5

things you need to know

about getting into UCT
UCT welcomes around 4200 first-year students in February each year. The truth is, the road
to university starts long before Orientation Week. Winning a place to study an undergraduate
degree at UCT is a great achievement – and dependent on a number of factors. For those of
you who are planning ahead for next year, here’s what you should know when applying.

1 Know what your faculty is looking for

Depending on what you would like to study, each faculty has a set of
criteria that needs to be met in order to be considered for the course.
To be admitted to a Bachelor’s degree, applicants with a National
Senior Certificate need to pass a minimum of four subjects at a rating
of 4 (Adequate Achievement, 50-59%) or better, from a designated
list of subjects. See the list here.
Applicants are required to be proficient in English, have a matric
exemption and a qualifying Admission Points Score based on their
matric results. Get more info about these scores here.
The National Benchmarking Test results also play a critical role in
admission in two faculties, namely Health Sciences and Engineering
and the Built Environment. Scores in these tests make up 30% of an
applicant’s grade for admission into Medicine and 50% for admission
into Engineering and the Built Environment.

2 Know these deadlines

Applications for undergraduate study for 2016 will open in April 2015 are relying on snail mail to deliver). Also note that UCT only accepts
and close on 30 September. So start as early as possible and make first semester admissions (you can’t start your studies in the second
sure you’ve submitted your application in good time (especially if you semester). Here are the necessary forms and information.

3 Know what it will cost

UCT’s tuition fees vary from course to course and include the following:
• registration • compulsory personal accident insurance
• ALL charges for classes, tutorials and laboratories (other universities • the use of general sporting facilities
charge extra for these) ordinary university examinations • in the case of medical students, hospital fees for clinical instruction
• library access
There is no separate registration fee and you don’t need to make a payment in order to register. Chat to the fees office about when payments are
due. See page 68 of the UCT Prospectus here for various fees and costs.

4 Know your financial assistance opportunities

Your tertiary education is not tethered to your bank account. UCT Vice-
Chancellor Dr Max Price promises that UCT will not turn students away
simply because of financial constraints.
Each year, UCT allocates over R8 million as entrance scholarships
to school-leavers who are coming to study at the university for the
first time.
There are three kinds of financial support available to South African
students: entrance scholarships, sports scholarships and financial
assistance packages.
Click here for all the ins and outs of applying for financial assistance
and note that applications for assistance for study in 2016 close in
October 2015.

5 Know what you are up against

The truth of the matter is there are far more talented, bright school
leavers than there are places at university. For example, each year the
Faculty of Health Sciences at UCT receives around 5000 applications
to study medicine, but there are only 220 spaces available. That means
even with outstanding results, the odds are only 1 out of 22 that you’ll
be accepted.
So it’s important to start looking at possible fields of study and
necessary criteria in Grade 11 to make sure you’re on the right track.
Be prepared with second and third choices for programmes when
applying, in case your first-choice application is unsuccessful.
And if you’re really passionate about becoming an expert in your
field, keep UCT in mind for a postgraduate degree. We offer excellent
opportunities to help young researchers and academics of the future
to get a good start.