How Each Israeli University Calculates the Bagrut Average: Bonuses, Caps and the Optimal Average

Every Israeli university calculates the weighted bagrut average the same basic way: add a bonus to subjects taken at 4 and 5 units, multiply each grade by its units, and divide by the total units. Most also drop elective subjects that lower the average on their own, as long as at least 20 units remain. What changes between institutions is the size of the bonus, especially at 4 units, the cap on the average, and at the Technion the weight of math. The table below collects the differences from the official sites.

The bonuses at each university, in one table

* Core subjects are mainly physics, chemistry, biology, literature, Bible, history and Arabic; the exact list differs a little between institutions (details below). ** At the Technion math units count double. Taken from the institutions' official sites and checked on Oct 26, 2026. The rules change every year, so check the institution's link before you apply.

What they all have in common

• Bonus only from a grade of 60. At every institution in the table a grade below 60 gets no bonus (Ben-Gurion's wording is "higher than 60").
• Bonus only from 4 units, and only for subjects on the institution's list. A subject not on the list gets no bonus even at 5 units.
• No bonus for combined subjects, such as one grade covering Hebrew expression and literature.
• Optimal average: electives that lower the average are dropped, as long as at least 20 units remain. The institutions do it for you, but required subjects such as English, math, history and civics are always included.
• The average can go above 100. Because of the bonuses, 105 to 115 is common with a few advanced subjects.

How much it changes in practice

The biggest difference in the table is 4-unit math. A student with 90 in 4-unit math gets 102.5 for that subject at Tel Aviv, 105 at Hebrew U and Bar-Ilan, and 110 at Ben-Gurion and Haifa. In a 4-unit subject that is a 30-point gap in the product, and in a 25-unit average it is more than a whole point, right in the range that decides admission.

Tel Aviv University

• A 25 bonus at 5 units for English, physics, chemistry, biology, literature, history, Bible and Arabic, and 35 for math. At 4 units math and English get 12.5 and the other listed subjects 10.
• A cap of 117: a higher average counts as 117 in the admission score.
• The optimal average is calculated automatically. English, math, Hebrew expression, civics and one of the history subjects are never dropped.
• The admission score combines the average with the psychometric using a formula published on the site that changes from year to year. In the site's own example, an average of 108.39 and a psychometric of 607 give 633.

Source: Tel Aviv University, calculating the bagrut average

Hebrew University

• At 4 units every core subject gets 15, including math and English. At 5 units: math 35, other core subjects 25. The core list here also includes computer science, civics and Jewish thought.
• A 5-unit final project in math gets 25, not 35; the 35 is for the exam.
• English, math, history, civics and Hebrew expression are always included. Literature, Bible and Jewish thought are included only if they improve the average.
• Hebrew U shows the final average divided by 10, so 108 appears as 10.8.

Source: Hebrew University, bagrut certificate

Technion

• Math counts twice: 5 units count as 10 and 4 units as 8 (except Architecture and Landscape Architecture). The 5-unit math bonus is 30, not 35.
• An enlarged bonus of 30: with 5-unit math plus two 5-unit science subjects, or a science and a technology subject, those subjects get 30 instead of 25.
• A subject not in the Technion's tables gets no bonus at all. No value is published for 4-unit math or English.
• A cap of 119. The admission score in most tracks: 0.5 × bagrut average + 0.075 × psychometric − 19.

Source: Technion, bonus coefficients and admission score table

Ben-Gurion University

• The most generous 4-unit math bonus: 20. 4-unit English gets 15 and other subjects 10.
• At 5 units computer science and biology also get 25, like physics, chemistry, literature, Bible, history and English.
• A cap of 120 after all bonuses.
• In the general admission score the average and the psychometric weigh the same. Engineering and the quantitative fields have a separate score that gives more weight to math and the quantitative section.

Source: Ben-Gurion undergraduate yearbook 2026-27, pages 10 to 11

University of Haifa

• At 4 units every core subject gets 20, including math and English. At 5 units math 35 and core 25. Other subjects 20 and 10.
• The bagrut-to-psychometric weight depends on the faculty: 1 to 2 in the humanities, 1 to 3 in most social sciences, and 3 to 7 in law.
• A bagrut more than 6 years old gets half its weight; after 10 years admission is by psychometric only.

Source: University of Haifa, admission score. Note: parts of the page were last updated in 2023.

Bar-Ilan University

• Math: 35 at 5 units and 15 at 4 units.
• Core subjects get 25 at 5 units and 12.5 at 4: Bible, Talmud, Oral Torah, Jewish thought, history, civics, literature, chemistry, biology, physics, English and computer science.
• Other listed subjects: 20 at 5 units and 10 at 4.
• An optimal average of at least 20 units. Required subjects are always included, except Bible, literature and Jewish thought, which can be dropped.

Source: Bar-Ilan University, bagrut average and bonuses

Ariel, Reichman and the Open University

Ariel University and Reichman University do not publish a bonus table; the calculation happens in their own calculators. Ariel's published admission score is the bagrut average × 6.666 plus the psychometric, divided by 2. The Open University has no admission requirements, so the bagrut average plays no role there.

Where to see your official bagrut grades

Your official grades are on the Ministry of Education students and graduates portal, where you can also issue a digital bagrut certificate and grade sheet. Calculate from that sheet rather than from memory: in a weighted average, even one mistyped grade moves the result.

In the Focusity bagrut calculator the bonus field is editable. Enter the bonuses of the institution you are applying to, from the table above, and get your average in seconds, no sign-up.

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