Top students flock to Faculty of Commerce

Almost 5 000 prospective students have already submitted their application forms for UCT for next year and thousands streamed through the Faculty of Commerce on Open Day to have their questions answered about the great variety of courses on offer.

They were encouraged by the warm and friendly reception that they received from both staff and students who gave freely of their time to answer questions. Staff were also impressed with the level of questions asked which showed a commitment by schoolgoers to their careers.

Ernestine Zincke and Millicent Andrews, at the Information Table, had sore throats at the end of the day by answering so many questions. One of the most frequently asked questions was about the Alternative Admissions Research Project which will enable prospective students to write a test at Leslie Social Science on May 23, 2009 to secure entry for 2010.

This is the official answer to the questions about the tests:

You could receive an early offer of a place at UCT if you perform excellently on the tests. In many cases, these early offers will be accompanied by an offer of a residence place (if you have applied for one), and an offer of an entrance scholarship and/or a financial aid package (if you are eligible on the basis of your family income). In almost all cases, however, an early offer will be conditional on your meeting certain criteria related to your school-leaving examination.

A good result on these tests will give you an advantage over other candidates with similar matric results. So if there are 10 applicants with similar matric results, for example, and only one place left in the degree programme of your choice, you will stand a very good chance of getting the place if your AARP result is good. The AARP test results will (in the same way) assist your application if your Grade 12 (matric) results are near the cut-off point for acceptance to the Faculty of Commerce, or you are on the Waiting List.

UCT also recognises that not all students have had adequate educational opportunities at school level, and therefore not all students will be able to demonstrate their full potential in their school-leaving examinations. The AARP tests will, in addition to the uses above, be used to identify those students whose matric results do not show their full potential. This is achieved through careful scrutiny, in particular, of the AARP test results of students from schools which would previously have been known as "DET" or "House of Representatives" schools.

For students from previously advantaged schools (e.g. from those schools which used to be known as 'Model C'), an excellent performance in the AARP tests will usually be used in addition, not as an alternative, to matric results. This is because matric results from such schools have been found to be fairly reliable predictors of future academic performance. However, you are strongly urged to take advantage of this opportunity to provide further evidence of your ability, as the more information of this kind that the university can gain, the better will be your chances of being admitted.

Posted 14/05/2009 by Carolyn McGibbon