Untold things About OAU’s Departmental Cutoffs and the Admission Lists (Tags: google.com, nairaland, oau, cutoff, admission list, postutme, post-utme, aspirants, cut off mark, Obafemi awolowo university)

Untold things About OAU’s Departmental Cutoffs and the Admission Lists

Writing and failing the UTME is bad, passing the UTME only to end up failing OAU post-UTME is worse, but passing OAU post-UTME only to find yourself behind the departmental cutoff when that of your aspiring department is released is the worst. But you know what else is worse even than not meeting the departmental cutoff? Seeing another aspirant of the same department as you who is even far below the departmental cutoff than you gaining admission to that department is the worst of them all, it’s super-depressing.

If there is anything at all I remember very well about me scoring just 2 or 3marks below the cutoff in my three sessions of writing the UTME and not gaining admission, it will be the part when I saw aspirants having lesser score than I did gaining the admission anyways like they deserved it better than me. I got depressed every time this happened, then I had the conviction—which I just recently changed—that that cutoff thing is the biggest scam in OAU’s admission processing, judging by how someone with a lesser score gets to gain the admission while you don’t, even when the two of you are below the cutoff. But now, I have a better understanding of how the cutoff works, and I want to share it.

Runsmen, the “eligible” OAU aspirants and the parents who have children in this category, there is nothing we look forward to right now more than the OAU departmental cutoffs. On my own path as a runsman, I know why I await the cutoffs earnestly, but that is not why I’m making this article. I’m making this article to explain the reason why a person would lose their admission because they are some marks below their aspired departmental cutoff but another person with a lesser score would gain the admission anyways. This is it, there is a reason why OAU releases admission list thrice; I will mention each of the three lists below and tell you what you have to know about it.

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1. The Merit List (a.k.a First List): this list is exclusive only to the candidates who have in all ramifications met every requirement to be offered admission to their aspired departments, just as requested by the department and the university. That is, if the cutoff for Economics is 65% such candidates have scored at least 65% or have the score and areas/states that fit for the special cases like the catchment areas and ELDS cutoffs. Other than these conditions, you cannot be admitted on merit. The pre-degree students use to be on this list too, but not the direct entry students (DE). The DE students only come on the subsequent lists after the merit list.

2. The Second List: this list comes after the merit list, it is on this list the DE candidates see their names, and also candidates who didn’t meet the meriting cutoff to their aspired departments but because they know who they should know and what should be done for them has been done, they gain the admission anyways (either to their aspired department or to a compensating department). Most of the times, only one thing is the rule here: just make sure “Eligible for Admission” is written on your slip, how low your score is below your original or compensating department will not matter; you know people, so it’s okay. This is where I get my saying from that you either merit OAU’s admission or get it anyways.

3. The Third List (a.k.a Supplementary List or VC List): this list is the most misunderstood list! Everyone just thinks the list is their right. But I’m stating this emphatically, the third list is not your right, it’s the VC’s. To get on this list, you have to know the VC or know someone who knows the VC, in another sense, the VC has to know you or know someone who knows you; that’s how you get on the VC list. This supplementary list is the shortest of all the lists, and it comes to effect because there will always be people who are offered admission on the first and second list but will not accept the admission based on some reasons ranging from unavailability of funds, health issues, or another opportunity opened elsewhere. These names will be replaced with other people’s name, and most of the times, this list is released close to the matriculation or just after the matriculation.

Now that you know how the OAU cutoff and admission lists work, I hope you have learnt that cutoff or no cutoff, if you did what you have to do right and in time, you will still gain your admission; and also, by now, you know on which list to expect your name.