During the 2021 Admissions Policy Meeting, the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, revealed a sobering statistic: 1,456 candidates who scored 300 and above in the 2020 UTME failed to secure admission into any Nigerian tertiary institution for the 2020/2021 session.
2020/2021 Admission Statistics by Score Bracket
| 2020 UTME Score Bracket | Total Candidates | Number Admitted | Number Not Admitted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 and above | 4,948 | 3,492 | 1,456 |
| 250 to 299 | 52,323 | 29,743 | 22,580 |
| 200 to 249 | 347,469 | 153,808 | 193,661 |
Overall, out of 1,112,057 candidates who scored 140+ and possessed 5 O'Level credits (including English and Maths), about 551,553 (including 48,372 Direct Entry candidates) had secured admission as of 31st August 2021, while 405,256 out of 925,762 total institutional quota spaces remained unused.
8 Reasons High-Scoring Candidates Missed Admission (And How to Avoid Them)
- Low Post-UTME Screening Score: Scoring 300 in UTME is not enough if you perform poorly in the university's Post-UTME exam.
- Failure to Upload O'Level Results on JAMB CAPS: Many high scorers never visited a CBT centre to upload their WAEC/NECO results to JAMB CAPS, making it impossible for CAPS to clear them.
- Applicant Rigidity: Refusing to accept a transfer on JAMB CAPS to a related course when the quota for Medicine, Law, or Nursing is already full.
- Wrong UTME or O'Level Subject Combination: Selecting a subject combination that violates the JAMB Brochure requirement for the chosen course.
- Absence From Post-UTME Screening: Failing to register or show up for the university's mandatory Post-UTME exercise.
- Non-Acceptance of Admission Offer on CAPS: Failing to log in to JAMB CAPS to click "Accept Admission" before the deadline.
- Mismatch of Catchment / ELDS Institutions: Applying to heavily subscribed out-of-catchment state or federal universities where merit cut-offs are extreme.
- Duplicate Applications: Irregularities arising from multiple applications.
Don't let a low Post-UTME score ruin your high JAMB score! Start practicing your university's past questions today on the Mentra POST-UTME app, available on both Android and iOS.
Published by Mentra Academic Research
Every study guide, syllabus analysis, and timing breakdown is cross-checked against official examination criteria (JAMB UTME, POST-UTME, and WAEC) by subject matter specialists.
