NSC admissions
APS score calculator
Your estimated total
Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy share one row, because a learner writes one of them. Home Language and First Additional Language are separate subjects.
Estimated APS
Best six subjects on the 1-to-7 scale. This is not a university offer.
Enter levels below
How to calculate APS score
The method below is the common one: Department of Basic Education achievement levels, one point per level, best six subjects.
- 1
Turn the mark into a level
The Department of Basic Education reports each NSC subject as an achievement level from 1 to 7. Use the percentage band, not a guess. 80% to 100% is level 7. 50% to 59% is level 4.
- 2
The level is the points
On this common scale, level 7 is 7 points and level 1 is 1 point. One level up in a subject that stays in the best six adds one point.
- 3
Add the best six
Enter Home Language, First Additional Language, Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy, and three electives. Life Orientation stays out unless you tick it. If more than six levels are in, the lowest drops off.
Achievement levels and points
| Level | Percentage band | APS points |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 80% to 100% | 7 |
| 6 | 70% to 79% | 6 |
| 5 | 60% to 69% | 5 |
| 4 | 50% to 59% | 4 |
| 3 | 40% to 49% | 3 |
| 2 | 30% to 39% | 2 |
| 1 | 0% to 29% | 1 |
Percentage bands are the DBE NSC achievement levels. An example: levels 5, 4, 5, 6, 5 and 4, with Life Orientation left out, total 29. That example is only the arithmetic. It is not a pass mark.
What the number does not decide
It is not an offer
A faculty can ask for a minimum level in Mathematics, Physical Sciences, or another subject even when the total looks high enough. Read that faculty's admission requirements.
Life Orientation is separate
Some faculties leave it out. Some count it, sometimes only up to a cap. This calculator does not apply a cap. Tick it only when you know the faculty counts it.
Cambridge and IB are different
This scale is for NSC achievement levels, DBE or IEB. It does not convert IGCSE, AS, A Level, or IB grades into an APS.
A Bachelor's pass, diploma pass, or higher certificate pass is printed on the NSC statement. Those pass types are not this total.
Questions about the APS calculator
- What is an APS score?
- An Admission Point Score is a number many South African universities use when they read an NSC result, whether the exam was DBE or IEB. On the common scale, achievement level 7 is 7 points and level 1 is 1 point.
- How to calculate APS score?
- Turn each percentage into the Department of Basic Education achievement level, using the bands on this page. The level is the points. Add the six highest. Leave Life Orientation out unless the faculty you are checking counts it.
- Is this the official APS for every university?
- No. Faculties choose which subjects count, whether Life Orientation is included, and sometimes a different scale. This page is the common 1-to-7 total. It is not an offer. Check the faculty admission requirements.
- Does Life Orientation count?
- Not in the default total. Tick it only if the faculty counts it. If you enter more than six subjects, the calculator keeps the six highest and drops the rest.
- Do Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy both count?
- No. They are different subjects, and a learner writes one of them. Enter the one on the statement. A faculty may require Mathematics specifically, even when the APS total looks high enough.
- How do IEB marks convert?
- IEB NSC results use achievement levels 1 to 7 as well. Many universities read those levels on the same scale as DBE NSC levels. Confirm that with the university. This calculator does not convert Cambridge or IB grades.
- Is an APS the same as a Bachelor's pass?
- No. A Bachelor's pass, diploma pass, or higher certificate pass is a Department of Basic Education pass type on the results statement. The APS is a separate number universities use. You can meet a pass type and still miss a faculty's subject minimum.
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Tell us CAPS or IEB, and the subject. On this scale, one achievement level is one point when that subject is in the best six. The Meet and Greet is free.
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