“Admission requirements” is a precise term with several parts, and the parts are frequently confused. Understanding the difference between a minimum requirement and a selection criterion is what separates a realistic application from a hopeful one.
This page defines the terms as they are used in South African post-school education.
Entry Requirements at a Glance
The terms that make up admission requirements.
- Minimum statutory requirements — the national requirements for Higher Certificate, Diploma and Bachelor’s study
- Institutional requirements — what the institution adds on top of the national minimum
- Programme requirements — the specific subjects and levels a qualification requires
- Admission Point Score (APS) — a numerical score calculated from matric results
- Selection criteria — how the institution chooses among applicants who all qualify
- Conditional admission — an offer made on final results not yet available
- Alternative access — extended, foundation and bridging routes
- Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) — admission based on assessed experience
- Mature age exemption — admission routes for older applicants without matric
Academic and Minimum Admission Requirements
The national minimum comes from the National Senior Certificate pass level. The NSC is awarded at three levels relevant to further study — a Higher Certificate pass, a Diploma pass and a Bachelor’s pass — and each opens a different category of qualification. You cannot be admitted to a degree on a Diploma pass.
Meeting the minimum is not the same as being admitted. This is the single most important distinction. The minimum makes you eligible; selection decides whether you get a place. In oversubscribed programmes the effective cut-off sits far above the minimum, and it moves each year with demand.
Institutions add their own requirements above the national minimum, and each programme adds subject requirements on top of that. All three layers apply at once.
Conditional admission is an offer that depends on your final results meeting the stated condition. It is not a guaranteed place, and it lapses if the condition is not met.
Alternative access routes are real admissions routes, not consolation prizes. Extended and foundation programmes admit at lower scores over an additional year and have good completion records because of the support built into them.
Recognition of Prior Learning and mature age exemption allow admission without the standard school qualification, on assessment. These are under-used, and they are the route for an older applicant who left school without matric.
Subjects, APS and Qualification Requirements
How APS works. A score is assigned to each subject according to the percentage achieved, and a specified number of subjects are added together to produce the total. Institutions differ in how they calculate it — which subjects count, whether Life Orientation is included, whether some subjects are weighted — so an APS calculated for one institution is not necessarily the score another will use.
- Each subject percentage converts to a points value on the institution’s scale
- A specified number of subjects is counted, usually the best six or seven
- Life Orientation is excluded or capped by many institutions
- Some programmes weight key subjects more heavily
- The programme minimum APS is published, and revised annually
- Meeting the APS does not guarantee admission where selection applies
- Subject minimums apply in addition to the APS
- Some institutions use their own scoring system rather than an APS
Documents and Application Requirements
What an application generally requires.
- Certified copy of your South African ID or passport
- Certified copy of your National Senior Certificate or latest results
- Academic transcripts from any previous study
- A SAQA evaluation, for a foreign qualification
- Proof of payment of the application fee, where one applies
- National Benchmark Test results, where required
- A study permit, for international applicants
- Any programme-specific portfolio, audition or selection test material
- Proof of residence, where required
Selection, Intake and Eligibility Considerations
Read the requirements for the specific programme at the specific institution, not a general summary. Requirements differ between institutions for the same qualification, and between programmes at the same institution.
Ask the faculty what the last intake’s effective cut-off was. The published minimum tells you whether you may apply; the effective cut-off tells you whether you are likely to be admitted. Many faculties will tell you if asked.
Apply to several institutions and several programmes. Applications are inexpensive relative to a lost year, and a single application is a single point of failure.
Apply early. Many programmes consider applications as they arrive, and health science and engineering closing dates are often earlier than the general ones.
Ask about alternative access if your score is below the cut-off — extended programmes, foundation programmes, Higher Certificate routes that articulate upward, and public TVET college routes.
If you do not qualify at all, rewriting matric subjects through a public examination centre and the Senior Certificate route for adults are both real options, and NSFAS-funded TVET study is another.
Nobody can sell you a place. Admission is on the published criteria, applications go directly to the institution, and fees are published. Anyone offering to secure admission is committing fraud.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between minimum requirements and selection criteria?
Minimum requirements make you eligible to apply. Selection criteria decide who gets a place among those who qualify. In oversubscribed programmes the effective cut-off sits far above the minimum.
What is an APS?
A numerical score calculated from matric subject results. Institutions differ in which subjects count and how they are weighted, so an APS for one institution is not necessarily what another will use.
What is conditional admission?
An offer that depends on your final results meeting a stated condition. It is not a guaranteed place and it lapses if the condition is not met.
Can I be admitted without matric?
Sometimes, through Recognition of Prior Learning or mature age exemption, on assessment. These routes are under-used and are worth asking about.
Minimum requirements, APS calculations, selection criteria and alternative access routes are set by the national qualifications framework and by each institution, and are revised annually. Confirm current requirements with the institution’s admissions office.