Introduction
Entry Requirements
Application Procedure
FAQs
General
1. What is the Polytechnic Early Admissions Exercise (Poly EAE)?
2. Who can take part in Poly EAE?
3. Who should take part?
4. How many places are set aside?
5. If I am really keen on a polytechnic education in a specific field, why do I still need to take the GCE O-Level examinations? Why do I still need to meet academic criteria?
6. Can I receive more than one offer in the Poly EAE? How will the order of my course choices affect my final outcome?
7. What happens if I do not meet the admissions criteria?
Application
8. When will I be able to apply?
9. What attributes will be considered? How will I be assessed for admission through this exercise?
10. (For O-Level students) Can I apply through Poly EAE and the Direct Schools Admission - Junior College (DSA-JC) Exercise concurrently?
Acceptance
11. Can I switch courses after the release of my final examination results? Can I still participate in other polytechnic admissions exercises?
Withdrawal (For O-Level students only)
12. If I have accepted a Poly EAE offer, can I still withdraw my acceptance so that I can participate in JAE or JPAE? If so, what must I do?
Course-Level Allowances
13. What are the courses that have a higher course-level allowance of 50% for aptitude-based admissions? Why and how were these courses selected?
14. Why not expand the course-level allowance for these courses to 100%?
15. What about other courses that do not have a 50% allowance?
Poly EAE is an aptitude-based admissions exercise that allows students to apply for and receive conditional offers for admission to polytechnic based on their aptitudes and interests, prior to receiving their final grades. It allows the polytechnics greater flexibility to select and admit based on their aptitudes and interests, apart from academic grades, thus allowing a wider range of talents to be recognised. Poly EAE is open to both O-Level and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Students. Poly EAE was introduced to cater to graduating O-Level students and final-year students from ITE who wish to apply for polytechnic admission based on their sustained interests and demonstrated aptitudes relevant to the course, apart from their O-Level results or Nitec / Higher Nitec Grade Point Average (GPA) respectively.
Poly EAE will be available to the following:
For the AY2019 polytechnic intake, ITE graduates who complete their Nitec course in June or December 2018 and Higher Nitec course in September 2018 or March 2019 will be eligible to apply for admission via Poly EAE.
Students taking their O-Levels or in the final year of study at ITE who have strong aptitude and sustained interest in a field, and who wish to pursue their studies in that field through a polytechnic course, may consider taking part. Students who are not completely sure about what they want to do may wish to first further explore their interests and deepen their skills, and consider other admission routes to the polytechnics. Students who wish to apply to polytechnic on the basis of their grades should take part in the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) (for O-Level students) or Joint Polytechnic Admissions Exercise (JPAE) (for ITE students).
Polytechnics can admit up to 15% of their total polytechnic intake via Poly EAE.
While interest in a field of study is important, having the requisite academic foundation helps ensure that you will be able to cope with the rigour of a polytechnic education and benefit from it. It is for this reason that students seeking admission to the polytechnics are required to meet the following admissions criteria: For O-Level students: (a) A net ELR2B2 aggregate score of 26 points or better for the GCE O-Level examinations*; and (b) Minimum entry requirements (MER) for their respective diploma courses*. The MERs for each polytechnic course can be found on the polytechnics' websites. *Results may be combined from no more than 2 sittings of the GCE O-Level examination. For ITE students: (a) Final net GPA 3.5 and better for Nitec holders (including CCA bonus points); and (b) Final net GPA 2.0 and better for Higher Nitec holders (including CCA bonus points). For Nitec in Nursing holders only, the minimum GPA requirement for admission to the Diploma in Nursing or the Diploma in Health Sciences (Nursing) is 3.0.
While you may be considered for up to three course choices, you are only eligible to receive up to one conditional offer. If you are assessed to have the necessary aptitude and interest for more than one of your course choices during the selection stage, your conditional offer will be to the course which is ranked highest among your three choices.
If you do not meet the admissions criteria and/or course-specific minimum entry requirements, your conditional offer will be revoked. Eligible O-Level students and ITE graduates whose Poly EAE offers have been revoked may apply for admission through the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) and Joint Polytechnic Admissions Exercise (JPAE) respectively.
Applications typically open in early June for ITE students and end June for O-Level students. The application windows for the AY2019 intake are as follows:
Poly EAE is primarily targeted at students who have strong aptitude and interest in a field related to the diploma course they are applying for. Where relevant, the Polytechnics may also take into account students' talent and achievements in sports, arts, leadership, entrepreneurship and community service during the Poly EAE selection process. Polytechnics will have the discretion to determine their modes of assessment, such as portfolios, interviews and aptitude tests, where relevant and appropriate. Polytechnics may also consider participation in relevant co-curricular activities (CCAs), Advanced Elective Modules (AEMs), Applied Learning Programmes (ALP) and Applied Subjects, as well as participation in activities such as work attachments and sustained involvement in projects that are related to the course students are applying for.
Yes, O-Level students can participate in both Poly EAE and the DSA-JC Exercise. However, you should only accept either a polytechnic or junior college offer. Students who accept both offers will be disqualified from both exercises, unless they cancel one of the offers before the end of the Acceptance Stage.
No. Once you have accepted your conditional offer and met the admissions criteria for the polytechnic course after the release of your final results, your Poly EAE offer will be automatically confirmed and you will not be able to switch courses within or across polytechnics. You will not be eligible to take part in JAE, JPAE or any other polytechnic admissions exercises. Students are expected to honour the commitment to their choice of polytechnic and the course under Poly EAE.
Withdrawal
Should you wish to withdraw your acceptance of a Poly EAE offer, you must submit your withdrawal online via the relevant Poly EAE portal by the stipulated deadline. One who has accepted a Poly EAE offer but does not withdraw by the deadline will be deemed to have accepted the offer and will not be eligible to participate in JAE, JPAE and other polytechnic admissions exercises once his/her offer has been confirmed.
The full list of courses with a higher course-level allowance of 50% for aptitude-based admissions will be updated in end May. The courses have been given a higher allowance as interest and strengths in the field are particularly important, e.g. in early childhood education, design and media.
Keeping the course-level intake allowance for aptitude-based admissions at 50% preserves a viable pathway into these specific diploma courses for other students who do not apply through aptitude-based admissions, whether it is because they have yet to discover or develop specific interests, or are undecided on the diploma course that they wish to apply for.
Course-level allowance for aptitude-based admissions to all other polytechnic diploma courses will remain at 30%.