The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has officially released the approved minimum cut-off marks for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions for the 2026 academic session.
If you are planning to apply for admission into a university, polytechnic, college of education, or nursing institution in Nigeria, here are the latest JAMB benchmarks you should know.
Official 2026 JAMB Cut-Off Marks
According to the guidelines approved during the 2026 JAMB Policy Meeting:
✅ Universities — 150
✅ Polytechnics — 100
✅ Colleges of Nursing Sciences — 150
These scores represent the minimum benchmark institutions are allowed to use for admission consideration.
According to recent reports, admissions into Colleges of Education for the NCE programmes might no longer require UTME score but “minimum of four credit passes” in their O’level.
What the 2026 JAMB Cut-Off Mark Means
A common mistake many candidates make is assuming that once they score above the official JAMB cut-off mark, admission is guaranteed.
However, the national benchmark only means you are eligible to be considered. Individual institutions can still set higher departmental cut-off marks depending on:
- Number of applicants
- Competitiveness of the course
- Available admission slots
- Candidates’ performance
For example, while the university benchmark is 150, competitive courses like Medicine, Law, Pharmacy, Nursing, Computer Science, and Engineering often require scores far above 200 in many federal universities.
Expected Cut-Off Marks for Competitive Courses
Although institutions are yet to fully release departmental cut-off marks for 2026 admissions, candidates applying for highly competitive courses should aim for strong scores.
In most of the top universities, courses often require approximately:
- Medicine and Surgery → 280+
- Law → 250+
- Pharmacy → 250+
- Nursing → 240+
- Computer Science → 230+
- Engineering → 220+
These figures may vary depending on the institution and yearly performance trends. Keep an eye on Study Green for updates on some of the top institutions across the country.
Difference Between JAMB Cut-Off Mark and Departmental Cut-Off Mark
Many students confuse these two terms.
JAMB Cut-Off Mark
This is the minimum score approved nationally by JAMB for all institutions. Candidates may not be admitted into any institution for that year if they fail to meet up the minimum cut off mark
Departmental Cut-Off Mark
This is the actual score your department or institution may use to select candidates for admission. It must always be within the range of JAMB’s recommended minimum. In most cases, it is usually slightly higher than JAMB’s benchmark, depending on how many students are competing to gain admission to such departments and their overall performances.
For example:
A university may accept 150 as its general minimum score, but still require 280 for Medicine or 250 for Law.
What Candidates Should Do Next
If you scored above your institution’s likely cut-off mark, the next important steps include:
- Preparing for Post-UTME screening
- Uploading O’Level results on JAMB CAPS
- Monitoring your school’s admission portal
- Ensuring your subject combination is correct
- Checking departmental requirements carefully
Candidates are also advised not to rely entirely on “general cut-off mark lists” circulating on social media, as many institutions release official updates at different times.
Final Advice for 2026 Admission Candidates
Scoring high in UTME improves your chances, but admission in Nigeria depends on several factors beyond JAMB score alone. Strong O’Level results, correct subject combinations, Post-UTME performance, and course competitiveness all play important roles.
Students aiming for highly competitive courses should especially pay close attention to their institution’s admission updates and prepare properly for screening exercises.
