There are a few things you should be aware of as an intended candidate before the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) starts. As you wait for JAMB UTME registration, this piece will tell you all you need to know and do.
Without further ado, let’s dive right into it.
What to Do As You Await Commencement of JAMB Registration
- Know the Course you intend to Study: Well, this may come as a surprise to many, but there are a lot of prospective UTME candidates out there, that don’t know the particular course they intend to study in a tertiary institution. If you are in this shoe, a good way to start is to write down all the subjects you perform well in during your secondary school, in other words, write down your best subjects and select the best out of the bests. For example, let’s say your best three subjects in secondary school were Biology, Agricultural Science and Chemistry respectively, you can decide to study Biology, Microbiology or even Biochemistry at your tertiary level. The reason why we are advising candidates to study their best subject in school it’s because you would find it very easier and more fun in school. Your chances of graduating with a very good and presentable result are very high, so why study a course you are not good at? For example, why study Mathematics, maybe to impress your peers, parents, or even fellow candidates and perform badly, when you can study a Biology-related course and do exploit?
- Know the School You intend to go to: While knowing the course you intend to study is one thing, knowing the tertiary institution you intend to study that course at is another thing entirely. To know the list of tertiary institutions in Nigeria you can also head over to the JAMB e-Brochure.
- Know the School’s Cut-off Marks: As you await JAMB registration and preparing to sit for the exam, make sure you know the cut-off mark you need to secure admission. This is a very vital piece of information. Make sure you know the current cut-off mark of the tertiary institution you intend to study at and also the cut-off mark for the course you intend to study. You should note that some courses like Medicine, Law, Nursing and sometimes, Engineering courses tend to have a higher cut-off mark than other courses. If you intend to study any of the above-mentioned courses or any course with a lot of applicants, you can be reassured that the cut-off mark might tend to be a little or much higher than other courses.
- Know the Subjects Combination for the Course You intend to Study: This is another vital information all intending UTME candidates should know. You have to know all the subjects combination the course you intend to study at your tertiary institution requires. The best way to start is to head straight right to the JAMB e-Brochure, check the course you intend to study, the institution you intend to study it in, and their requirements. Be cautious when checking this to avoid mistakes and do not forget to cross-reference the subject’s combination to your best subjects and subjects you would perform better at.
- Get Your NIN: The Minister of Education and the Registrar of the JAMB revealed that no candidate without the National Identity Number (NIN) would be allowed to sit for UTME from 2022. You are hereby advised to get yours immediately. If you don’t know how to go about that, click this article for guidance: How to Apply for NIN | See Guidelines and Requirements for UTME Candidates
- Get Your Documents Ready: Make sure all your documents are ready. By documents, I mean your O’level results (WAEC, NECO, or NABTEB), Indigeneship Certificate, First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC), Change of Name, Age Declaration or Birth Certificate, and the likes. Don’t forget you need a functional e-mail address. If you don’t have one, create one immediately, if you already had one, make sure it’s still functional, in other words, make sure you can still access it.