FAQ for the Notification of Grade Profiles and Programme Places for Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level and Local Polytechnic Diploma Applicants for the Academic Year 2023/2024 University Admissions Exercise
- What is the purpose of the Indicative Grade Profiles and how can it guide me in my application to the University?
- How are Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level graduates considered for admission?
- Best three H2 and one H1 content-based subjects, with at least 1 content subject from a contrasting discipline
- General Paper (GP) or Knowledge and Inquiry (KI)
- Project Work (PW)
- How are polytechnic graduates considered for admission?
- How should ‘A’ Level graduates interpret the information indicated in Table 1?
- How should polytechnic graduates interpret the information indicated in Table 2?
- Why is the grade profile of only the bottom 10% of applicants and not the last student offered admissions made known?
- Why is there a variation in the GCE A-Level Grade Profiles and Polytechnic GPA for different programmes?
- What are the chances of my admission to a particular programme if I attained the GCE A-Level Grade Profile or Polytechnic GPA indicated in the tables?
- What is the success rate of applicants to the various programmes?
- I was not successful in my application to a programme that requires an interview and/or test even though I have met the GCE A-Level Grade Profile or Polytechnic GPA as indicated in the Table. Why is this so?
- I would like to appeal for admission as my application was unsuccessful. Should I appeal for the programmes with GCE A-Level Grade Profile or Polytechnic GPA that are similar to my GCE A-Level grades or Polytechnic GPA?
- What is the breakdown of available programme places since this will help me assess how competitive these programmes are?
- Why has the University not released the grade profile of other qualifications such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) and NUS High School diplomas?
- How will students with the NUS High School or IB diploma applying for admissions be assessed by the University?
The purpose of providing the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level Grades and Polytechnic Grade Point Average (GPA) is to assist applicants in assessing their competitiveness for the various undergraduate programmes in NUS. Applicants should therefore use the relevant profile to guide them in their selection of programme choices when they submit their application.
Admission of Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level graduates to the University is based on an applicant's overall ‘A’ level academic performance comprising the grades of six ‘A’ level subjects as follows:
The best Mother Tongue Language (MTL) subject grade (e.g. H1 MTL or O-level higher MTL) will be considered only if the candidate provides the result for the University's consideration. The University will include the MTL subject grade in the admission consideration only if it raises the competitiveness of the candidate. Please refer to more information here
Starting from the Academic Year (AY) 2020/2021 admissions exercise, admission of polytechnic graduates to the University will be based on their polytechnic academic results, i.e. Grade Point Average (GPA). Some NUS undergraduate programmes will only consider polytechnic graduates with accredited diplomas. Please refer to the list of accredited diplomas here
Table 1 shows the indicative grade profile of A-Level graduates who were offered admission in AY 2022/23. The grades indicated at the 10th and 90th percentiles are for the three H2 and one H1 content-based subjects, in that order. The grade profile assumes the grade C for General Paper and Project Work. The 10th percentile grade profile refers to the grades attained by the last candidate of 90% of applicants offered admission. For example, if the 10th percentile grade profile is ABC/A (three H2 / one H1), it means that bottom 10% of applicants offered places scored below ABC/A. If the 90th percentile grade is AAA/B, it means the top 10% of successful applicants scored above AAA/B.
Table 2 shows the polytechnic GPA of those who were offered admission in AY 2022/2023 at the 10th and 90th percentiles. The 10th percentile GPA refers to the GPA attained by the last candidate of 90% of applicants offered admission. For example, if the 10th percentile GPA profile is 3.56, it means the bottom 10% of applicants offered places attained a GPA below 3.56. If the 90th percentile is 3.95, it means the top 10% of successful applicants attained a GPA above 3.95.
The 10th percentile grade profile serves as an indicator of the cut-off point for each programme. The actual cut-off point is not provided as there may be outliers in the intake for a given year, whereas a 10th percentile grade profile provides a more stable and accurate indication of overall quality of students who were offered places.
As admission to the University is based on competition among applicants for that year, applicants’ choice of programmes and available programme places will determine the admission requirements. Hence, the representative grade profile for a more competitive or popular programme may be much higher compared to another programme.
The GCE A-Level Grade Profile and Polytechnic GPA are based on last year’s admission requirements. Each year, the GCE A-Level Grade Profile and Polytechnic GPA may differ depending on the number and performance of applicants and places available for the programme. Therefore, meeting the previous year’s (AY 2022/2023) GCE A-Level Grades or Polytechnic GPA is only indicative and does NOT guarantee admission to the programme in the following year (AY 2023/2024).
Success rates are not an accurate indicator as students are allowed to include as many as 5 to 8 choices in an application and only one offer is made. An applicant who is successfully offered the first choice, for example, would not receive offers for subsequent choices even if their grades are good enough, and it would be incorrect to interpret that the applicant had been unsuccessful for their subsequent choices.
Undergraduate programmes such as Architecture, Dentistry, Industrial Design, Landscape Architecture, Law, Medicine, Music, Nursing and Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE) require additional assessment such as interviews, auditions, selection tests and portfolios as part of the admission requirement. The processes for interviews and selection tests are done rigorously. For instance, an applicant selected for the Medicine interview will go through multiple panels of interviewers who will not be given the academic results of interviewees. Selection to these competitive programmes will be based on academic merit and the applicant’s performance at the interviews and tests.
For more details, please refer to the respective subject prerequisites here and here for details.
The admission criteria for AY 2023/2024 may vary from the information set out in the Tables due to changes in applicants’ preferences and number of vacancies compared to the last academic year. Applicants are advised to appeal for programmes requiring GCE A-Level grades and Polytechnic GPA that are close to the GCE A-Level grades or Polytechnic GPA they have obtained. They must also satisfy subject prerequisites for programmes they wish to be considered.
The University publishes programme places to reflect the total number of enrolled freshmen students where the majority has not decided on their area of specialisation. Freshmen in some faculties/schools do not select their majors/specialisations in their first year of study and will read modules in many subjects so that they can decide on their area of specialisation after 2 or 3 semesters of study in the University. You may wish to visit https://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/student-records/student-statistics which provides a summary of past years’ undergraduate student enrolment statistics.
Local applicants with IB and NUS High School qualifications are relatively fewer in number compared to those with the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Levels and Singapore polytechnic diplomas. The sample size of applicants with these two qualifications is too small to arrive at a grade profile that accurate reflects the academic requirements for the various undergraduate programmes. The grade profile for these two groups of students are therefore not included.
In the case of IB students, their score in the IB diploma will be used for admission evaluation. For NUS High School diploma recipients, they will be evaluated on the strength of their graduation CAP and other academic achievements. Additional achievements that demonstrate exceptional ability in an area, exceptional achievements in research projects and various CCAs will also be taken into consideration when deciding the outcome. The exact requirements will vary depending on the specific programme and is ultimately determined by the strength of the applicant pool each year, the relative performance of the students with other students taking similar examinations, and where available, the past performance of students who have matriculated with the same qualification.
Prepared by:
NUS Office of Admissions
9 January 2023