Central University of Technology (CUT)

Written by Mohapi · Last updated 15 August 2026 · How these figures are checked

CUT is the only institution on this site with a formal second chance built into its admissions. Fall into a specific band and you are not rejected. You are sent to sit a test.

The 22–26 band is the useful part

Most institutions publish one number and everything below it is a no. CUT publishes a middle band where the answer is "prove it".

If you land between 22 and 26, you are not out. You sit a selection test, and the test, rather than your matric alone, decides. That is genuinely unusual and it matters for a specific group of learners: those whose marks underrepresent them, who had a difficult year, or who simply test better than they schooled.

Practically: if your CUT score is in that band, apply, and prepare for the test. Ask CUT what it covers and when it runs. Treating a 24 as a rejection when it is actually an invitation is a real and avoidable loss.

Life Orientation: required, and capped at one point

CUT does something that looks contradictory until you see both halves.

• You must achieve at least level 4 (50–59%) in Life Orientation. It is a requirement, not a bonus.
• It is worth exactly 1 point on the CUT scale. And even if you score far higher, the value awarded is still 1.

So Life Orientation can stop you getting in and can barely help you get in. A learner with 48% in Life Orientation has a problem regardless of their other marks; a learner with 95% gets the same single point as one with 51%.

This is the second Free State institution with a capped Life Orientation, alongside UFS, which awards one point from 60% upward. The two are close cousins in design and differ in the threshold, 50% at CUT, 60% at UFS, which is exactly the sort of detail that makes a single national APS impossible.

English at 50%

English is the language of learning and teaching at CUT, and 50% in English as Home Language or First Additional Language is considered sufficient.

That is higher than the national floor of 30% in the language of learning and teaching, and in line with NWU. If your English sits in the forties, check this before assuming your total carries you.

CUT scores on its own scale

The phrase "the CUT scoring scale" appears throughout CUT's own material, and it is doing real work. A CUT score is not a generic APS. Life Orientation alone is treated differently enough to break the comparison.

CUT publishes a course calculator that applies its own rules. Use that rather than a generic tool, including the one on this site.

Where CUT is

CUT has campuses in Bloemfontein and Welkom, both in the Free State.

It is a university of technology, so the offering is applied and occupational: engineering, health and environmental sciences, management sciences, and information technology, largely at diploma and degree level with practical components.

Coming from a TVET college

CUT publishes specific provision for NC(V) and N-qualification holders, which is more than most universities do. If you are coming through the TVET route rather than straight from an NSC, look at that route specifically rather than assuming the NSC requirements apply to you.

Applying

• Apply directly to CUT. It is not a CAO institution.
• Work your score out on CUT's own calculator, since its Life Orientation rule differs from everywhere else.
• Check your Life Orientation is at level 4 or above. It is a hard requirement.
• Check your English against 50%.
• If you are between 22 and 26, apply and ask about the selection test.
• Residence and funding are separate applications.

Per-programme requirements above the 27-point minimum, application fees and closing dates are set per cycle and are not reproduced here. Confirm on the CUT site.

What people get wrong when applying to CUT