestibular, a highly competitive examination that is used by Universities to select their students. The word Vestibular is derived from the word in portuguese “vestíbulo,” meaning “entrance hall”. The format of the Vestibular is decided by the universities, but the majority have the same structure consisting of multiple stages and lasting several days. The Vestibular tests a wide range of subjects including Portuguese language and literature, math, history, biology, physics, chemistry, and foreign language. The test takes place in December but is prepared months in advance. Numerous advertisements publicize the event to encourage students to prepare and choose "find out what it is to be" a student at different universities, as seen in this ad: https://vimeo.com/111541590
Highly competitive, the Vestibular is considered to overall be fair and unbiased. Nevertheless, students from wealthier backgrounds typically score better, largely attributed to the access to private school education. To combat this issue, certain universities have added a 10-15% bonus to scores from students who attended public schools in addition to the Racial-Quota System put in place, as is explained in the next post.
There are other factors that also limit the capacity for students to take the Vestibular. Diogo Franco, a student who applied to five universities, reported that he spent up to $150 for the exam, which is higher than the country's minimum monthly wage, and had to take a total of 13 separate tests each over 4 hours long in a variety of subjects. These monetary and time constraints limit the capacity for lower class students to apply and participate in the higher education system.
The Vestibular also requires that students pick a major when applying, limiting students to pick their career tracks as early as 16 years old. The strong emphasis on the importance of the Vestibular, as well as the constraints and requirements involved have proven to take a toll on students mental health. As stated by Eleusa de Almeida, associate director of several preparatory schools in Brazil, "Other than the death or divorce of a parent, the vestibular is the single most stressful event that a Brazilian adolescent is likely to undergo," and even warns parents that "the level of tension is such that every year [parents should] be on the lookout for vestibular students whose hair falls out, whose skin erupts or who develop ulcers." For these reasons, reforms to the Vestibular are in discussion nationwide to find alternatives that are still fair but reduce the amount of pressures and limits for everyone to apply.
For more information and sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/29/world/29RIO.html
Highly competitive, the Vestibular is considered to overall be fair and unbiased. Nevertheless, students from wealthier backgrounds typically score better, largely attributed to the access to private school education. To combat this issue, certain universities have added a 10-15% bonus to scores from students who attended public schools in addition to the Racial-Quota System put in place, as is explained in the next post.
There are other factors that also limit the capacity for students to take the Vestibular. Diogo Franco, a student who applied to five universities, reported that he spent up to $150 for the exam, which is higher than the country's minimum monthly wage, and had to take a total of 13 separate tests each over 4 hours long in a variety of subjects. These monetary and time constraints limit the capacity for lower class students to apply and participate in the higher education system.
The Vestibular also requires that students pick a major when applying, limiting students to pick their career tracks as early as 16 years old. The strong emphasis on the importance of the Vestibular, as well as the constraints and requirements involved have proven to take a toll on students mental health. As stated by Eleusa de Almeida, associate director of several preparatory schools in Brazil, "Other than the death or divorce of a parent, the vestibular is the single most stressful event that a Brazilian adolescent is likely to undergo," and even warns parents that "the level of tension is such that every year [parents should] be on the lookout for vestibular students whose hair falls out, whose skin erupts or who develop ulcers." For these reasons, reforms to the Vestibular are in discussion nationwide to find alternatives that are still fair but reduce the amount of pressures and limits for everyone to apply.
For more information and sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/29/world/29RIO.html