Is School Admission Different From JAMB Admission?

There have been several misconceptions about admission on JAMB caps and the school portal. In fact, students tend to argue, ask funny questions, and give false information about it, which has caused a lot of confusion.

When a student gets admission, he/she will likely be asked questions like “Have you been offered admission on your school portal?” and “How about on your JAMB caps?”. He/she might also hear different words like “Admission on the school portal is fake if JAMB hasn’t offered you admission,” “School admission is more important than JAMB,” and so on.

Words like these from people who don’t know much about the admission process will only leave students confused and sometimes frustrated. The question here is, are you also confused? If yes, then just relax, because in this article I will be telling you all you need to know about JAMB admission and school admission.

I will also be telling you if school admission is different from JAMB admission. And I promise you that by the end of this article, you won’t find any reason to be confused anymore. Let’s start by explaining what school and JAMB admission are and how they work.

What Is School Admission?

School admission is an admission offered by your choice of institution (university, polytechnic, or college of education). It can only be monitored from your school portal, where you can accept or reject the admission. How does school admission work?

Before any tertiary institution offers you admission, they will first check if you’re eligible. Meaning they will check if you meet up with their cutoff mark and more depending on the institution. If you turn out to be eligible, they will add your name to their list of eligible candidates, batch by batch.

Get the Guidance You Need to Secure Your Admission!

322 students have booked our one-on-one educational consultation service, and 201 have already been offered admission! We helped them identify what was delaying their admission, guided them on what to do next, and answered all their questions. 134 have resumed their studies, and the rest are waiting for resumption.

We deliver as we say – Book us now and let us identify what's delaying your admission too!

Book Your Consultation Now

But this doesn’t mean you will see admission on your school portal immediately. You will only see admission when they have released a batch list and your name is among them. This is just a brief explanation of how school admission works; now let’s proceed to that of JAMB.

What Is JAMB Admission?

I know you might be thinking JAMB admission is an admission offered by JAMB, but that’s actually wrong. Yes, it is! And why did I say so? Because JAMB doesn’t offer student admission. Now take a look at the screenshot below from the JAMB official X (formerly Twitter) handle.

From the screenshot above, you will see that JAMB does not give admission. It only regulates admission to ensure only eligible candidates are admitted. How does it work?

When an institution combines all the candidates that are eligible for admission, they send that list to JAMB. Their work here is to go through that list and check if the candidate is truly eligible. If your name is among them and they have confirmed that you are actually eligible, they will add your name to their list of admitted candidates.

However, once JAMB uploads that list, then you will see admission on your JAMB caps. Don’t get confused; seeing admission on your JAMB caps doesn’t mean it was offered by JAMB; it simply means JAMB has confirmed that you are eligible.

This is the reason why when you check your admission status and you have been offered admission, you will see a message that says “You have been offered admission by (your institution name).” So in essence, there is nothing like JAMB admission since JAMB doesn’t offer student admission.

Rather, it should be called “admission on JAMB caps.” However, people often use the words interchangeably. But take note, anytime you hear someone say “JAMB admission,” it doesn’t mean JAMB offers admission; it simply means “Admission on JAMB caps.” And once you get admission on your JAMB caps, it means your eligibility has been confirmed.

I know some of you might want to ask questions like, “If JAMB doesn’t offer admission, how come I saw admission on my JAMB caps first?” and more. Well, I will clarify that later on in this article, but before then, let’s find out if school admission is different from admission on JAMB caps.

Is School Admission Different From Admission On JAMB Caps?

Well, the admission on JAMB caps and that on the school portal might look similar, but they’re actually different. The major difference is the sources it’s coming from. Admission on the school portal is given and controlled by your choice of institution, while admission on JAMB caps is controlled by JAMB itself in collaboration with your school.

If you see admission on your school portal, it means they have accepted you, but if you see admission on your JAMB caps, it means your eligibility has been confirmed.

Admission on the school portal can only be given by your choice of institution. Once you see admission on your school portal, it means they have checked your eligibility, added your name to their list, and uploaded it.

While you can only get admission on JAMB caps when JAMB has checked the eligibility of the candidates in the list sent by your school and has uploaded their list of candidates who they have confirmed their eligibility in which your name is among.

Admission on JAMB caps can only be accepted from your caps, while school admission can only be accepted on your school portal. Like I said earlier, JAMB doesn’t give admission; they only regulate admission in collaboration with your institution.

And seeing admission on your JAMB caps simply means JAMB has confirmed your eligibility, and it doesn’t mean they were the ones that decided if you should be offered admission or not.

Before I forget, there was a question I promised to answer earlier, which is

If JAMB doesn’t offer admission, how come I saw admission on my JAMB caps first?

This is a very smart question. Take note that before you can see any admission on your JAMB caps, it means your school has considered you for admission already. You cannot see admission on your JAMB caps without your school sending your name to them.

When your school compiles the names of students eligible for admission, they will have to send that list to JAMB so they can confirm if the candidates truly merit that admission. Like I said earlier, if your name is on that list, your school will need to upload that list before you can see your admission on their portal.

So the thing here is that sometimes after your school compiles that list and sends it to JAMB, they will take time to upload that list, whereas JAMB might have confirmed the eligibility already and have also uploaded the list. This is exactly what leads to students seeing admission on their JAMB caps first before their school portal.

Between JAMB and School Admission, Which Is More Important?

Both JAMB and school work hand in hand when it comes to admission. So you will need to get admission both on your JAMB caps and school portal. In case you don’t know, if you don’t get admission on JAMB caps, you won’t be able to print your admission letter, which will also stop you from doing your clearance.

Also, if you don’t get admission on your school portal, you definitely can’t proceed any further. So for you to say you have been fully offered admission, it means you have been offered admission on both your JAMB caps and school portal.

Is Admission Given By JAMB or The Candidates School Of Choice?

Admission is given by a candidate school of choice, not JAMB. Like I said earlier, JAMB does not give admission; it only regulates admission in collaboration with your institution to make sure only eligible candidates are admitted. If you followed this article from the beginning, you will understand better.

Is School Admission List Different From JAMB Admission List?

The school admission list and that of JAMB admission are quite similar but different. Take note that any list held by JAMB was sent by an institution. They don’t form the list themselves; what makes it different is that after JAMB has checked the list sent by the institution, they select those who truly merit admission.

After singling them out, they add those candidates to their own list of eligible candidates, which makes it different. But note that the names on that list were sent by their institution; they didn’t just cook it up.

Can I Get Admission On JAMB Caps Before School?

Yes, you can get admission on JAMB caps before school. I explained the reason behind this earlier, and I also told you that if you see admission on your caps, it means your name is on your school admission list, and once that list is uploaded, you will see admission on your school portal.

I hope all your questions concerning JAMB and school admission have been answered. With this article, I don’t think you should be confused anymore. Our comment section is open for more questions if you have. Thanks for your time.