APS calculator
WORK OUT YOUR ADMISSION POINT SCORE
Your APS is the number universities use to decide whether you can apply for a qualification. Enter your subject percentages below — the calculator uses your best six, which is how Septa works it out inside the app.
How the scale works
Every subject percentage converts to an achievement level from 1 to 7. Your APS is those levels added together for six subjects, giving a maximum of 42.
| Percentage | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 80–100% | 7 | Outstanding achievement |
| 70–79% | 6 | Meritorious achievement |
| 60–69% | 5 | Substantial achievement |
| 50–59% | 4 | Adequate achievement |
| 40–49% | 3 | Moderate achievement |
| 30–39% | 2 | Elementary achievement |
| 0–29% | 1 | Not achieved |
Why Life Orientation is left out
Most South African universities exclude Life Orientation from the APS calculation — UP, UJ, DUT, UKZN, NWU, TUT, Unisa and Stellenbosch among them. Wits is the notable exception: it includes Life Orientation but caps it at 4 points, so a 90% in LO earns you the same as a 55%.
This is why you should never bank on Life Orientation to lift your score. Plan your APS on the six subjects that actually count.
The number on this page is a guide, not a ruling
The calculation above is the standard method, and it is what most institutions use. But there is no single national APS formula, and universities genuinely differ:
- UCT works from a faculty-specific formula rather than a single university-wide score.
- Stellenbosch works off a percentage aggregate rather than a 42-point scale.
- UKZN and NWU use scales that run to 8 rather than 7.
- Wits uses a weighted points system with its own subject weightings.
- Nelson Mandela University adds raw percentages instead of converted levels.
These scores are not interchangeable. A 34 calculated one way does not convert into a 34 calculated another way. Always check the number against the specific university's own admission requirements before deciding where to apply.
APS is not the only requirement
Two things sit alongside your APS, and learners lose places to both every year.
The first is your NSC pass level. To study toward a bachelor's degree you need a bachelor's pass, which requires a minimum standard across your subjects — not just a high total. A diploma pass and a higher certificate pass have lower thresholds and open different qualifications.
The second is subject requirements. Many programmes demand specific subjects at specific levels. Engineering and health sciences generally require Mathematics — not Mathematical Literacy — and Physical Sciences, often at level 5 or higher. No APS total substitutes for a subject you did not take.
What to do with your score
Once you know roughly where you stand, look at which institutions offer what you want and check their published requirements programme by programme.
See all 26 public universities
And work out how you will pay for it — bursary deadlines usually fall well before you get your final results.