MatricLink Your link to higher education in SA

University of South Africa (UNISA)

Written by Mohapi · Last updated · How these figures are checked

UNISA is the one institution on this site where your score is usually not the thing standing between you and a place. Timing is.

Why Life Orientation is left out

UNISA calculates your APS from six recognised 20-credit subjects, using the standard NSC 1-to-7 scale. The maximum is 42.

Life Orientation is excluded, because it is a 10-credit subject rather than a 20-credit one, the same reasoning UP gives.

Source: UNISA general admission requirements

Correction, August 2026. This site previously listed UNISA as including Life Orientation. It excludes it. If you used the old figure, your real UNISA score is lower than what you were shown.

The real constraint is space, not points

UNISA is by a long way the largest university in South Africa, and it is open distance learning, so people assume it takes everyone. It does not.

UNISA works to a capped number of spaces per qualification. Applications open for a defined window, and popular qualifications fill during it. Once a qualification is full, a strong APS makes no difference at all. There is nothing left to allocate.

So the practical advice for UNISA is different from everywhere else on this site: apply on the day applications open, not before the deadline. The deadline is not the constraint. Capacity is.

Minimum APS varies by college and by qualification

There is no single UNISA number. UNISA states that the minimum APS differs from college to college and from qualification to qualification, and directs applicants to the requirements for the specific qualification they want.

Broadly, higher certificates sit lowest, diplomas above them and degrees highest, but check the actual qualification rather than assuming a band.

Per-qualification APS figures are not reproduced here. They are set per qualification, revised each cycle, and UNISA publishes them against each one.

Where UNISA genuinely fits

Distance learning is not a soft option and it is worth being honest about who it suits.

It works well if

  • You are working, or need to work, while you study.
  • You cannot relocate or afford residence at a contact university.
  • You are self-disciplined enough to structure your own week without a timetable telling you where to be.
  • You want a Higher Certificate to open degree study the following year, a common and sensible use of UNISA.
  • You are repeating or upgrading and want to keep momentum without a full campus commitment.

It works badly if

  • You rely on the structure of scheduled classes and being physically present.
  • You have unreliable internet or no quiet place to work. This is the single most underestimated risk.
  • You want the social side of university life.
  • You need lab, studio or clinical facilities for your field.

The dropout rate in distance learning is real, and it is rarely about intelligence. It is about isolation and the absence of external structure. If you go this route, build your own: fixed study times, a study group even if it is online, and someone who asks you how it is going.

Cost

UNISA is considerably cheaper than contact universities, and you avoid residence and daily transport costs, which for many households is the deciding factor. You pay per module rather than for a full year, which also lets you spread the load and the cost.

NSFAS funds UNISA students, but the rules for distance learning students differ from contact ones, particularly around allowances. You are not being funded for accommodation you do not use. Check the current terms with NSFAS directly.

UNISA charges a non-refundable application fee. The amount is not stated here because it is revised each cycle. Confirm it on the UNISA site before you budget.

Applying

What people get wrong when applying to UNISA

Assuming UNISA accepts everyone

Spaces are capped per qualification. Popular ones close during the application window, well before the stated deadline.

Counting Life Orientation

Excluded, as a 10-credit subject. This site said otherwise until August 2026.

Getting an offer and not registering

Acceptance and registration are separate steps with separate deadlines. Missing the second wastes the first.

Underestimating what self-study requires

No timetable means no one notices if you fall behind until it is too late to recover the semester.

Official source

UNISA general admission requirements →

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