How to determine your cut off mark

You have been wondering why you would study so hard and score a high mark and yet your status keep reading NOT ADMITTED. Let me take you through how you can know and be sure you are going to be admitted, 

While JAMB cut-off mark is the minimum score you must have in UTME before you can apply for Post UTME admission screening exercise, the departmental cut-off mark is the minimum aggregate score you must have before you can be admitted for any course you choose. While scoring above the JAMB cut-off mark does not necessarily guarantee admission, in most schools, you will surely be given admission once you meet the departmental cut-off mark. Still confused? Let me shed more light on that using examples.

OAU has fixed 200 as her minimum cut off mark. If you want to apply for ANY COURSE in Obafemi Awolowo University, you MUST SCORE at least 200 in JAMB. However, scoring even 300 in JAMB does not guarantee your admission into OAU, if you fail the Post UTME and your aggregate score is below the departmental cut-off mark for your applied course. You might later be given another course or you may not. If you prepare for Post UTME the right way and use past questions, passing won’t be an issue.

The same thing applies to  UNILAG, UNN,UI, UNIBEN e.t.c. Now that you understand the difference, the most important question is how do schools come up with departmental cut-off marks? That is exactly what I am about to show you. Different schools use different exams to determine the aggregate score. Since the introduction of the JAMB Central Admission Processing System (CAPS), JAMB has made it mandatory that all institutions make use of JAMB as at least 50% of their candidates’ aggregate score.

While it is compulsory that you must meet the minimum O’level requirements for your course (usually 5/6 credits in one or two sittings depending on your course), some schools like UNIBEN, UI, and UNN do not use O’level as part of their aggregate score. Whereas OAU and UNILAG make O’level 10% and 20% of their aggregate score respectively. So, it is important that you first know how your school of choice calculates the aggregate score. Also, some schools conduct Post UTME and others do not. So, JAMB is 50%, the remaining 50% can be:

• Shared between Post UTME and O’level scores e.g OAU, OOU, LASU and UNILAG
• Post UTME score alone e.g UI, UNN and UNIBEB
• O’level score only

With the understanding of all I have stated above, let’s go to the last and most important fact. 

HOW IS DEPARTMENTAL CUT OFF MARK FIXED

THE DEPARTMENTAL CUT-OFF MARK IS USUALLY THE LOWEST AGGREGATE SCORE AMONG THE ADMITTED CANDIDATES FOR A GIVEN YEAR.

For example. If 10,000 people applied to study Medicine at the University of Ibadan and only 150 are admitted because of the department quota. The cut-off mark for Medicine in UI for that year will be the least aggregate score among the 150 admitted candidates that year.

So, let’s say;

• 30 candidates had above 80 in their aggregate
• 100 had between 76 and 80
• 19 had between 74 and 76
• The remaining 1 candidate had 73.4

The departmental cut off mark for Medicine in UI that year will be 73.4. That is why once you score below the departmental cut off mark, admission is not sure unless your leg in longer that 6fts. You get the point now? The departmental cut-off mark is the aggregate score (not JAMB/Post UTME score) of the last candidate that will be admitted that year.

So, if you are going to gain admission for that course and you score below the departmental cut-off mark, they either have to admit more than their quota or admit lesser than their quota on merit.

Once again, remember that getting admitted can be very easy and also very complicated depending on the school of your choice.

Feel free to comment, like and share on your networks.

For more on related issues, chat us on whatsapp.

Thank you