APS Requirements 2027: UCT, Wits, UJ, UP & Stellenbosch

Introduction

This article was written to provide an overview of how each major South African university turns your matric marks into an admission score, and what those universities actually require for the 2027 intake, particularly for parents and students from South African IEB and CAPS schools.

Quick Answers/ Table of Contents:

The short answer: APS is not one system

There is no single APS requirement for South African universities, because there is no single APS.

UJ and the University of Pretoria add up achievement levels for six subjects and throw Life Orientation away, so their scores run out of 42. Wits uses its own seven-subject scale, counts Life Orientation on a reduced scale, and adds bonus points for English and Mathematics, so a Wits score can go well past 42. UCT does not convert to levels at all: it adds your actual percentages, which produces a number in the hundreds. Stellenbosch mostly does not publish an APS at all, but an average percentage.

The practical consequence is that the same matric certificate produces four or five different numbers, and none of them can be compared with each other. Before you can ask "is my APS good enough", you have to ask "good enough at which university, for which programme, in which year".

If you want the arithmetic of the standard 1 to 7 conversion itself, we cover that separately in our guide to calculating your APS. This article is about what the number means once you have it.

Who is Genius?

Genius has been operating since 1993.

Across our history, we have helped students get into universities in South Africa and all over the world. We hope to give you a clear sense of how each of the big five universities actually scores an application, so you can aim at the right target rather than a general one!

Does Life Orientation count towards your APS?

Mostly no, and the exception matters.

Life Orientation is the odd subject out in the National Senior Certificate: it is a 10-credit subject where the other recognised subjects are 20-credit. That is why most universities leave it out of the aggregate. You still have to pass it to be awarded the NSC, so a distinction in Life Orientation is worth exactly as much as a bare pass at four of the five universities below.

University	Does Life Orientation count?	What actually happens
UCT	No	Six subjects, excluding Life Orientation, including English and any programme-required subjects
Wits	Yes, on a reduced scale	Best seven subjects including Life Orientation, which is capped at 4 points and scores 0 below 60%
UJ	No	Six subjects, Life Orientation is not counted in the total APS
University of Pretoria	No	Six recognised 20-credit subjects, Life Orientation excluded
Stellenbosch	No	Excluded from the aggregate average used for admission

As of the 2027 intake requirements published by each university.

Wits is the one to hold in mind. A learner sitting on 84% for Life Orientation gains 3 points at Wits and nothing at all at the other four. That single difference is enough to make a Wits APS incomparable to a UJ one.

One learner, five different numbers

This is easier to see with a real transcript than with a rule. Take Thandi, who finishes matric with:

Subject	Mark
English Home Language	75%
Afrikaans First Additional Language	68%
Mathematics	72%
Physical Sciences	70%
Life Sciences	66%
Geography	65%
Life Orientation	84%

Run that one certificate through the five systems and you get:

University	Thandi's score	Out of	How it was built
UJ	33	42	Six achievement levels (6+5+6+6+5+5), Life Orientation dropped
University of Pretoria	33	42	The same six levels on the same scale
Wits	40	(no fixed 42 ceiling)	English 8 and Maths 8 after the bonus, then 6+5+5+5, plus 3 for Life Orientation
UCT	416	600	The six percentages added together, Life Orientation excluded
Stellenbosch	69.3%	100%	Her best language plus her five next best subjects, divided by six

Five stacked-block towers of different heights, showing how one set of matric marks produces a different score at each university.

Thandi is a "33" and a "40" and a "416" and a "69.3%" on the same day, with the same marks. Nothing about her has changed; only the accounting has.

Two things fall out of this that are worth acting on while there is still time to act. Her Afrikaans sits at 68%, two marks below a level change, which is worth one point at UJ, one at Pretoria and one at Wits. Her Life Orientation distinction, which took real work, is worth nothing at four of the five. That is not an argument for neglecting Life Orientation (you must pass it), but it is an argument for knowing where your marks are actually being counted before you decide where to spend the last months of Grade 11.

Remember, there is a huge difference in the effort and attention applied between 68% and 71%, but at UJ and Pretoria there is no difference at all between 71% and 79%.

UCT: APS, FPS, WPS and the disadvantage factor

UCT is the university that confuses people most, because it uses three different score names and none of them is the familiar 42-point APS.

The APS. UCT does not convert percentages into levels. In its own words, "the percentages achieved in National Senior Certificate examinations will be allocated an admission score equal to that percentage". It then adds "the sum of 6 subjects, excluding Life Orientation, but including English and any required subject(s) for the relevant programme". So the base score is out of 600, and 82% is simply 82 points. Anything below 40% in a subject scores zero.

The FPS. The Faculty Points Score is that same idea, adjusted for what the faculty cares about. This is where people go wrong, because the FPS is not out of the same total everywhere:

In Engineering and the Built Environment, the FPS is out of 600: English, Mathematics, Physical Science and your three next best subjects, excluding Life Orientation.
In Science, the FPS is out of 800, because Mathematics and Physical Sciences are counted twice. Six subjects including English, excluding Life Orientation, with those two doubled.

Same university, same certificate, two different denominators. An FPS of 500 is a strong Engineering score and would be a weak Science one.

The WPS. The Weighted Points Score is the FPS adjusted upwards by a disadvantage factor of between 0% and 10%. UCT's own formula is straightforward: if the disadvantage factor is 7%, then WPS = FPS + (7% x FPS). If your disadvantage factor is zero, your WPS and FPS are identical. The factor is worked out from information you supply about your school and your family background, and it applies only to South African citizens and permanent residents.

The three bands. Rather than one cut-off, UCT publishes offer levels:

Band A is admission guaranteed if you achieve that FPS and the subject levels. Most offers are made here.
Band B is admission likely if you achieve that WPS and the subject levels.
Band C is admission possible if you achieve that FPS and the subject levels, and you are in the targeted redress categories.

Here is what that looks like in practice, from UCT's own 2027 Engineering and Built Environment entrance requirements:

Programme (2027)	Band A, guaranteed	Band B, likely	Band C, possible
Civil Engineering	FPS 500, Maths 80%+, Physical Sciences 70%+	WPS 480, same subjects	FPS 420, same subjects
Chemical Engineering	FPS 500, Maths 80%+, Physical Sciences 75%+	WPS 480, Maths 80%+, Physical Sciences 70%+	FPS 420, Maths 80%+, Physical Sciences 70%+
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering	FPS 500, Maths 80%+, Physical Sciences 75%+	WPS 480, same subjects	FPS 420, same subjects
Architectural Studies	FPS 450, English 50%, Maths 50%, portfolio 75%	WPS 408, portfolio 68%	FPS 348, portfolio 50%
Construction Studies	FPS 450, Maths 65%+, Physical Sciences 60%+	WPS 420, Maths 65%+, Physical Sciences 55%+	FPS 390, Maths 65%+, Physical Sciences 55%+
Property Studies	FPS 450, Maths 65%+	WPS 420, Maths 65%+	FPS 390, Maths 65%+
Geomatics	FPS 450, Maths 75%+, Physical Sciences 70%+	WPS 420, Maths 65%+, Physical Sciences 60%+	FPS 390, Maths 65%+, Physical Sciences 60%+

Source: UCT Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment, NSC entrance requirements for 2027. Mathematical Literacy and Technical Mathematics cannot be substituted for Mathematics, and Technical Science cannot be substituted for Physical Sciences.

For Science, UCT's published criteria are an FPS of 660 or above for Band A, a WPS of 640 or above for Band B, and an FPS of 550 or above for Band C, with Mathematics at 70% or above and Physical Science at 60% or above throughout. Remember that this is the doubled score out of 800.

For Medicine (MBChB), UCT publishes subject subminimums rather than one clean cut-off: English 65%, Mathematics 70%, Physical Science 70%, and 70% for the next three best subjects excluding Life Orientation, with a minimum Academic Point Score of 450 and National Benchmark Test results in the Intermediate range. There are 240 first-year places. UCT is explicit that meeting the minimum criteria is no guarantee of acceptance, and that the final cut-off is only decided once the country's final NSC results are released, which means it can land above the published figure.

For Law, the faculty's own answer is refreshingly blunt: you need a minimum of 500 points, there are no specific matric subjects required, you do not need Mathematics, and Mathematical Literacy is accepted. You do need to write both the Academic Literacy and the Quantitative Literacy National Benchmark Tests, but not the Mathematics one.

A note on the National Benchmark Tests at UCT. All undergraduate applicants who live or are at school in South Africa must write them, but what happens to the results varies. Engineering and the Built Environment requires you to write them and then does not use them for admission at all. Science uses them to identify first-year students who should move into an extended degree, not to score your application. Health Sciences uses them directly. The last sitting that counts for 2027 admission was 3 October 2026.

And teaching at UCT, because it is the question we see most. UCT does not offer an undergraduate BEd. If you want to teach and you want to do it at UCT, the route is a three or four year bachelor's degree followed by a one-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education. So there is no "APS for teaching at UCT" to hit; there is an APS for the degree you choose first.

Wits: seven subjects, with bonus points

Wits runs the most distinctive scale in the country, and it is the one most often quoted incorrectly.

Wits counts your best seven subjects, including Life Orientation, and faculty-required subjects must be in the calculation. Further Studies subjects (previously Advanced Programme) count too. Then it applies its own conversion, in which English and Mathematics earn two extra points from 60% upwards:

Percentage	Standard subject	English or Mathematics	Life Orientation
90 to 100%	8	10	4
80 to 89%	7	9	3
70 to 79%	6	8	2
60 to 69%	5	7	1
50 to 59%	4	4	0
40 to 49%	3	3	0
Below 40%	0	0	0

Source: Wits University entry requirements for National Senior Certificate applicants.

Two details in that table do real work. The bonus starts at 60%, not at 70%, so pushing English from 59% to 60% is worth three Wits points rather than one. And Life Orientation scores nothing at all below 60%, then climbs to a maximum of 4.

Because seven subjects are counted and two of them can reach 10, a Wits APS is not capped at 42. On our arithmetic, a learner taking the usual seven subjects tops out in the mid-fifties. This is why "I have 40 points" means something entirely different at Wits than at UJ, and why you should never reuse one university's calculator for another.

Two more Wits rules that catch people:

Mathematical Literacy is accepted only for the LLB, Education and Humanities, and within Humanities it is excluded from Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. Mathematics is compulsory for Commerce, Engineering, Science and most Health Sciences programmes.
Only one matric upgrade or rewrite attempt is considered. Applicants upgrading or rewriting for a second time will be unsuccessful. If you are planning a rewrite year with Wits in mind, you get one shot.

Wits publishes both a minimum APS and a wait-listing range for most programmes, which is unusually honest and very useful:

Programme (2027)	APS required	Subject minimums	Wait-listing range
LLB (four-year)	46+	English 6, Maths 5 or Maths Literacy 6	40 to 45
Accounting Science (BAccSc)	44+	English 5, Mathematics 6	39 to 43, with English 6 and Maths 6
Civil Engineering	42+	English 5, Maths 5, Physical Sciences 5	At exactly level 5, subject to space
BCom (General)	38+	English 5, Mathematics 5	35 to 37, with English 6 and Maths 6
BEd (Foundation and Senior Phase)	37+	English 5, Maths 4 or Maths Literacy 5	31 to 36
BA (General)	36+	English 5	30 to 35

Source: Wits course finder programme pages, 2027 entry. Note that the Bachelor of Accounting Science is the chartered accountancy route and sits six points above the general BCom.

Medicine at Wits does not have an APS cut-off, and any site that gives you one is guessing. Wits requires English, Mathematics and Life Sciences and/or Physical Sciences at level 5, then ranks applicants on a Composite Index: the average of five subjects (English, Mathematics, the better of Physical or Life Sciences, and the best two others) carries 75%, and the average of your National Benchmark Test scores carries 25%. The tests must be written in person; online results are not considered, only your first attempt in the most recent year counts, and the writing deadline was 17 August.

UJ: the standard six-subject score out of 42

UJ is the most straightforward of the five. In its own words, "the total APS is the sum of the achievement ratings of the six school subjects. Life Orientation is not counted in the calculation of the total APS." Those six must include the subjects your programme requires. The scale is the ordinary NSC one, where 80 to 100% is a 7, 70 to 79% is a 6, and so on down to 1.

What makes UJ worth reading carefully is not the arithmetic but the way its programmes are laid out, because the accounting family is a trap that costs people years:

UJ programme (2027)	APS	English	Mathematics	Also applies
Accounting (CA), B34CAQ	33	4 (50%+)	5 (60%+)	Mathematical Literacy not accepted
BCom Accounting, B34A5Q	28	4 (50%+)	4 (50%+)	Mathematical Literacy not accepted
BCom Accounting Extended, B34AEQ	25 with Maths, 28 with Maths Literacy	4 (50%+)	3 (40%+), or Mathematical Literacy 6 (70%+)	Technical Mathematics not accepted
BEng Civil Engineering, B6CS0Q	32	5 (60%+)	5 (60%+)	Physical Science 5 (60%+), Mathematical Literacy not accepted

Source: UJ 2027 undergraduate prospectus and College of Business and Economics 2027 brochure.

Five APS points separate "Accounting (CA)" from "BCom Accounting", and they are not the same road. UJ states plainly that the BCom (Accounting) degree and the BCom (Accounting) Extended Degree "do not provide direct access to the Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting Science". Graduates may apply for a bridging programme, subject to space and to that programme continuing to be offered. If your child's plan is to qualify as a chartered accountant, an offer for BCom Accounting is not a smaller version of the same plan.

Note also that UJ lets you apply for two study choices only, and those choices cannot be amended once submitted.

University of Pretoria: the APS is the easy half

Pretoria uses the same six-subject, 42-point structure as UJ and excludes Life Orientation. What distinguishes UP is that it publishes, in one clean table, both the APS and the achievement level required in each named subject. You have to clear both. A high total does not rescue a Mathematics level that is one short.

UP programme (2027)	APS	English	Mathematics	Physical Sciences
MBChB (Medicine)	35	5	6	5
BEng, all disciplines including Civil	35	5	6	6
BEng five-year (foundation)	33	65%	65%	65%
LLB	35	6	not listed	not listed
BCom Accounting Sciences	34	5	6	not listed
BCom three-year	30	5	4	not listed
BCom four-year (extended)	26	4	3	not listed
BSc Computer Science	30	5	6	not listed
BSc Actuarial and Financial Mathematics	36	5	7	not listed
BA (Humanities)	30	5	none required	not listed
BEd Foundation Phase (Grade R to 3)	28	4	not listed	not listed
BEd Senior Phase and FET (Grade 7 to 12)	28	4	not listed	not listed
BNursing Science	28	4	4	Life Sciences 4

Source: University of Pretoria, application requirements for undergraduate programmes 2027, published December 2025. "Not listed" means that faculty's requirements table does not carry a column for that subject, not that the subject is irrelevant to the degree. Several of these are selection programmes to which additional criteria apply.

This table is worth sitting with, because it shows the shape of the real constraint. Medicine and Engineering at UP both ask for APS 35, but Medicine wants Mathematics at 6 and Physical Sciences at 5, while Engineering wants 6 in both. A learner with APS 36 and Physical Sciences at level 5 is eligible for one and not the other, and no amount of extra points elsewhere fixes it.

UP also uses a ranking system, and makes conditional offers on final Grade 11 or Grade 12 results where space allows. As with everyone else, meeting the minimum does not secure a place.

Stellenbosch: an average, not an APS

If you are searching for "Stellenbosch APS requirements", the honest answer is that Stellenbosch does not publish one. It works in percentages.

The admission score is an aggregate: your highest mark in your language of learning and teaching (English or Afrikaans) plus your five best results in 20-credit subjects, excluding Life Orientation, divided by six. The prospectus expresses every requirement as "an NSC aggregate of at least X% (excluding Life Orientation)", followed by named subject percentages.

Stellenbosch programme (2027)	Aggregate excluding LO	Other requirements
MBChB (Medicine)	75%	Mathematics 60%, Physical Sciences 50%, Life Sciences 50%. About 280 selected each year
BAccLLB	80%	Maths 70%, or Maths 60% with Accounting 70%. NBT AQL and MAT before 31 July
BAcc	70%	Maths 70%, or Maths 60% with Accounting 70%, plus language requirements
BEng (Civil and all disciplines)	70%	Mathematics 70%, Physical Sciences 60%, plus language requirements
LLB (four-year)	70%	Home Language 60% or First Additional Language 70%. NBT AQL before 31 July
BCom (Law)	70%	Mathematics 60%, plus NBT AQL and MAT before 31 July
BA (Humanities)	63%	Home Language 50%, First Additional Language 40%
BEd (Foundation and Intermediate Phase)	60%	Maths 40% or Maths Literacy 60%, plus a specified language profile

Source: Stellenbosch University undergraduate prospectus for NSC and IEB applicants, 2027.

Engineering at Stellenbosch adds a second layer that is worth understanding, because the aggregate is only the gate. Selection uses a mark out of 800:

Selection mark = Mathematics percentage + Physical Sciences percentage + (6 x matric average)

The matric average is your six best subjects excluding Life Orientation, which means Mathematics and Physical Sciences are counted twice over. Stellenbosch's own guidance is candid about what it takes: over recent years a selection mark of 600 or more gave students a good chance for some programmes, while others needed 620 or more. In plain terms, that means Mathematics above 75% and an NSC average above 75% for some programmes, and Mathematics of at least 80% with Physical Sciences of at least 70% for others.

On the National Benchmark Tests, Stellenbosch is the outlier in the friendly direction: they are not required for 2027 admission except for all Faculty of Law programmes, and for applicants from the School of Tomorrow, the South African-based American High School Diploma and all online schools.

Where the 2027 application cycle stands

This is the part that changes fastest, so treat the date stamp seriously.

As at 4 August 2026, for the 2027 intake:

University	Status	Closing date	Notes
University of Pretoria	Closed	30 June 2026	Veterinary Science closed 31 May 2026
UCT	Closed	31 July 2026	UCT states it does not consider late application requests
Stellenbosch	Closed	31 July 2026	All programmes are selection programmes
Wits	Open	30 September 2026	Health Sciences NBT deadline was 17 August, in person only
UJ	Open	31 October 2026 at 12:00	Two study choices only, and they cannot be changed

If you are reading this in the second half of 2026 with a matriculant at home, the useful move is to stop assessing whether the score is good enough and start checking which doors are still open. If you are reading it with a Grade 10 or Grade 11 learner, the useful move is the opposite: the closing dates above are roughly where next year's will fall, and the subject decisions that determine eligibility were mostly made in Grade 9.

Roll this forward yourself: these are the 2026 dates for 2027 entry. The pattern holds year to year, so for the following intake, read them as the same dates one year later, then confirm on each university's own site before you rely on them.

What a published minimum actually means

Every university on this page says some version of the same sentence. UCT's Health Sciences faculty: "Meeting the minimum criteria is no guarantee for acceptance." Wits: "Compliance with the minimum requirements does not guarantee a place at the University." Stellenbosch: the university receives more applications than it has places, so meeting the minimum does not guarantee admission to your programme of choice. UP: admission is subject to the availability of space, and competition for certain programmes is exceptionally strong.

It helps to know which kind of number you are looking at:

A programme minimum means your application can be considered. It does not mean it will succeed.
A wait-listing range means you are only in the conversation if places remain, and usually only with stronger subject marks. Wits publishes these openly.
A guaranteed band means the university has committed, subject to every stated condition. UCT's Band A is the clearest example in the country.
A selection score is a formula used to rank eligible applicants against each other, like Stellenbosch's mark out of 800 or the Wits Composite Index.
A subject subminimum is a mark you cannot buy your way past. This is the one that most often ends a plan.

That last category deserves its own sentence. At every university on this page, there are programmes where a learner can be comfortably over the total and still ineligible because Mathematics or Physical Sciences is one level short. Points are fungible; subject minimums are not.

What to do if your APS is below the requirement

The first thing to do is work out which of two problems you actually have, because they have different answers.

Problem one: the total is short. Your subjects are right, your subject marks clear the minimums, and the aggregate is simply not high enough. This is the problem that extended and foundation programmes exist for. UP's four-year BCom asks for APS 26 where the three-year asks for 30. UP's five-year BEng asks for 33 with 65% subjects where the four-year asks for 35 with level 6. UJ's extended BCom Accounting asks for 25 with Mathematics where the mainstream degree asks for 28. Stellenbosch offers extended curriculum programmes across Engineering and several other faculties. You add a year and you get in.

Problem two: a subject is short, or is the wrong subject. Your total is fine but Mathematics sits at level 5 where the programme wants 6, or you took Mathematical Literacy and the programme does not accept it. Changing universities usually will not fix this, because the subject rules are broadly similar across all five. What fixes it is fixing the subject. The Department of Basic Education's Second Chance Matric Programme supports candidates rewriting or upgrading, and we cover the mechanics in our guide to rewriting matric. Two warnings: Wits counts only one upgrade attempt, and moving from Mathematical Literacy to Mathematics is a genuine curriculum jump, not an administrative one. It is worth reading our comparison of Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy before assuming either.

A third route, with a caveat. Diplomas, higher certificates and the technology-university qualifications generally carry lower entry requirements and can articulate into degree study. Before treating one as a fallback, ask four questions: does it articulate into the degree you actually want, is that transfer automatic or competitive, will completed modules earn credit, and does it lead to the same professional registration? A BEng and a BEngTech are not interchangeable. Neither are UJ's BCom Accounting and its Accounting (CA) programme, as UJ itself points out.

And a word on the National Benchmark Tests, because they are widely misunderstood as an APS booster. They are not. They measure academic readiness, and each faculty decides what to do with the result. At UCT's Engineering faculty you must write them and they are not used for admission. At Wits Health Sciences they carry 25% of the selection index. At Stellenbosch most 2027 applicants did not need them at all. A strong result can lift a borderline application where a faculty weighs it, and does nothing where a faculty does not. Our guide to the National Benchmark Tests sets out who needs which paper.

APS and subject support

Grade 9, before subject choice, is a good time to start thinking about all of this. The tables above are, read backwards, a list of consequences of decisions made at 14 or 15. Choosing Mathematical Literacy closes Engineering, Medicine, Actuarial Science, Computer Science and the chartered accountancy route at every university on this page. Nothing in Grade 12 reopens them.

That's where we come in. In our assessment process we identify strong and weak areas, and we map them against the specific universities and programmes a family has in mind, because a good strategy for one university is often a bad strategy for another. Thandi's Afrikaans mark matters at Wits and Pretoria; her Life Orientation distinction matters at Wits and nowhere else; her Mathematics mark decides whether half the table is available to her at all.

We then fill in those gaps systematically through premium, one-on-one tuition with our trained in-house team of tutors. This can be done online or in person.

See what our parents have to say.

Why Genius?

Genius has been operating since 1993, supplementing the school system and preparing students for South African and international universities throughout that time. We have delivered more than 250,000 hours of one-on-one tuition.

We are not a tutoring agency. Our tutors are in-house instructors who have been through a rigorous vetting and training programme, and every programme is run by an Education Leader, a senior member of our team who designs it, supervises the tutors, speaks to the school and stays accountable for it from beginning to end.

Here are some of the things that parents have said about our programme:

The assessment process is convenient and pain-free.
The lessons happen at a time that suits you, even if that means mornings or weekends.
These are one-on-one lessons that happen in your home or online.
You know exactly which subjects are carrying your child's admission score, and which are not counted at all.
You know which universities and programmes are realistically in range, and what would have to change for the others.
Someone senior is accountable for the programme from beginning to end.

FAQs

1. Does Life Orientation count towards your APS?

At UCT, UJ, the University of Pretoria and Stellenbosch, no. All four exclude it from the score used for admission. Wits is the exception: it counts your best seven subjects including Life Orientation, on a reduced scale where the maximum is 4 points and anything below 60% scores nothing. You must still pass Life Orientation to be awarded the National Senior Certificate, at every university.

2. Is UCT's FPS the same as its APS?

No. The APS is the sum of the percentages for your best six subjects excluding Life Orientation, out of 600. The Faculty Points Score is that idea adapted to the faculty. In Engineering and the Built Environment the FPS is out of 600. In Science it is out of 800, because Mathematics and Physical Sciences are counted twice. The Weighted Points Score is the FPS adjusted upwards by a disadvantage factor of up to 10%, for South African citizens and permanent residents.

3. Is a Wits APS of 40 the same as a UJ APS of 40?

No, and this is the single most common mistake. Wits counts seven subjects rather than six, includes Life Orientation, and adds two bonus points to English and Mathematics from 60% upwards. A UJ score is capped at 42; a Wits score is not. The same certificate typically produces a higher number at Wits.

4. Does Stellenbosch use an APS?

Generally not. Stellenbosch publishes an aggregate percentage requirement, calculated as your best language of learning and teaching mark plus your five best 20-credit subjects excluding Life Orientation, divided by six. Some faculties then apply a further selection formula, such as Engineering's selection mark out of 800.

5. Can a high APS make up for a low Mathematics mark?

Usually not. Subject subminimums sit alongside the total, not underneath it. UP's MBChB asks for APS 35 and Mathematics at level 6; a learner with APS 38 and Mathematics at level 5 does not qualify. This is the most common reason a strong-looking application fails.

6. Which universities accept Mathematical Literacy for Law?

Wits accepts Mathematical Literacy at level 6 for the four-year LLB, alongside English at level 6 and an APS of 46. UCT's Law faculty requires no specific matric subjects at all and accepts Mathematical Literacy. UP's LLB requires English at level 6 and does not specify a Mathematics requirement. Always check the programme rather than the university.

7. What APS do I need to study teaching?

It depends heavily on where. Wits asks for an APS of 37 or above for its BEd programmes, with English at level 5 and Mathematics at level 4 or Mathematical Literacy at level 5. UP asks for APS 28 with English at level 4 for both Foundation Phase and Senior Phase and FET teaching. Stellenbosch asks for a 60% aggregate with Mathematics at 40% or Mathematical Literacy at 60%.

8. Does UCT offer a BEd?

No. UCT does not offer an undergraduate teaching degree. To teach after studying at UCT you complete a three or four year bachelor's degree and then a one-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education. There is therefore no undergraduate APS for teaching at UCT to aim at, only the APS for whichever degree you choose first.

9. Can the National Benchmark Tests improve my chances?

Only where the faculty actually uses them. Wits Health Sciences weights the NBT average at 25% of its selection index, so a strong result genuinely helps. UCT's Engineering faculty requires you to write them and then does not use them for admission. Stellenbosch does not require them for most 2027 applicants. Check what the specific faculty does with the result before treating them as an opportunity.

10. Is the published minimum enough to get an offer?

Rarely, for competitive programmes. Every one of these universities states that meeting the minimum does not guarantee a place, and UCT's Health Sciences faculty goes further: the final cut-off is only set once the country's final NSC results are released, and may be higher than the published figure. Treat a published minimum as the point at which you can be considered.

11. Can I rewrite one matric subject to meet a programme requirement?

Yes, and where the problem is a single subject subminimum it is usually the most efficient fix available, because it targets the thing that is actually blocking you. Note that Wits considers only one upgrade or rewrite attempt, so plan that year properly rather than treating it as the first of several.

12. How often do these requirements change?

Every year. Each university republishes its admission requirements for the next intake, and closing dates, fees and programme names move with them. Every figure on this page is from the material published for the 2027 intake and was checked on 4 August 2026. Before you rely on any of it for a later intake, confirm it against that university's own prospectus.

You can book an assessment by heading over to our contact page, or reaching us on [email protected], or +27 11 467 9884.

APS Requirements by University: UCT, Wits, UJ, UP and Stellenbosch (2027 Intake)