How to Choose Courses in UTME/DE & Change of Courses

It can be easier to choose institutions in JAMB UTME/DE than to choose your courses. I've seen, a few times, when students would make mistakes not only in the choices of courses but also in the wrong subjects combination for the proposed courses.

And of course, it's not enough to choose the right courses, the real deal is doing that rightly.

Imagine a student who chooses "Microbiology" as his or her first-choice course, which needs English, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics with another course "Food Technology" as second-choice, which in most schools, requires English, Mathematics, Chemistry, and Physics.

Even before writing JAMB, the candidate started facing problems!

In this post, I will be giving you insights into how to choose your courses vis a vis the right subject combination right for them.

You Have Four Courses To Choose From, They Must Relate

Just as you have four institutions to choose from in UTME, or when changing institutions (except DE applicants that are limited to two universities and two courses), so also you have freedom for four courses.

However, the best approach is to be sure that these four courses relate to each other to avoid the wrong subject combination for your UTME and eventually a denial of the admission offer.

For example, Binta prefers Nursing Science as his first choice at the Federal University of Oye Ekiti. The subject combination in JAMB for this will automatically be loaded as:

1. English,
2. Chemistry,
3. Biology, and 
4. Physics

To do justice to other institutions, she must consider courses that will require the same subjects listed above such as Microbiology, Medical Laboratory Science, Biochemistry, Anatomy, Physiology, Physiotherapy, etc.

Even for the polytechnics category, courses such as Science Laboratory Technology, Nutrition & Dietetics, Pharmaceutical Technology, Hospitality Management, etc will align with the Nursing subject combination listed earlier.

For colleges, if she considers any, courses such as Biology/Chemistry, Agriculture Science, Chemistry/Integrated Science, Biology/Physics, etc. will be fine for the subjects combined earlier.

Otherwise, she may lose out on one or two courses. Each course deserves its own subject combination and requirements!

Recommended: Medical Lab Science Vs Science Lab Technology: Any Deference?

You're Free To Choose The Same Course, For All The Schools, To Avoid Mistakes

Though the four categories of schools that we have in JAMB won't have the same set of courses, in most cases, you can consider the same courses for two or three where available.

The categories of institutions will have in JAMB and when changing institutions are:

1. Universities,
2. Polytechnics,
3. Colleges of Education, and
4. Innovation Enterprises Institutions (IEI)

Choosing courses in the four categories of institutions in UTM/DE

Recommended: Where Can I Register For DE Form?

For Direct Entry applicants, only universities are choosable as both the first and second choices! Also, the JAMB subject combination is none of a DE applicant's business as they're not required to write UTME.

All four categories won't have Law as their courses. Hence, even if you wish to take Law in all, it won't be possible. Universities have Laws. Polytechnics, colleges of education, and IEIs don't!

Luckily, since you may choose two universities in the first and second choice, be it in order of Federal plus a few federal or Federal plus any state, you can choose Law for both if they have.

However, you'll still need to be sure that, in your third choice, especially, either you choose a polytechnic or a college of education there, you should choose a course that relates to Law or aligns with the Law subject combination in your JAMB.

For most universities, the right subject combination for Law is English, Literature, Government, and any other Art/Social Science subject (e.g. CRS, IRS, Yoruba, Economics, etc.).

Related courses in polytechnics or colleges of education (with aligned subjects) may include:

1. Mass Communication
2. Library and Information Science
3. Local Government Studies
4. English/Social Studies
5. History/Yoruba
6. English/Political Science

The idea is, since most students focus on their first and second choices more, you can go for the same course - to be mindful of the subject combination.

Recommended: Is Physiology a Good Course to Go For in Nigeria

Study The JAMB Brochure For A Proposed Course

JAMB's official brochure doesn't only contain the list of schools and courses in Nigeria, the pack most importantly gives an account of the subject combination that each course, as specified by each institution, will accept.

As an education consultant who has witnessed various mistakes being made by admission seekers, I've placed it on myself to be compiling the brochure for individual universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.

Such an assignment is not easy, yet, I've compiled a few, to date, and you can check them below. You can also search Google for the JAMB brochure of any school. Then, add schoolcontents.info behind your keyword. For example, the JAMB brochure for the University of Ibadan + schoolcontents.info. That will give you result from my blog specifically.

Let's check some directly here:

1. JAMB Brochure For University Of Port-Harcourt, Rivers State
2. JAMB Brochure For Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State
3. JAMB Brochure For University Of Benin, Benin City, Edo State
4. JAMB Brochure For Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State
5. JAMB Brochure For Federal University, Gashua, Yobe State
6. JAMB Brochure For University of Abuja, Abuja, FCT (UNIABUJA)

In the brochure linked above, you will see all courses by those schools and exact the DE requirements, JAMB subject combination, and SSCE/O'level subjects required.

With this simple search, you can be smarter with the courses to consider for your first, second, and third institution, especially.

Recommended: Resolving 'Bad Request' Error: JAMB's Official Solution

You Won't Be Able To Choose A Course Except a School Has It

It is in the habit of admission seekers to just imagine schools and imagine their courses too. No! It doesn't work like that. No school has all the courses!

You have to be sure that your university, polytechnic, or college of education of choice has your beloved courses before going to CBT for the UTME/DE registration or change of courses.

This is important because some CBT centers won't worry about your choices and subject combination. If they can't find the course under a school, they may just pick any other course for you not being mindful of the subject you wrote in JAMB or are about to write.

This is why to save yourself some future headaches, look for your schools of interest and their courses to be sure they have your intended chases. 

Let me put up a few schools and their courses here. You may be lucky to find yours on the list. You can also type, in Google, for example, "courses in ABU+schoolcontents.info". You will be given my compilation from the official JAMB brochure. You can also use the JAMB brochure directly.

1. List of Courses in University Of Calabar, Cross River State
2. List of Courses in University Of Lagos, Lagos State
3. List of Courses Offered at University Of Port-Harcourt, Rivers State
4. List of Courses in Federal University Of Technology, Minna, Niger State
5. List of Courses in University Of Maiduguri, Borno State
6. List of Courses in University Of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State
7. List of Courses in University Of Jos, Jos, Plateau State
8. List of Courses in Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State
9. List of Courses in Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State
10. List of Courses in Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic, Eruwa, Oyo State

Conclusion

Choosing the right courses is not only about the universities, polytechnics, or colleges proposed having them, candidates must equally be mindful of the subjects to be combined for UTME and SSCE subjects required for them.

NEED a guide, update, or answer on something? You can spend just #500 to get professional answers and guides. Click here to request Mr. Techie's INSTANT REPLY 

HELP SOMEONE:  People would appreciate it if you could just share this post with them on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc. Use the share icons below for your convenience.

Best Related Posts

1. Admission Requirements For Estate Management in Nigeria
2. Schools Whose Post UTMEs are Still on Sales (UPDATED)
3. Can I Write Biology and Agric Together in UTME?
4. Will My Second/Third Choice School Give Me Admission?
5. Faculty On My JAMB Is Wrong. Why? Solutions!