Is it possible to study in Italy at 24 without a high school diploma?

Visas to Italy
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I want to understand whether it’s possible to apply to study in Italy at 24 and what’s required for that. I finished 9 grades in Transnistria and after that didn’t go on to study anywhere. I’m afraid that without a full secondary education it’s almost impossible, but I still want to figure it out — maybe there are some options?

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At 24 it’s completely realistic — there are a lot of adults studying here, it’s not uncommon at all. If you’ve only completed 9th grade without a high school diploma, I’d look toward CPIA (Centers for Adult Education) — there you can first get something like an Italian diploma, and then move on. About vocational (CFP) — they can be municipal or private; in the south we have several of these, and they often accept people without a full secondary diploma, especially for technical specialties. Requirements really vary by institution, so it’s worth writing directly to the specific center you’re interested in.

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Listen, there’s another nuance with legalizing your diploma — Transnistria is an unrecognized territory, so the declaration of value (dichiarazione di valore) is usually done through the Moldovan consulate. Without that paper they can even turn you away at the CPIA. And 24 is really not an age — I’ve seen cases where people started even later)

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One more thing — at CPIA (Provincial Centres for Adult Education) they usually won’t accept you into the diploma program without basic Italian; they first send you to language courses. These are often free at the same CPIA, but sometimes you have to wait several months to get enrolled, so allow time not only for legalizing your documents but also for the language)

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oh, and by the way - dichiarazione di valore (declaration of value) can be done in parallel with language courses, it’s not necessary to do one after the other. the paperwork itself takes a couple of months to be processed, so you don’t lose time. and in CPIA (Provincial Centres for Adult Education) groups the ages are really mixed, from 20 to 50, nobody pays attention to that)

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