Admission Point Score (APS) is used to determine whether students can gain entrance into university or college – it is calculated using your Matric marks. The marks are separated into percentage brackets, and each bracket has a number of points. Once you know how many points you have for each subject, you can add them together to get your APS.
How is APS calculated?
Here is what you need to know about APS calculations:
- The actual marks in each subject that you get range from 0 to 100%
- Each mark is given a point score that ranges from 1 to 7, with 7 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. For example, if your mark in Mathematics is 45% the point score allocated to that mark is 3
- To get your total AP, you add the points of your 6 Matric subjects (this excludes Life Orientation)
The point allocation is as follows:
Matric Subject Symbol / Mark Obtained in Matric exam = APS (Admission Point Score)
- A symbol (80 – 100%) = 7
- B symbol (70 – 79%) = 6
- C symbol (60 – 69%) = 5
- D symbol (50 – 59%) = 4
- E symbol (40 – 49%) = 3
- F symbol (30 – 39%) = 2
- G symbol (0 – 29%) = 1
Remember that Life Orientation does not count toward your APS (Some universities will count it for a single point if you passed, while others will count it for half the allocated number of points. Others will not count it at all).
Here is an example of calculated APS score according to Matric final results:
Tsepho received these results for his Matric NSC final exams and wants to know what his APS score is:
- Mathematics: 65% (APS score of 5)
- English Home Language: 68% (APS score of 5)
- Afrikaans First Additional Language: 59% (APS score of 4)
- Life Orientation: 77% (this result is excluded from the APS score)
- Life Sciences: 81% (APS score of 7)
- Physical Sciences: 71% (APS score of 6)
- Business Studies: 68% (APS score of 5)
His total APS is 32. With this APS result, Tsepho will gain a Matric exemption and be able to pursue Bachelor degree studies at university.
Use this tool to calculate your APS score
Which Subjects Count towards my APS?
There are 6 subjects that will count towards your APS (you will complete a minimum of 7 subjects in Matric, but remember that Life Orientation is excluded in the APS score).
Your APS score will be made up of 3 compulsory subjects:
- Home Language (Afrikaans, English, IsiNdebele, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga)
- First Additional Language (Afrikaans, English, IsiNdebele, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga)
- Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy
And 3 elective subjects:
- Accounting
- Agricultural Management Practices
- Agricultural Sciences
- Agricultural Technology
- Business Studies
- Civil Technology
- Computer Applications Technology
- Consumer Studies
- Dance Studies
- Dramatic Arts
- Economics
- Electrical Technology
- Engineering Graphics and Design
- Geography
- History
- Hospitality Studies
- Information Technology
- Life Sciences
- Mechanical Technology
- Music
- Physical Sciences
- Religion studies
- Tourism
- Visual Arts
How Much Should My APS Be?
The APS you want to get will depend on what you want to study and where you want to study. The minimum APS requirements for the four passing levels are as follows:
- Bachelor’s Degree pass – minimum APS 23
- Diploma pass – minimum APS 19
- Higher Certificate pass – minimum APS 15
- NSC pass – minimum APS 14
Note that these are only the minimum requirements, and that achieving these APS scores does not guarantee you entry into any university course. Some universities will have their own requirements for certain courses, and some will be different from other universities.
What Is The Highest APS?
The highest APS you can get is 42. This is because Life Orientation does not count, and so you will be calculating your APS using six subjects. The highest number of points you can get for one subject is 7.
Bachelor’s Degree Pass
A Bachelor’s Degree Pass is the highest Matric pass you can achieve. Many students who earn distinctions usually achieve a Bachelors pass. The minimum requirements to get a Bachelor’s Degree Pass is as follows:
- 40% for your Home Language
- 50% for four other Higher Credit subjects
- 30% for one other subject for the Senior Certificate (Amended) OR 30% for two other subjects for the National Senior Certificate
Diploma Pass
The minimum requirements to get this certificate is as follows:
- 40% for your Home Language
- 40% for four other High Credit subjects
- 30% for two other subjects for the National Senior Certificate
Higher Certificate Pass
A Higher Certificate Pass allows students to enrol at a college or distance learning institution.
The minimum requirements to get this certificate is as follows:
- 40% in your Home Language
- 40% in two other subjects
- 30% for three other subjects for the National Senior Certificate
- (One of your Home Languages must be English or Afrikaans to qualify for this certificate)
National Senior Certificate Pass
The minimum requirements to get this certificate are as follows:
- Pass at least 3 subjects with 40%. One of these subjects should be an official Home Language
- Pass at least 2 subjects with 30%. One of these subjects should be a First Additional Language or Home Language
- You are allowed to fail 1 subject. The minimum percentage you can get for this subject is 20%
While having a good APS score is important, simply meeting the pass mark doesn’t guarantee admission into a university. Universities will look at other important criteria and basic requirements that need to be met by students. This includes subjects taken in school and attaining a bachelor’s pass. It should be noted that Life Orientation is excluded from the APS calculation.
Universities will also have to evaluate the amount of space available for the course. Furthermore, some students might even have to write an entrance exam, depending on the course. A student’s chance of getting accepted improves once they have passed the National benchmarking test.
All of the above factors play a detrimental role in whether or not a student will get accepted. At the end of the day, your APS score can help you determine which career path to take.
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This post was last updated in May 2023.
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