Using ENEM to Apply to Universities Outside Brazil
Most people who ask this question are looking at Portugal. That makes sense, since it's the default option for Brazilians who want to study abroad without taking another standardized test. The reality is narrower than most websites suggest.
quais faculdades aceitam o enem fora do brasil
In Portugal, the main universities that accept ENEM scores as part of their entrance process for international students are: University of Lisbon (Universidade de Lisboa) - Several faculties accept ENEM, particularly the Faculty of Sciences (FCUL) and the Faculty of Architecture (FAUUL). The process goes through their international admissions portal, and your ENEM score needs to be accompanied by a formal translation.
University of Porto (Universidade do Porto) - Accepts ENEM for certain undergraduate programs. They have a specific quota for international students from Lusophone countries. The score conversion isn't automatic; you submit your results and they evaluate equivalence on a case-by-case basis. NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA de Lisboa) - Their international admissions page lists ENEM as one of the accepted documents. NOVA tends to be more flexible than the older state universities, but they still require the ENEM to be processed through their own evaluation system.
University of Coimbra - Accepts ENEM for international student admissions. This one is straightforward because Coimbra has a long history with international students, but spots fill up fast in popular programs like Medicine and Law. University of Algarve (UALG), University of Aveiro, and University of Minho all accept ENEM as well, though the range of programs available to international applicants varies significantly between them. Minho, for example, is heavier on engineering and tech programs.
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Beyond Portugal, there are a handful of options. Some Italian public universities accept ENEM through their own entrance exams or direct admission agreements. A few Chilean universities have started recognizing Brazilian standardized test scores as part of their admissions file. In the United States, certain colleges accept ENEM alongside TOEFL or IELTS, but this is uncommon and you'd be better off with SAT or ACT scores if that's your target. I spent about six months helping a friend navigate this process for Portugal back in 2022. The biggest issue I ran into wasn't which university to apply to, but the credential evaluation step. Our initial application to the University of Porto was returned because the ENEM score report didn't include the official translation into Portuguese with a certified seal. The university required the document to be translated by a recognized translation service, not just a Google Translate job or a personal translation. We ended up using a certified translator in São Paulo and had the document apostilled through the notary office. That added about three weeks and roughly R$400 to the process.
Here's something most people don't realize about the ENEM-to-international-universities pipeline: the raw score alone rarely determines admission. Portuguese universities typically convert your ENEM score into a 0-20 scale using their own formula, then compare it against the cutoff for that specific program in that specific year. This means a 650 average on ENEM might get you into Engineering at Aveiro but won't cut it for Medicine at Lisbon. The competition for health and law programs is fierce, and Portuguese universities know it. Another counter-intuitive detail: your ENEM scores from different years don't stack. If you took the exam in 2021 and 2023, only the most recent score is valid for admissions purposes. Some students try to cherry-pick by submitting their highest individual score from different years, but the universities reject this outright. You submit one complete ENEM result card, and that's it.
The typical processing time from submission to admission decision at Portuguese universities using ENEM is between 6 and 10 weeks. If you're applying to multiple schools, stagger your applications so you're not waiting on all of them at once. I'd recommend applying to two or three as your primary choices and having one backup that you know is more reachable. There are also visa implications. Even if a university accepts your ENEM score, you still need to prove financial capacity for the student visa. Portugal requires proof of approximately R$8.000 to R$10.000 per year in available funds, depending on the city. This is separate from tuition, which for public universities in Portugal costs around R$3.000 to R$6.000 per year for international students from Lusophone countries under the quota system.
For programs outside of Portugal, the landscape gets messier quickly. Italian universities that accept ENEM usually require you to also take their own admission test (like the Test d'Valutazione della Conoscenza di Italiano for Italian-taught programs). So ENEM becomes a supporting document rather than a standalone qualification. In Chile, the recognition process is handled by the university's international office individually, and there's no centralized system, which means you're essentially emailing admissions and waiting for a response that can take anywhere from one week to two months. If you're serious about this, start by picking one or two target universities and programs, then go directly to their international admissions pages. Don't rely on third-party blogs or forums for the final word, because these policies change every enrollment cycle. The information on the official university site is the only thing that matters on application day.