UFS General Admission / Entry Requirements
Your admission to University of Free State (UFS) is dependent on you meeting the specific admission requirements / APS for your chosen qualification. If you don’t meet these requirements, you may want to consider alternative qualifications or possibly, if you qualify, an extended programme (refer to the college admission requirements), enabling you to register for limited modules in your first year.
Here are the UFS Admission Requirements:
Admission requirements for undergraduate studies
There are specific matric exemption requirements that you must meet if you want to study at any South African university. If you completed school in or after 2008, and have a National Senior Certificate (NSC), you need the following to apply for admission to a Bachelor’s degree at any South African university:
Four (4) of the seven (7) subjects included in your NSC subject package must be from the designated subjects listed below, with a minimum mark of 4 (50%) in each of these four (4) subjects:
Designated list of school subjects:
Accounting | Information Technology |
Agricultural Sciences | Life Sciences (Biology/Physiology) |
Business Studies | Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy |
Consumer Studies | Music |
Dramatic Arts | Three languages (one of these must be the language of teaching and learning at a higher-education institution and two other recognised language subjects) |
Economics | |
Engineering Graphics and Design | |
Geography | Physical Sciences/Natural Sciences |
History | Religion Studies |
Visual Arts |
Calculation of your admission point (AP) score
It is important that you study the admission requirements of the programmes you are interested in, thoroughly. The UFS calculates your AP score based on the NSC achievement scale. An AP score consisting of seven levels is used. Points will be awarded for six academic subjects (note: no points will be awarded for achievement points lower than 30%). One point is awarded for Life Orientation from achievement level 5 (60%) or higher when calculating your AP score for admission purposes.
NSC Level | UFS AP |
7 (90%-100%) | 8 |
7 (80%-89%) | 7 |
6 (70%-79%) | 6 |
5 (60%-69%) | 5 |
4 (50%-59%) | 4 |
3 (40%-49%) | 3 |
2 (30%-39%) | 2 |
1 (0%-29%) | – |
To calculate your AP, you can use the following example: | |
For five (5) academic subjects, you must obtain a level 5 (60%) | 5 x 5 = 25 |
For one (1) further academic subject, you must obtain a level 4 (50%) | 1 x 4 = 4 |
For Life Orientation, a level of 5 (60%) or higher to score 1 point | 1 x 1 = 1 |
UFS overall AP score | = 30 |
Note that your achievement level in Life Orientation is excluded from the calculation of your AP score for the allocation of a merit bursary in your first year of study. See the section on Financial Aid (Bursaries and Loans).
Are you a Top Achiever?
If you have an AP score of 35 and above, you are a Top Achiever and qualify for a conditional admission offer linked to a merit bursary of a corresponding value to your AP score. This excludes admission to selection programmes. Another benefit of being a Top Achiever is that you will be invited to an early-bird registration during January 2019, subject to meeting all the minimum requirements for the intended programme of study with your final Grade 12 results.