Quick answer
An APS adds up points from your school subjects using that university's own table. You still need the subjects and levels the programme lists, and you still have to be offered a place. Meeting a published minimum does not guarantee admission.
What the score is based on
The starting point is the National Senior Certificate or an equivalent school-leaving qualification. Subject percentages are converted to points. Which subjects count, whether Life Orientation counts, and how many points a percentage receives are decisions the university publishes.
The Department of Basic Education's familiar 1 to 7 ratings, where 7 is 80 to 100 percent, are used by some institutions. Others use a different scale, or they add extra points for Mathematics or English. Do not take a number from a friend at another university and compare it with yours.
Two official examples
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria's faculty yearbooks say the APS uses six recognised 20-credit subjects on the NSC 1 to 7 scale. Life Orientation is a 10-credit subject and is excluded. The highest total on that method is 42. The university also says Grade 11 results may be used for provisional admission and that the final NSC results determine final admission. Each programme adds its own subject levels and minimum APS.
University of the Witwatersrand
Wits publishes a different table. Its undergraduate entry page says the APS uses the best seven subjects, including Life Orientation, and that faculty-specific subjects must be included. English and Mathematics receive additional points in the higher bands. Life Orientation is scored on a lower scale than other subjects. Wits states that meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee a place, because the number of first-year places is limited.
The same report can therefore produce a Pretoria total and a Wits total that should not be compared with each other. A third university may differ from both. Use each institution's page for its own programmes.
Subject requirements sit beside the score
A programme can demand Mathematics, Physical Sciences, a language level, or a specific NSC rating in addition to the APS. A high total made up of subjects the programme does not accept will not meet the rule. Mathematical Literacy and Mathematics are not interchangeable unless that faculty says they are.
The University of Pretoria's engineering pages, for example, publish both an APS and subject levels for specific degrees. Those figures belong to that faculty's table for the intake they describe. They are not the score for every faculty at that university, and they are not the score for engineering at every university.
Why a score is not an admission decision
- The published APS is often a minimum for consideration, not a guarantee.
- Places are limited. Wits says this directly.
- Provisional offers based on Grade 11 can change when the final NSC is released. The University of Pretoria says the final result is decisive.
- Selection for competitive programmes can include additional tests, auditions, portfolios or interviews. The faculty page will say so.
- Admission is also separate from NSFAS or a bursary. A funded student who misses the academic minimum is not admitted by the funding.
How to use an APS without being misled
- Choose the university and the programme.
- Open that programme's current admissions page.
- Write down which subjects count and whether Life Orientation counts.
- Calculate only with that page's table.
- Check the subject levels as well as the total.
- Keep a second and third programme, including a TVET option if it leads to the work you want.
The APS calculator on this site demonstrates one example scale. It is not the official calculator of the University of Pretoria, Wits, or any other institution, and it does not decide an application.
Write the rule next to the number
A number without the rule that produced it will be misused. Next to a total, write the university, the year of the prospectus, whether Life Orientation was included, and the subjects you left out. If you calculated 33 for Pretoria using six subjects, that note stops you from telling a Wits applicant that your score is 33 on their scale.
Keep the report you used. A June result, a grade 11 result and a final National Senior Certificate are different documents. Provisional admission looks at the result the university asked for at that stage. Final admission looks at the result the university says is decisive.
Common mistakes
- Adding all seven NSC ratings, including Life Orientation, and calling the result a national APS.
- Comparing a Wits total with a Pretoria minimum.
- Ignoring a subject requirement because the total looks high.
- Treating a provisional Grade 11 offer as final.
- Paying someone to calculate a score you can check on the university's page.
Information can change
Universities change faculty rules and programme scores. The University of Pretoria and University of the Witwatersrand examples below are from those institutions' own pages. They are not a national APS. Before you apply, open the current yearbook or admissions page for your programme.
Official sources
- University of Pretoria admissions methodUP's description of the six-subject APS, excluding Life Orientation.
- Wits undergraduate entry requirementsWits's own APS table, including Life Orientation and the warning that a minimum does not guarantee a place.
An educational example only. Check the university's own rules before you apply.
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