Entry Requirements in South African Universities

Your matric year is one of the significant years in your schooling journey. This is the time to transit from high school to higher learning institutions. To get into University in South Africa, you need to meet the admission requirements. In this post, we'll provide a comprehensive overview of South African university entry requirements, helping you transit with confidence.

Entry Requirements in South African Universities

Different Universities in South Africa have different entry requirements making access to higher learning easy and accommodating. Prospective students in South Africa are unique, there are high, middle and low achievers. Therefore university entry requirements are designed in such a way that every student is accommodated, whether low or high achiever. Below we have listed general entry requirements to South African universities. 

General Entry Requirements to South African Universities:

To be admitted in South African Universities you need to:

• Have a National Senior Certificate OR Senior Certificate
• Have a final grade 11 report (If you are currently in grade 12)
• Have a National Certificate Vocational (NCV L4) OR N6
• You need to meet specific requirements of your desired course
• You need to meet subject requirements such as Mathematics, English and Accounting. (For example obtain level 7 in Mathematics for Medicine)
• Some courses will require you to write a test OR a National Benchmark Test
• Some courses will require you to attend an interview, auditions OR submit a portfolio (Especially courses under the Arts faculty)

While the above guidelines provide a general overview, it's essential to research the specific entry requirements of the universities you are interested in. Each university may have its own unique admission criteria listed in a prospectus. A prospectus is a booklet that shows the university information and course requirements. 

Without this document, you will not know which course you qualify for. Every higher institution has a prospectus with its unique requirements. These prospectuses are found on university websites and can be downloaded there. 

Which University will accept me?

As a Grade 12 student, it's natural to envision yourself in university. You imagine the exciting experiences, new friendships, and academic challenges that await. But the question remains: Which university will accept me? While you may have a dream university in mind, meeting the specific admission requirements is crucial. The real question is, 'With my current academic results, which university will be the best fit for me?'"

Your grade 11/12 final results will guide you in discovering which university will accept you. It is significant to understand your matric results. Did you obtain admission to a higher certificate, diploma, or bachelor's degree? How many points do you have? These are the questions that need answers. Any university can accept you but this depends on your results because some universities only accept learners who passed their matric with admission to bachelor's degree. 

Teachers always emphasize the importance of working hard in grade 11 and 12 so that you have plenty of options in terms of choosing university and courses because sometimes having poor results will force you to be caged into few institutions with limited courses. This leads learners to make bad career choices just because they want to fit into university life.

Which University Will Accept Me?: University of Technology VS Traditional Universities

• Universities of Technology

There are quite a several Universities of technology, these institutions have opened doors to many average learners. Looking at a prospectus of traditional universities and those of technology a huge difference can be spotted. These Universities of technology offer courses that are not offered in traditional universities and another good thing is that they accept learners who obtained admission to diploma since the majority of their programmes are diploma courses. Few degree courses are provided. The APS of these institutions starts from 18 and the maximum APS is 32. Few higher certificate courses are offered mostly being in engineering and sciences faculty to allow entry to University to bridge a course.

• Traditional Universities 

On the other hand, traditional universities accommodate learners who have passed their matric with admission to bachelor's degree. The majority of courses in these institutions are degree courses. Few diploma courses are offered. These institution admission point scores start from 24  and the maximum APS is 46. This means that students need to achieve a relatively high average in their matric exams to be considered for admission. Traditional universities offer a comprehensive curriculum that covers a wide range of academic disciplines.

University Application Process

The application process in South African Universities is typically the same and involves the following steps:

1. Online applications: Most South African universities now offer online application portals, making it easy for prospective students to submit their applications. It is important to note that some universities have an option for hard copy applications, where you print out the application form, fill it out and submit it via multiple ways.
2. Supporting documents: You'll need to submit copies of your results, ID, and any other required documents. Note that these documents should be certified and scanned per university requirements.
3. Application fees: Most universities in South Africa require an application fee for your application to be considered and processed. Paying of an application fee is compulsory, failure to pay will lead to your being rejected. Good News! some universities do not require an application fee such as UJ.
4. Application deadlines: Ensure you submit your application before the stated deadline. Universities have different closing dates. Majority of universities close on the 30th of September.

Gaining access to University is different from gaining access to high school. It is important to do research and check with each university which courses you meet admission requirements. There are 26 public universities and 50 TVET colleges in South Africa. Surely by doing thorough research you can find a university that will accept you or even better you can find a TVET College that might accept you with your current results.