Schooling and childcare in Santiago

One application, all state and subsidised schools

Admission to every municipal, Servicio Local and particular subvencionado school runs through the Ministry of Education's Sistema de Admisión Escolar, at sistemadeadmisionescolar.cl. You apply once and rank as many schools as you like in preference order, with no maximum, and the system assigns the highest-ranked school that has a vacancy. The site carries a Vitrina de Establecimientos for comparing schools on their educational project, their Simce results and the length of the school day, which is the work to do before you rank them. Fee-paying private schools sit outside the system and run their own admissions; their calendars and requirements are a question for each school directly, and are not answered on the SAE site.

The 2027 calendar

The dates are set nationally and published by Mineduc. The main application period ran 4 to 27 August 2026, main results are published 15 to 21 October 2026, and waiting-list results on 28 and 29 October. The complementary application period is 10 to 17 November 2026, with results on 1 December. Enrolment at the assigned school runs 9 to 22 December 2026, extended to 29 December in the Aysén and Magallanes regions.

The results window, and the trap

Between 09:00 on 15 October and 14:00 on 21 October 2026 the guardian logs in and either accepts the place, accepts it while joining the waiting list for a higher preference, or rejects it. You can change that answer as many times as you like inside the window, and the last one saved is the one that counts. Not answering at all is read as acceptance, so the move that costs you is rejecting: that leaves the child with no school and forces a fresh application in the complementary period. There is a separate trap for a family already in a Chilean school: an assignment through SAE costs the child their current place whether you accept the new school or reject it, which is why Mineduc tells families to apply only if they genuinely need to move.

A child without a Chilean RUN

A foreign child with no Chilean RUN needs an identifier before they can be entered into SAE: an Identificador Provisorio Escolar if they hold a stamped passport or a Tarjeta Única Migratoria, and otherwise a RUN de enrolamiento under article 44, which Ayuda Mineduc requests from the Registro Civil on their behalf. A guardian who has no RUN of their own then needs an Identificador Provisorio del Apoderado, which exists solely to make the application. Both go through Ayuda Mineduc, online on its request form, which takes five working days, or in person at an Ayuda Mineduc office, where they are issued on the spot. Getting them is a prerequisite step rather than part of the application, so it has to happen before the window opens.

• Mineduc's admissions line is 600 600 2626, or 2 2353 6750 from a mobile, Monday to Friday 08:00 to 18:00.
• In-person help is also available at the Secretaría Ministerial de Educación, the Departamento Provincial de Educación and Ayuda Mineduc offices.