South African Higher Education Application Guide
This is the question I get asked most every April: "okay, I know my APS, now what do I actually do?" Here's the answer, broken down by route.
Universal Application Checklist
Before applying anywhere, ensure you have clear, digital copies (PDF or JPEG) of these essential documents:
- Certified Copy of your ID: Must not be older than 3 months.
- Final Grade 11 Results: Signed and stamped by your school principal (if you are currently in Grade 12).
- Matric Certificate / NSC Results: If you have already completed high school.
- Parent/Guardian ID Copy: Often required for financial agreements or if you are under 18.
- Proof of Residence: Required by specific institutions for regional placement scoring.
KwaZulu-Natal: Applying via CAO
If you intend to study at public institutions in KZN, you do not apply to them individually. Instead, you use the Central Applications Office (CAO) system to apply to multiple places at once.
Member and partner institutions include the public universities UKZN, DUT, MUT and UNIZULU, and, increasingly, private institutions such as Richfield, Stadio, Berea Technical College and AIFT. So a CAO application is no longer only a public-university application. If a private institution appears among your choices, the accreditation checks still apply.
- Get the CAO Handbook: Download it from the official CAO website and find the course codes for the programmes you want. You apply by code, so getting these right matters.
- Create your CAO account: Register on the CAO portal to generate your own CAO number. Use your own email address and cell number, because everything comes through them.
- Choose up to six programmes: A single administration fee lets you apply for a combination of up to six programmes across the CAO's member and partner institutions. List them in order of preference, because the order affects what you are offered.
- Pay the administration fee: Payable online or at an EasyPay vendor. Your application is not processed until it is paid. Pay before 1 November. That is when late payment fees take effect, and the late administration fee is R470.
- Track your application on the CAO portal: Status queries go to the CAO, not to the university, and you are responsible for keeping your contact details current. The CAO call centre is on 031 268 4444.
Gauteng, Western Cape & Other Provinces
For institutions outside of KwaZulu-Natal, there is currently no single central application portal. You must apply directly to each university through their respective institutional websites.
Universities like UJ, Wits, UP, TUT, and SMU require individual registrations. Most Gauteng institutions (specifically UJ and Wits) do not charge an application fee if you apply completely online, making it highly accessible to apply to more than one.
Institutions like UCT, Stellenbosch, UWC, CPUT, NWU, and UFS manage autonomous portals. Be aware that institutions like Stellenbosch or UCT often have early closing dates (frequently around July or August) for specific competitive faculties.
- Visit the official university website and navigate to the "Study / Apply" link.
- Create an applicant profile to receive a temporary student reference number.
- Upload your sorted digital documentation (Checklist above).
- Submit your submission and monitor your portal/email regularly for conditional offers.
Distance & Correspondence Learning (UNISA)
As the largest open distance learning institution in Africa, UNISA operates on its own application windows, opening and closing later than traditional walk-in varsities.
Note: UNISA charges a non-refundable application fee, and your application is not processed until it is paid. The current amount is not quoted here because it is revised each cycle and an out-of-date figure is worse than none. Check it on unisa.ac.za before you budget. UNISA is a strong option if you intend to complete a Higher Certificate and apply for degree study the following year.
Typical Application Windows
This page used to carry a table of closing dates by institution. It has been removed, deliberately, and it is worth explaining why rather than quietly dropping it.
Those dates were not sourced from the institutions, and none of them stated which intake cycle they belonged to. A closing date with no year attached is the single most harmful thing a site like this can publish: read it in the wrong year and you lose twelve months. Rather than dress up unverified dates with the word "typical", they are gone until each one has been checked against the institution's own admissions page. See the editorial policy.
What is safe to say about timing
The shape of the South African cycle is stable even though the exact dates are not:
- Applications generally open around the middle of the year, in most cases from roughly March or April, for study starting the following January.
- Most close between July and the end of September. Competitive and selection programmes close at the earlier end of that range, sometimes months before everything else at the same university.
- Distance learning closes later than contact institutions, but its places are capped and popular qualifications fill before the deadline.
- The deadline you care about is the programme's, not the university's. A single institution can have several, and the one advertised on the front page is usually the latest of them.
So the practical rule is simple: find the closing date for your specific programme, on that institution's own site, in the month you are applying. Do not work from a date someone repeated to you, including from here.
Where to check
- Central Applications Office: for UKZN, DUT, MUT, UNIZULU and participating KZN TVET colleges
- Institution guides: each links straight to that university's official admissions page
- NSFAS. Funding runs on its own separate deadline
Whatever the date turns out to be, applying early is strictly better. Places in popular programmes run out before deadlines arrive, so "on time" and "in time" are not the same thing.
Application FAQs
Can I apply to more than one university at the same time?
Yes. Outside of KwaZulu-Natal, each application is separate and paid for individually, so there is no limit other than your budget and time. Within the CAO system, a single administration fee covers up to six programmes across its member and partner institutions, listed in order of preference. That makes the CAO unusually good value if several of your choices are in KwaZulu-Natal.
Do I need my final matric results to apply?
No. Most institutions accept applications based on your Grade 11 final marks or your mid-year Grade 12 results, and then confirm your place once your final National Senior Certificate (NSC) results are released in January.
What happens if my APS score changes after final results?
Universities recalculate your APS using your final NSC results. If your score drops below the minimum for your original choice, most institutions will automatically consider you for a related programme with a lower requirement, but that's not guaranteed, so check directly with the admissions office.
Is there a way to apply for free?
Sometimes. Several institutions have waived the application fee for learners applying entirely online, and fee waivers are often available on grounds of financial hardship. Which institutions do this changes from cycle to cycle, so no list is given here. Ask the admissions office directly, and ask specifically about a hardship waiver if the fee is what is stopping you. It is a normal request and it is granted more often than people expect.