LATIN AMERICA · BRAZIL
Students in Brazil finish school in different ways: with the Ensino Médio certificate, the IB Diploma, an American diploma with AP courses, or A Levels. Yours shapes where you can apply and what each university will ask of you.
For 2027 entry
START WITH YOUR QUALIFICATION
To apply to Brazilian universities, you take ENEM, the national exam, a university’s own entrance exam (vestibular), or both. With the IB, an American diploma, or A Levels, universities abroad look at your results, your school’s grading, and your subjects, each in its own way.
BRAZILIAN CURRICULUM
You finish Ensino Médio with your school record and certificate, and you take ENEM in November, a vestibular such as USP’s FUVEST, or both.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
You take six subjects, three or four at Higher Level, plus the core. Your teachers predict your grades before the final exams in May.
AMERICAN CURRICULUM
At a bilingual or international school with an American curriculum, you finish with the school’s diploma and GPA, usually with Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exams.
BRITISH CURRICULUM
You usually take three or four A Levels in your last two years, with an exam board such as Cambridge International or Pearson Edexcel.
Letrado’s adviceAsk your counselor for your school profile early. It explains your curriculum and grading, and U.S. colleges read it alongside your transcript. At a Brazilian or bilingual school, ask how your school issues your record in English.
ENEM: The 2026 exam is on two Sundays, November 8 and 15. It covers languages, the humanities, the natural sciences, mathematics, and an essay (redação). Inep expects to release results in mid-January 2027.
Sisu, ProUni, and FIES: You apply through Sisu, the Ministry of Education’s Unified Selection System, with your ENEM results. They’re also used for ProUni (the University for All Program) and FIES (the Student Financing Fund). In 2026, Sisu took applications from January 19 to 23, so check the 2027 dates on the Sisu portal.
FUVEST, for USP: Registration for FUVEST 2027 closes at noon on October 9, 2026, and the fee is R$228. The first phase, on November 1, has 80 multiple-choice questions. The second phase is on December 6 and 7: Portuguese questions and an essay on the first day, then questions on subjects linked to your course.
USP’s results: FUVEST publishes its first list of admitted students on January 26, 2027. You can also apply to USP with your ENEM results, for up to three courses.
Testing for U.S. colleges: Harvard requires the SAT or ACT for fall 2027 entry, so check test dates and centers in Brazil early. Berkeley is test-free: it doesn’t use SAT or ACT scores in admissions.
English tests: If English isn’t your first language, colleges may ask for TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo scores. Berkeley asks for proof of English even from U.S. citizens and permanent residents who live and study outside the U.S.
Applying in Brazil too: If your school doesn’t also award the Ensino Médio certificate, ask how you’d show that you’ve finished secondary school when you enroll at a Brazilian university.
COMPARE THE SYSTEMS
You can apply to all three in the same year, and we help with all three. Each has its own application, deadlines, and idea of a strong applicant, so give each one its own plan.
UNITED STATES
Selective colleges look at your grades in the context of your school, alongside your essays, activities, teacher and counselor letters, and test scores where they ask for them. You apply to each college separately, often through the Common App.
Letrado’s adviceMake sure your school profile and counselor letter explain your curriculum. Then use your essays for what only you can say.
UNITED KINGDOM
You apply through UCAS to up to five courses, with one personal statement for all of them. Universities look closely at your subjects and predicted grades, and some courses add an admissions test or interview.
Letrado’s adviceChoose a subject you’d enjoy studying for three years, then check each course’s subject requirements before anything else.
BRAZIL
With your ENEM results, you can apply through Sisu, the national system, once results are out. Some universities also set their own entrance exam, or vestibular. USP’s is FUVEST, and USP also admits students on their ENEM results. All of USP’s undergraduate courses are free.
Letrado’s adviceRegister for each exam you need before its deadline. For FUVEST 2027, registration closes at noon on October 9, 2026.
EducationUSA, the U.S. government’s network of study advisers, has an advising center at FAAP in São Paulo. It offers one-on-one and group advising, webinars, and workshops. Some of its services have a fee, so ask which are free.
PLAN YOUR YEAR
U.S., UK, and Brazilian deadlines, results, and offers fall at different times. Seeing them together shows where you may need to decide before every result is in.
Brazil Oct 9
At noon.
UK Oct 15
18:00 UK time.
U.S. Nov 1
Other U.S. colleges set their own early dates.
Brazil Nov 1
Brazil Nov 8 and 15
U.S. Nov 30
You can submit from October 1.
Brazil Dec 6–7
U.S. Mid-December
U.S. Jan 1–2
Harvard’s is January 1, and Yale’s is January 2.
UK Jan 13
18:00 UK time.
Exam results Mid-January
Inep’s expected timing.
Brazil January
Check the 2027 dates. In 2026, applications ran from January 19 to 23.
Brazil Jan 26
In 2026, students on the first list pre-enrolled at USP from January 27 to 30.
Brazil Late February
In 2026, they began on February 23, and waiting-list calls ran into March.
U.S. Late March
Harvard’s come by the end of March, and Yale’s in late March.
U.S. May 1
The usual U.S. reply date, including at Harvard and Yale.
Exam results Early July
In 2026 they came out on July 6.
Exam results Mid-August
In 2026 they came out on August 11. UK universities then confirm conditional offers.
U.S. dates vary by college, so check each college’s own page. Each Brazilian university sets its own enrollment dates and calendar, so check each one you apply to.
TRY THIS WITH EACH UNIVERSITY ON YOUR LIST
Open each university’s own pages and note an answer for every row. Bring the gaps and questions to our conversation, or work through them with your counselor.
| What to check | What to note for each university |
|---|---|
| Your qualification | Does it accept the Ensino Médio certificate or the diploma you’ll finish with, for direct entry? |
| Subjects and tests | Which subjects, grades, English tests, or admissions tests does the course need? |
| Dates | When is the deadline, when will you hear back, and when must you reply or enroll? |
| Full cost in reais | Tuition, housing, flights, insurance, and visas for the whole degree, and again with a weaker real. |
| Would you go? | If this were your only offer, would you be glad to go? |
PLAN THE COST
A U.S. bachelor’s degree usually takes four years, and many UK degrees take three. Exchange rates can change over that time, so plan for the full degree, not just the first year. In Brazil, USP charges no tuition for any of its undergraduate courses, so set every offer abroad beside that.
YOUR YEARLY BUDGET
Letrado’s adviceRun your budget twice: once at today’s exchange rate and once with the real 10% weaker. Keep at least one option that still works.
UK Student visa: You can apply up to six months before your course starts. You pay the health surcharge for every year of your visa when you apply.
U.S. student (F-1) visa: You apply once your college has sent your I-20 form. If you’re a U.S. citizen, you don’t need one.
A STUDENT FROM SÃO PAULO · A.P.
A.P. went to a bilingual secondary school in São Paulo. She wanted to study architecture and applied to UK and U.S. programs, each with its own portfolio, testing, and course expectations.
She had picked only polished facade drawings. The rebuilt portfolio followed three small investigations, including a model with a failed material choice and the change it led to.
It looked elegant from the road but gave little shade when commuters actually used it. She connected what she saw with how people use a place, without claiming she could fix the city’s transport.
British architecture degrees and broad U.S. programs had different deadlines, portfolio rules, and testing, so one plan wouldn’t work for both.
Imperfect work that shows your thinking can say more than a finished image.
HER OFFERS
HER CHOICE: BERKELEYUniversity of California, Berkeley · Photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain. Cropped.
Cambridge offered a focused architecture route, and Columbia broader study in New York. Berkeley’s environmental-design setting, academic flexibility, and overall family cost made the strongest combination for her.
WHEN YOU’D LIKE A HAND
Bring your questions to a free 45-minute introduction with your proposed mentor. Afterward, we’ll email a personalized plan with recommended next steps.
