2024 For 2025 Selection of MBCHB Students - zp248810
2024 For 2025 Selection of MBCHB Students - zp248810
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
GENERAL INFORMATION
Applications to be considered for admission to the 2025 academic year open on 1 April and close 30 June 2024. No
late applications will be considered.
In order to register for a first bachelor’s degree at the University, a candidate should have completed the National
Senior Certificate (NSC) or an equivalent qualification, and meet the minimum requirements for admission to
bachelor’s degree study.
Candidates must also comply with the particular subject and level requirement as well as with the minimum
Admission Point Score (APS) for the relevant study programme.
The APS calculation is based on a candidate’s achievement in six 20-credit recognised subjects by using the NSC
ratings that is the “1 to 7 scale of achievement”, as explained in the table below. Thus, the highest APS that can be
achieved is 42.
Life Orientation is a 10-credit subject and is excluded from the calculation when determining the APS.
Grade 11 results (English % + Mathematics % + Physical Science + next three best marks in recognised 20-credit
subjects, excluding Life Orientation, Mathematical Literacy and Mathematics paper III/6) will count 100% in
determining the Merit Point Score (MPS) of candidates for provisional selection (provided the minimum admission
requirements are also met). Value added attributes (e.g. job shadowing, community service, leadership, etc.)
are not considered.
Grade 11 results are used in the provisional admission of prospective students.
The final NSC or equivalent qualification results will be the determining factor with regard to final admission of those
offered provisional places.
The decision of the selection committee is final.
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Degree programmes Language Mathematics Physical APS
or Sciences
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Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery 5 (60-69%) 6 (70-79%) 5 (60-69%) 35
(MBChB) 10130003
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FACULTY-SPECIFIC ADMISSIONS REGULATIONS
The Faculty of Health Sciences seeks to admit students with the academic credentials, which have been shown to
predict for success.
Places are reserved in specific categories to ensure an equitable representation of demographically defined designated
groups. Selection thus takes place in different categories as indicated in this document.
For purposes of selection in the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Designated Group category includes South African
candidates of Black African and Coloured descent. The Open category refers to all applicants including those from the
Designated Group who compete first in the Open category and, if unsuccessful, subsequently compete in the
Designated Group category.
The target numbers applicable to each programme are specified for all the categories. If insufficient applications from
qualifying applicants are received in a certain category, the Selection Committee may decide to either not fill all the
places, or to offer them to qualifying applicants from another category.
A limited number of places are made available to citizens from countries other than South Africa*, with those from SADC
countries being given preference. Permanent residents of RSA are not categorised as foreign students. Applications
from citizens from countries other than South Africa* may also be considered if they are:
- citizens or permanent residents of countries which have relevant government to government agreements with
South Africa
- asylum seekers or refugees
Citizens from countries other than South Africa* who do not comply with the above conditions may be considered if
space is available.
Applications received from citizens of other countries* that have their own medical schools are not considered for
admission to medical studies (MBChB).
Applicants who have multiple citizenships, including South African citizenship, will be considered to be South African.
The final number of places allocated to new applicants will be determined on an annual basis, taking into account the
teaching facilities and resources available and, where necessary, the number of places allocated to students repeating
modules in the first year of study.
Only applicants who comply with the requirements set out in this document will be considered for selection. However,
compliance with the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as only a limited number of
students can be accommodated.
Selection is based on merit. The faculty does not determine specific selection cut-off values for the different categories.
Such values are generated by the number of students competing in a particular category in relation to the number of
places available.
A Merit Point Score (MPS) is used for ranking applicants for selection purposes.
Only first and second-choice applicants will be considered.
The top candidates will be selected provisionally up to or surpassing the allocated number, based on past experience
regarding the expected number of acceptances.
All offers are provisional until the final exam results have been received. For applicants in the School-leaver categories
a provisional place will be confirmed as long as the NSC or equivalent MPS scores are not more than five points below
the Grade 11 MPS score.
Once the final NSC or equivalent qualification results have been received, provisional offers will be confirmed if the
applicant still meets the required criteria. The MPS of all applicants who met the minimum requirements but were not
provisionally selected and applicants who forfeited their places due to the MPS score falling more than five points will
be recalculated using the NSC or equivalent qualification results and if places become available, offers will be made to
them.
Any places that become available in any category after selection due to cancellation or forfeiture will be filled from the
recalculated selection list for the specific category.
This recalculated selection list will remain active until the end of the second week after the commencement of lectures.
All successful candidates are admitted to the first year of study only. Registered students in the University Experienced
categories may apply for credit for completed equivalent modules.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Any deliberate omission of information or false information provided by an applicant in his/her application may
result in the immediate cancellation of the application, admission or registration.
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SELECTION CATEGORIES
Places that become available in any category after selection due to cancellation or forfeiture will be filled from the
recalculated selection list for the specific category. This list will remain active until the end of the second week after lectures
have commenced.
CATEGORY SCHOOL LEAVERS (including those who have taken a gap year and had no university experience)
1 Open category – all school-leaving applicants first compete here
Designated groups category: All South Africans or permanent residents of Black African or Coloured African
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descent who are not successful in category 1 will compete in category 8.
PREVIOUS UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE
Open category: All applicants with university experience first compete here. A full academic record is required. All
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courses must have been passed.
Designated groups category: All South Africans or permanent residents of Black African or Coloured African
9 descent who are not successful in category 3 will compete in category 9. A full academic record is required. All
courses must have been passed.
PROVINCIAL REPRESENTATION/APPLICANTS SPONSORED BY SANDF
Admission in terms of provincial representation.
6 Selection based on the highest MPS in categories of province of origin (where NSC written) of the applicant.
Applicants sponsored by SANDF.
School-leavers category
All applicants are required to meet the minimum criteria for admission to a university and should be in
possession of a full/foreign exemption certificate or a National Senior Certificate with admission to degree
studies. Applicants with immigrant exemption, but with only one language may be considered. (General rule
G1: NSC certified by Universities South Africa (USAf) with an academic rating of 4 in four recognised 20-credit
subjects).
Provisional selection of candidates who apply during their final NSC or equivalent qualification year is based
on a Merit Point Score (MPS)
Unless otherwise indicated, the MPS is calculated as follows:
- Grade 11 results (English % + Mathematics % + Physical Science + next three best marks in recognised
20-credit subjects, excluding Life Orientation, Mathematical Literacy and Mathematics paper III/6) will
count 100% in determining the Merit Point Score (MPS) of candidates for provisional selection (provided
the minimum admission requirements are also met).
- All offers are provisional until the final NSC or equivalent qualification results have been received.
Applicants’ provisional places will be confirmed as long as their MPS scores do not drop more than five
points below their Grade 11 MPS scores and still meet the minimum admission requirements.
Applicants who apply after completion of the final NSC or equivalent qualification, for example those who take
a gap year without any university exposure, will be provisionally selected based on their final NSC or equivalent
qualification marks.
Applicants will be considered in applicable categories.
Open category (category 1): All school-leaving applicants first compete here.
Designated groups category (category 8): All South Africans or permanent residents of Black African
or Coloured African descent school-leaving applicants who are not successful in category 1 will
compete in category 8.
Applicants from countries other than South Africa* must comply with all University and Department of Home
Affairs regulations related to foreign students.
School of Tomorrow or Accelerated Christian Education candidates do not comply with the minimum
requirements for degree study, as certified by USAf.
General Education Diploma (GED) candidates do not comply with the minimum requirements for degree study,
as certified by USAf.
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Minimum requirements based on Cambridge qualifications
Candidates will be considered for admission and conditionally admitted if they meet the admission
requirements based on their IGCSE / O-Level results.
IGCSE and O Levels are considered equal to Grade 11, therefore the higher interpretation on the
conversion grid must be used for conditional admission. For registration for bachelor’s degree studies, the
requirements must be either AS or HIGCSE plus exemption. Although IGCSE and O Levels are exiting
qualifications, AS or HIGCSE levels are required for registration.
Foreign Exemption Certificate issued by USAf.
The approved UP Percentage and APS conversion table must be used to calculate the UP percentage and
subject requirement equivalence.
The University Module Achievement Score (UMAS) appears on page 6 of this document (formula used for
applicants with previous university experience).
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Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) 10130003
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University Module Achievement Score (UMAS)
Calculation of the University Module Achievement Score (UMAS) for applicants with previous university experience
For applicants in their first year of study the marks from the first semester (minimum of 4 subjects/modules, excluding
AIM [Academic information management] and ELH [Academic English for Health Sciences] or equivalent modules).
For applicants who have completed more than a year of tertiary studies and are currently registered (2024 academic
year) their academic achievement during the last three semesters (first semester of 2024 and the two semesters of
2023 with a maximum of 20 subjects/modules).
For applicants in a year of study for which no marks are available at mid-year, only the marks of the previous year(s)
will be used (with a maximum of two years and 20 subjects/modules). The same will apply for students who have a
completed degree(s) and are not registered in 2024.
All courses (subjects/modules) must have been passed.
The UMAS calculation is based on the number of completed subjects/modules and the formula returns a score which has a
maximum value of 80 (excluding bonus points).
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