pursued a rigorous education for their sons in Spain. The aim was to continue producing future leaders to serve the Spanish Empire and its interests, often resulting in a well-developed final product of colonial governors. Most of these schools were established by Catholic orders such as the Jesuits, with the intention of emphasizing catholic values at heart, since the Catholic Church was arguably the greatest promoter of the Spanish Empire. Admission Admission to the Spanish university system is determined by the nota de corte (literally, "cutoff grade") that is achieved at the end of the two-year Bachillerato, an optional course that students can take from the age of 16 when the period of obligatory secondary education (Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, or ESO) comes to an end. A number between 1 and 10, the nota de corte is a combination of the grade achieved from the Bachillerato exams which the students take at school, and the average grade (nota de media) obtained from the university selection exam (commonly known as la Selectividad but officially named "Prueba de Acceso a la Universidad" or PAU) that the students will take at the local university. International students need a visa to study in Spain. The most popular courses at public universities demand the highest nota de corte, while for private universities cost is normally the factor that determines which course a student will follow (that is, the most popular courses are inevitably the most expensive). Ranking There are several rankings for Spanish Universities. The best known ones are the Shanghai Jiao Tong, QS and THE Ranking. These are international rankings, however, there are also some national rankings comprising the "50 carreras" (50 degrees) from the "El Mundo" newspaper, the CSIC or the IAIF ranking of the UCM. Spain's Higher Educations system has been ranked top-5th by the Spanish CSIC only after the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada. National Rankings U-Ranking 2020 It was published in 2020 and done by the Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria and Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas. 50 Carreras (El Mundo) It is a well known ranking in Spain and it is published every year by the national newspaper "El Mundo". {| class="wikitable sortable" |- bgColor="#efefef" |- bgColor="#efefef" | width="100" align="center" | 2019 Ranking | width="400" align="center" | University |- | width="100" align="center" | 1 | width="250" align="center" | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |- | width="100" align="center" | 2