JAMB Drops University Cut-off to 150 and Opens Direct Admission Courses without UTME Routes

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) just dropped the official minimum admissible scores for the 2026/2027 admission cycle during today’s high-profile Policy Meeting in Abuja. 

Here’s everything you need to know. Official 2026 Minimum Cut-Off Marks -

Universities - 150

Colleges of Nursing Sciences - 150

Polytechnics / Monotechnics / Colleges of Education - 100

These benchmarks were unanimously approved by heads of all tertiary institutions across the country. 

JAMB also confirms that the minimum entry age into higher institutions remains 16 years.

Major Decision

Students seeking admission into Education programmes and non-Engineering Agriculture courses are now exempted from writing UTME. Courses such as 

It is important to note that popular courses like Medicine, Law, Engineering, Pharmacy, and Mass Communication will still require much higher scores depending on your school of choice. If your UTME score is 150 and above, congratulations; you’re eligible to apply to a university! But remember: the real battle is the departmental cut-off and Post-UTME screening.