Wits APS Requirements 2026: How Wits Calculates Your Score

Wits scores your best 7 subjects (Life Orientation included) on a weighted 8-point scale. English and Mathematics earn +2 at 60% and above (capped at 10); Life Orientation uses its own column capped at 4. In practice that means Wits uses a weighted 8-point scale, so your Wits number depends on Wits's specific rules rather than a single national formula.

The important thing to understand is that Wits uses an 8-point scale with a +2 bonus for English and Maths at 60%+. 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 Wits'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.

Wits scores your best seven subjects, and unusually it includes Life Orientation among them, on its own capped column worth at most 4 points. Ordinary subjects run from 8 points at the top band down to 0 below 40%. English and Mathematics sit on a boosted column: at 60% and above they gain +2, so a top mark reaches 10 points rather than 8. Mathematical Literacy does not get the bonus.

Two features catch people out. First, the hard drop: a subject at 40 to 49% still earns 3 points, but at 30 to 39% it earns 0, with no soft landing in between. Second, the English and Maths bonus can lift a Wits total noticeably above what the same marks score on a plain 1-7 scale, which is exactly why a generic calculator misreports Wits in both directions.

Wits adds your best seven subjects, including Life Orientation, on its weighted table. English and Maths gain +2 at 60% and above; Life Orientation sits on its own column capped at 4.

Run those marks through Wits and you get a 41 out of 56. 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. The English and Maths bonuses lift Wits well above a plain 1-7 total for the same learner.

The most common mistake is treating Life Orientation like a normal subject. At Wits it counts, but only on a capped column worth at most 4 points, so a 90% in Life Orientation is worth far less than a 90% in an academic subject. Generic calculators that score it on the full scale overstate your Wits total.

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 Wits number from one calculator transfers to another university. It does not, because Wits uses an 8-point scale with a +2 bonus for English and Maths at 60%+. 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, Wits produces 41 / 56, 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 Wits 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 Wits score as specific to Wits, and recalculate for every other university on your list.

Wits 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 Wits 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. Wits programmes are competitive and use additional criteria, and popular degrees routinely admit only applicants comfortably above the stated floor. Use your Wits score to build a realistic shortlist, then confirm the current requirement for each specific programme on the official Wits website before you apply.