Will My Second/Third Choice School Give Me Admission?

When choosing universities, polytechnics, or colleges as second or third choices in JAMB or Direct Entry (DE), it's important to understand that while many institutions can be selected as second or third choices, most will only offer admission to candidates who listed them as their first choice due to high competition and the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) requirements. To be considered for admission, you typically need to change your choice to first before the institution can offer you a spot.

You may be on this page because you searched for questions like:

1. List of universities that accept the second choice
2. Federal universities that can be chosen as the second choice
3. Polytechnics and colleges that accept the second choice
4. Polytechnics and colleges that accept the third choice.

The broad heading for these searches is, can you be offered admission if you choose a university, polytechnic, or college of education as your second or third choice in when registering AMB or DE or if you change institution?

We need to get some facts cleared before we continue.

Difference Between "Choosing a School as the Second Choice" and "Being Offered Admission as a Second Choice Candidate"

Here is the difference.

1. Choosing an Institution as the Second or Third Choice

1. Almost all universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and innovation enterprise institutions (IEIs) can be chosen as the second choice. JAMB system allows that.
2. Some federal and premier universities were not included in the second-choice institution category (when you're registering JAMB or changing institutions). Hence, you can’t take such institutions as second choices e.g. Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Benin, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, etc.
3. Some northern and southern federal universities are still found in the second choice section (especially the new and recently established ones). Hence, you can take them as the second choice.
4. All state universities (also polytechnics and colleges – federal, state, or private) can be chosen as the second choice.

Recommended:

1. How to Choose Institutions For UTME and DE (This Year Updates)
2. How Many Universities Can I Choose in JAMB? Answered!

2. Being Offered Admissions By the Second or Third Choice Institutions

1. The fact that you can choose a school in the second or third choice position during UTME/DE registration or while putting in for the change of institutions doesn’t mean you will be offered admission as a second or third choice candidate.
2. Therefore, no school will give you admission in the second choice position - except a few discussed below with their respective conditions.

Why?

That brings us to certain situations that must be taken seriously.

Recommended: Can I Gain Admission With Only JAMB?

Best Candidates Focus Most on Their First Choices

1. See, the real deal is that every institution (universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and IEIs want to be selected as the first choice i.e. most preferred institution. This is because candidates that chose them as the first choice and had the pass marks were already more than what they could possibly admit. Why would they want to go down to their second-choice candidates?
2. JAMB CAPS only gives admission to students who choose a school as the first choice. This is the admission process now. Schools compile the lists of their to-be-admitted candidates and send them to JAMB. The board then checks the list to be sure they all merit the admissions and also chose the schools as first choices before they could give them admissions. This system is called Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS). Hence, if your name is not on the first-choice candidates, JAMB CAPS will not give you admission even if the school wishes to admit you.
3. In case you chose a school as a second or third choice and it wished to offer you admission, it would instruct you to change it to the first choice before you can be offered a space.
4. Some schools might give you admission in the second choice or third, yet they will later force you to change the institution, thereby, bringing it to the first choice.

Recommended: If I Don't Accept Admission on CAPS, Will JAMB Remove it?

What About Schools that Sell Post UTME Forms to 2nd Choice Candidates and Those Who Didn't Choose Them in UTME?

The answer to this question is, they are baiting you.

See, these institutions smartly advertised that you could obtain their post-UTMEs/screening forms if you chose them as first, second, third, or even if you didn't select them at all. All they claim they wanted was for you to write UTME and scored a specific mark range. They're just marketing to you. 

They would, of course, sooner or later ask you to change the school to the first choice before you could be offered admission through JAMB CAPS.

A few of such schools in recent years (and probably till now) are:

1. Federal College of Education Oyo (Special),  
2. Federal Polytechnic of Agriculture Akure, 
3. Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology Igboora,  
4. Ogun State Polytechnic (MAPOLY),  
5. Ekiti State University, EKSU Ila Campus, 
6. And others

Conclusion

Don’t be deceived that some schools are giving admission to candidates who chose them as the second choice. It’s a lie.

Even though you made four choices during UTME, the first choice is your main focus and that is where you have your chance to gain admission. If you must seek admission from any school below that, you must first change it to the first or later do that before you can be offered admission on JAMB CAPS.

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