The Personal Aptitude Tests (or PAP) will be reinstated, after three years suspended due to the covid-19 pandemic, as one of the selection mechanisms, together with the selectivity note, of those students who have finished high school and They want to take a degree linked to sports science.
"From the universities of Catalonia, including TecnoCampus, we have considered that the tests can be carried out again without putting the health of teachers and students at risk," says Jordi Sánchez Grau, manager of PAP tests at TecnoCampus.
The results of this year's tests and how they affect student access to university training related to physical activity will be studied by the specialists who design the tests and the university centres. The objective will be to evaluate whether the physical tests to access this type of academic studies are maintained, modified or eliminated.
"During the period of time in which the tests were not carried out, we have observed that the cut-off mark has increased and that the students entering the first year have a more academic profile, we will see if this is maintained with the reinstatement of the PAP ”, explains Jordi Sánchez Grau.
And he adds: “The tests were a screening element for those students who were left out of the university because they did not reach it to be able to pass them despite having a good average and being interested in the more health-focused aspect of the studies . It is a fact that resonates in the heads of those of us who prepared the criteria to allow access to these studies”.
The interruption of the Personal Aptitude Tests due to the covid-19 pandemic will not imply an alteration of these in the new edition. "The tests that will be carried out this 2023 will be the same that should have been carried out before they were temporarily suppressed for health reasons", confirms Mr. Jordi Sánchez Grau.
The tests will consist of four different activities, three of which must be passed for the candidate to be considered suitable and to access undergraduate studies. The exercises that will be evaluated will be four: the Course Navette, the swimming test, the horizontal jump and the medicine ball throw.
“La Course Navette and the swimming exercise it is mandatory to be considered trained, otherwise you will be disqualified from the process. Of the other two, being competent in one of them will pass the Personal Aptitude Tests”, argues the manager of the PAP tests at TecnoCampus.
The tests, which have been agreed by a majority of the universities in Catalonia that offer degrees linked to sport, aim to measure the aerobic capacity and physical strength of future students. And the applicant will only be qualified as suitable or not suitable depending on whether the specific mark is reached in carrying out the exercise.
The process to take the Personal Aptitude Tests will begin during the first week of June. Students who choose to take the physical tests, in order to enroll in a degree linked to sport, must pre-register during the week between the 6th and 12th of this month.
"Candidates will have until the 13th to present the necessary documentation at the centers where they take the test," says Mr. Jordi Sánchez Grau. And he adds: "The applicant who makes the request can choose the institution where they can take the tests where it suits them by proximity, since the tests are unified and the Generalitat is the one that certifies and disseminates the results."
The documentation that must be presented is the application form to carry out the tests, an official medical certificate, a photocopy of the DNI and the Social Security card and the payment receipt.
"The medical certificate must include the textual citation that" the applicant is able to perform physical tests of maximum effort ", otherwise it will not be considered valid and will not be eligible to perform the PAP", recalls the test manager of Personal Aptitude in TecnoCampus.
The participants in the Personal Aptitude Tests will receive an email notification the next day if they are suitable to carry out university studies related to sport.
In the case of TecnoCampus, the documentation must be presented at the Student Information Point from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the tests will be held on June 22, 2023. In the case of doubt about the PAP process, there is the application document call for the 2023 personal aptitude tests, in which its operation is explained in detail.
“Sports and specialists in it have a fundamental role in recovering from illnesses. It is being shown that sport is beneficial for people who have suffered from cancer and that it is a fundamental factor for improving mental health”, concludes Mr. Jordi Sánchez Grau.
