All undergraduate applicants who are normally resident or at school in South Africa must write the NBTs, and all applicants to programmes in the Faculty of Health Sciences must write the NBTs wherever they reside. International applicants to undergrad LLB must write the AL part of the NBT.

You can visit the NBT website.

You can either send an email to nbt@uct.ac.za or call +27 21 650 3523.

Yes, you can connect directly with them on the NBT Facebook page.

By working hard and achieving good results in Grades 11 and 12 and performing well in the National Benchmarking Tests (NBTs) you will have a good chance of getting into UCT. However, different faculties and programmes have different entrance requirements so we encourage you to increase your chances of admission by making two choices in your application.

All undergraduate applicants who are normally resident or at school in South Africa must write the NBTs, and all applicants to programmes in the Faculty of Health Sciences must write the NBTs wherever they reside. International applicants to undergrad LLB must write the AL part of the NBT.

No. While we appreciate your eagerness, applications may only be submitted in the year before you plan to register. You will not be able to apply while still in Grade 11.

We provide a comprehensive list of admission criteria in our Undergraduate Prospectus.

The best overview of everything on offer at UCT is in the Undergraduate Prospectus.

No applications for 2024 are closed but we encourage you to apply for 2025.

The UCT Online Applications site opened on 2 April 2024 for 2025.

To make the applications process as efficient as possible we prefer that you apply online.

You can print and complete the application form on the application forms page.

The application process can be confusing, so we have provided a complete information guide with directions for Undergraduate Applicants on the application forms page.

You may apply for up to two programmes. In fact, we encourage you to make two choices as this increases your chances of being accepted into UCT. These choices can be from the same faculty, or from different faculties.

UCT has a wide variety of programmes on offer, too many to list here. But there are considerable resources on our website. Please check out the various Faculty and departmental websites. You can access them via the UCT Students website.

You may change your programme selection, free of charge, but only until 31 August of the year you submit your application.

An application for admission can only be submitted online after all required fields are completed. However, it is common that most applicants will need to submit additional information after submitting an initial application. For example, a grade 12 applicant will need to capture and submit evidence of additional examination results after an initial application is submitted. Applicants should consult the appropriate (undergraduate or postgraduate) Directions for Applicants for information on full requirements for submission.

This may be because despite submitting additional information, you still cannot be admitted. This may mean that have not yet met the threshold for admission or that UCT is still awaiting additional information such as the final NSC results so that we can compare all applications and select the best applicants. There are selection committees that meet at various times to consider applications, and it may mean that the committee has not had a chance to evaluate all your application related material as yet.

No, if you wrote your matric in South Africa National Senior Certificate (NSC), UCT will obtain your results directly from your examination authority. However, if you have an international qualification, it is advisable to submit a final, certified copy of your results to admissions-ug@uct.ac.za. Note that we may require your assistance to verify your results, in which case we will contact you.

For your convenience payment can be made in one of three ways:

1. Online by credit card
2. By EFT (electronic funds transfer)
3. By direct deposit into our bank account

View the UCT account details..

You may see your application status at any time in the Student Self-Service system.

Should your application be successful, you will be informed by email and SMS. You should also monitor the UCT self-service site, where your status will be updated immediately.

There is no need to either reapply for admission, pay an application fee or rewrite the NBTs (if your NBTs were written within the past 3 years) of if you decide to take a gap year. Simply write to us at admissions@uct.ac.za and request a deferment of your application.

To find out more about the costs of study please visit the Student Fees Handbook page on the UCT Applicants & Students website, where you can download a copy of the Handbook, as well as find the pro forma invoice request for your fees.

You can cancel your application at any stage by contacting the UCT Admissions Office at admissions@uct.ac.za.

A conditional offer is an offer of admission with conditions. This is communicated to you in the offer correspondence. You may be made a conditional offer of admission on the strength of interim examination results. Final decisions will only be reached when you have submitted your final school-leaving (or, for transferring applicants, tertiary) results. If that you do not meet either the subject or NBT requirements, your application will not be successful, and we will communicate that decision as soon as possible.

Your chances of being offered a place of admission depends on several factors, such as the strength of your application in relation to other applicants, and the capacity of the programme to which you applied. You may be made a conditional offer of admission on the strength of interim examination results. Final decisions may only be reached when you have submitted your final school-leaving (or, for transferring applicants, tertiary) results. In the event that you do not meet either the subject or NBT requirements, your application will not be successful, and we will communicate that decision as soon as possible.

Once results are available, final decisions will be made within days. For applicants with international qualifications, and for transferring applicants whose academic records are considered, this may take a few more days. It is therefore important that, particularly in the case of international qualifications and transferring applicants, you submit your final results as soon as possible.

Once final processing is complete, you will receive SMS and email correspondence asking you to select your preferred firm offer online. You will be given a limited time to do this. Your other offer will be cancelled automatically. Should you fail to make your selection online, your first choice will be selected for you and you will be withdrawn from your second choice. You will need to attend the registration of the programme you have selected.

No, your application for admission to UCT and your application for housing are two separate applications. Your application for admission is processed by the Faculty Office and housing applications are processed by the Student Housing Admissions & Advocacy Services Office (SHAAS). Should you be made an offer of admission, SHAAS will process the application for residence but a place of study does not necessarily mean you would be granted housing as well.

Please follow the instructions in the offer letter to accept or decline your offer online.

You cannot defer your acceptance. You may only defer your application and you will be reconsidered for the following year. Contact the UCT Admissions Office if you wish to defer your application. If you defer your application, it does not mean automatic acceptance the following year.