UCT APS Requirements 2026: How UCT Calculates Your Score

UCT sums your raw subject percentages into a Faculty Points Score (FPS). The recipe differs by faculty, marks below 40% score 0, and a +10 bonus is added for a passed third South African language. In practice that means UCT uses a per-faculty Faculty Points Score, so your UCT number depends on UCT's specific rules rather than a single national formula.

The important thing to understand is that UCT uses its own Faculty Points Score, not a standard APS. Two applicants with identical matric marks can end up with different admission numbers at different universities purely because the counting rules differ. The calculator on this site applies UCT's rules exactly and shows every subject's contribution, so you can see how the final figure was reached instead of trusting a black box.

UCT works from raw subject percentages, not 1-7 levels, and the recipe changes by faculty. For Commerce, Humanities and Law the Faculty Points Score is your best six percentages added together, out of 600. Science uses a different formula out of 800 that doubles Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Health Sciences goes out of 900 and folds in your three National Benchmark Test results. Any subject below 40% scores 0.

Two UCT rules matter for planning. A passed third South African language adds a flat +10. And UCT applies a per-applicant Weighted Points Score adjustment for disadvantage, which depends on personal circumstances and cannot be computed by any calculator. For Engineering and Health Sciences the tool therefore reports your academic portion and is explicit that NBT results and the WPS complete the real selection score.

UCT uses a Faculty Points Score from raw percentages. For Commerce, Humanities, Law and Engineering the base is your best six percentages out of 600. Marks below 40% score 0.

Run those marks through UCT and you get a Commerce FPS 433 out of 600. The step-by-step table further down the page shows each subject's contribution. Enter your own marks in the calculator to get the same breakdown for your results. Science doubles Maths and Physical Sciences over 800; Health Sciences adds your three NBT results over 900. A passed third South African language adds +10.

The most common mistake is counting Life Orientation. UCT excludes it, but plenty of generic calculators add it in, which inflates your total by several points and can make a programme look reachable when it is not. Enter Life Orientation in the UCT calculator anyway: it will show the mark and confirm it is excluded, so there is no ambiguity.

The second mistake is mixing up percentages and levels: on a points scale you enter your actual subject percentage, and the calculator converts it, not the 1-7 level. The third is assuming the UCT number from one calculator transfers to another university. It does not, because UCT uses its own Faculty Points Score, not a standard APS. Always calculate each university on its own terms.

The clearest way to see why the method matters is to run one matric result through all six universities. Using the marks in the worked example above, UCT produces 433 / 600, while the other universities land on different numbers on different scales. The comparison table on the universities page lays all six side by side.

This is the whole point of calculating UCT on its own terms. A number that looks strong on one scale can be middling on another, and a programme minimum only means something once it is expressed in the same units the university actually uses. Treat your UCT score as specific to UCT, and recalculate for every other university on your list.

UCT sets minimum requirements per faculty and per programme, and competitive courses sit well above the faculty floor. aps.guide does not publish an admission minimum until it has been verified against an official UCT prospectus, so the faculty table below marks these as being verified rather than showing an unconfirmed number. This is deliberate: a wrong cut-off is worse than none when you are deciding where to apply.

Meeting a minimum never guarantees a place. UCT programmes are competitive and use additional criteria, and popular degrees routinely admit only applicants comfortably above the stated floor. Use your UCT score to build a realistic shortlist, then confirm the current requirement for each specific programme on the official UCT website before you apply.