25/02/2026
One thing I hate about public schools, they never have career sessions to advice learners on different career paths to undertake other than Health faculty and B.Ed. Truth be told, these courses are high in demand, with limited space admitting about 50 people per school and meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee one admission as priority is given to those with above average APS.
If you know you are not capable of getting at least 5 distinctions please do not apply for medicine, there's always an alternative. Not that you undermine yourself. Rather do BSc in biomedical science or any BSc with chemistry majors as they are prerequisites for Medicine and you might also be credited modules . Also there's a GEMP programme at Wits, it admits BSc graduates to year 4 but you must have scored high grades. Other institutions might have different name for the same programme.
With Engineering, if you know you cannot achieve at least level 6 in mathematics and science an alternative path is applying for ENGAGE or Extended degree program for that certain course. Their requirements are not as high as main stream and the degree is extended with only a year. Or BSc with mathematics and Physics as they are prerequisites, however you ought to score A+ as competition can be tough. You can equally start with a Diploma and further it. Note that there are limited sponsorship opportunities for postgraduate, you must be financially stable and academically qualified.
With LLB, it is advisable to apply for BA law, Bcom law or LLB extended program. Being one of top learners in your village school, scoring average marks will not be considered at institutions of higher learning. You will be competing for admission with IEB and those scoring 100% in all subjects.
With Education, since everyone wants to be a teacher now you can apply for BSc, BA or Bcom with subjects you wish to major in. Upon completion, you will then apply for PGCE(known as method of teaching ) which is a certificate of teaching and qualifies you to be a teacher. And the good part about it, you’ll have 2 degrees.
For any other course you do not meet requirements for, you can opt do higher certificate with UNISA which takes a year to complete(if you do not want to rewrite matric). Higher certificate gives you enough credits to study desired undergraduate degree. They are called bridging courses in other Universities.
Don’t listen to those encouraging you to take any course saying you will switch the following year. If you fail a module or have unsatisfactory performance you will not be admitted. You’ll be stuck with Theology and that Bachelor of Music with no plan for it. The system was easy during their days but times have changed. Many were told to complete their degrees at attempt to switch. Also, internal application is easy when switching to science, engineering and accounting. There is always space with high dropout rate.
Boitumelo Mashabela👏🏽
