Indicative Grade Profiles and Number of Course Places
Guidance Information for 2024 University Admissions Exercise (Published on 22 December 2023)
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Application for Admission in the 2024 University Admissions Exercise |
To help applicants make their programme choices when applying for admission in the 2024 University Admissions Exercise, we are providing information in the following areas. The information is to be used as a guide only.
- Table 1 : Representative grade profiles1 of the 10th and 90th percentiles of all applicants holding Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level qualifications who were offered* places in the 2023 University Admissions Exercise. The grade profiles refer to the grades in the 3 H2 and 1 H1 content-based subjects. For the purpose of this exercise, Grade “C” is assumed for both General Paper (GP) and Project Work (PW) in determining the grade profiles. Certain programmes may require grades higher than “C” grade for GP for the purpose of admission.
- Table 2 : Representative Polytechnic Grade Point Averages (GPAs) of the 10th and 90th percentiles of all Polytechnic2 applicants who were offered places in the 2023 University Admissions Exercise.
- Table 3 : The total number of programme places taken up in 2023.
*With effect from 2020 University Admissions Exercise, the indicative grade profiles also take into account offers made under the Aptitude Based Admissions (ABA).
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Competition for Courses |
Applicants can expect competition to be keener for programmes with more stringent grade requirements, fewer places and higher quality of the applicant pool.
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Important Notes |
In using the tables below, please note the following:
- The grade profiles, GPAs and number of programme places vary from year to year, depending on the number and grade performance of applicants, and the number of places available for each degree programme.
- Meeting the previous year’s grade profiles of a programme does not guarantee admission into that programme for the current year.
1These provide an indication of the grade profiles of Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level applicants offered places in the previous year. There could be other “equivalent” profiles for each course. For example, a grade profile of ABC/C could be considered to be broadly equivalent to BBB/C.
2This refers to applicants from the five Polytechnic Institutions in Singapore - Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic.
Table 1
Grade Profiles of the 10th and 90th percentiles of Singapore- Cambridge GCE A-Level Applicants offered places at SMU in 2023 University Admissions Exercise
| SMU Degree Programme | Indicative Grade Profile 3H2/1H1 content-based subjects |
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|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile | |
| Bachelor of Accountancy | BBC/C | AAA/A |
| Bachelor of Business Management | BBB/C | AAA/A |
| Bachelor of Laws | AAA/A | AAA/A |
| Bachelor of Science (Economics) | BBC/B | AAA/A |
| Bachelor of Science (Information Systems) | BBB/C | AAA/A |
| Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) | AAB/A | AAA/A |
| Bachelor of Science (Computing & Law) | ABB/A | AAA/A |
| Bachelor of Science (Software Engineering) | BBB/C | AAA/B |
| Bachelor of Social Sciences | BBB/C | AAA/A |
| Deferred Declaration of Degree | ABB/B | AAA/A |
Table 2
Polytechnic GPAs of the 10th and 90th percentiles of Polytechnic Applicants offered places at SMU in 2023 University Admissions Exercise
| SMU Degree Programme | Indicative Grade Profile GPA |
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|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile | |
| Bachelor of Accountancy | 3.63 | 3.94 |
| Bachelor of Business Management | 3.70 | 3.93 |
| Bachelor of Laws | # | # |
| Bachelor of Science (Economics) | 3.61 | 3.90 |
| Bachelor of Science (Information Systems) | 3.71 | 3.94 |
| Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) | 3.81 | 3.97 |
| Bachelor of Science (Computing & Law) | # | # |
| Bachelor of Science (Software Engineering) | 3.71 | 3.94 |
| Bachelor of Social Sciences | 3.62 | 3.88 |
| Deferred Declaration of Degree | 3.74 | 3.97 |
# No indicative GPA is shown as the sample size is small.
Table 3
Total number of SMU programme places taken up in 2023
| SMU Degree | Number of Course Places |
|---|---|
| Bachelor of Accountancy | 272 |
| Bachelor of Business Management | 960 |
| Bachelor of Laws | 212 |
| Bachelor of Science (Economics) | 199 |
| Bachelor of Science (Information Systems) | 391 |
| Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) | 141 |
| Bachelor of Science (Computing & Law) | 24 |
| Bachelor of Science (Software Engineering) | 34 |
| Bachelor of Social Sciences | 277 |
| Deferred Declaration of Degree | 62 |
The number of programme places in each academic year is subject to change from year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The objective of this exercise is to give applicants an insight on the qualifying grade profiles in the 2023 Admissions Exercise for the different degree programmes. It serves as a guide to help them make informed choices when applying for admission to these programmes in the 2024 Admissions Exercise.
The representative grade profiles refer to the 3 H2 and 1 H1 content-based subject grades (excluding GP/KI/Project Work/Mother Tongue Language) in the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level examinations scored by applicants who have been offered places in SMU. For the purpose of this exercise, Grade “C” is assumed for both General Paper (GP) and Project Work (PW) in determining the grade profiles. Certain courses may require GP grades of higher than “C” grade.
The representative grade profiles refer to the Grade Point Average (GPA) scored by applicants from the five Polytechnic institutions in Singapore who have been offered places in SMU.
This can be best explained by using an example. For example, if the 10th percentile grade profile is ABC/A (3H2/1H1), it means that 90% of the applicants offered places score above ABC/A. If the 90th percentile grade is AAA/B, it means 10% of the successful applicants score above AAA/B. You can use the same reasoning to interpret the 10th percentile and 90th percentile for Polytechnic applicants.
Meeting the previous year’s grade profiles of a course does not guarantee admission into that course for the current year, as grade profiles vary from year to year. In particular, SMU adopts a holistic selection process, whereby in addition to academic grades and co-curricular activity records, shortlisted applicants are assessed by their performances at the interviews. For some degree programmes, an essay writing for shortlisted applicants is also conducted.
The grade profiles and number of course places vary from year to year, depending on the number and grade performance of applicants, and the number of places available for each course.
Grade profiles of the earlier years do not provide meaningful guidance information. Please refer to the latest grade profiles shown above.
GCE A-Level and Polytechnic applicants form a much bigger pool and therefore, grade profiles for both groups provide useful information. For the purpose of this exercise, the IB pool and NUS High School pool, being smaller relative to the A-Level and Poly pools, may not provide an accurate picture of the grade profile to prospective applicants. As such, we have not included the grade profiles for both groups.
Applicants with the IB Diploma or NUS High School Diploma will be assessed in the same way as those with GCE A-Level or Polytechnic Diplomas. Admission will be on a selective and competitive basis. In particular, SMU adopts a holistic selection process and aptitude-based admissions approach, whereby in addition to academic grades and co-curricular activity records, shortlisted applicants are assessed by their performances at the interviews. For some degree programmes, an essay writing for shortlisted applicants is also conducted.
