JAMB Cut-Off Marks. Every admission season, I have the same conversation with worried candidates.
“Sir, I scored 232. Is it enough?”
“My friend entered with 210 last year. Why is my case different?”
“They said the cut-off is 180. So I’m safe, right?”
After years of guiding students through Nigeria’s admission maze, one thing is clear: most candidates misunderstand how JAMB cut-off marks actually work. And that misunderstanding costs people admission every single year.
Let’s strip this down properly and look at what is really happening behind the scenes.
Have you read this JAMB Guide? JAMB Cutoff Mark: What Is A Good JAMB Score?
The First Thing You Must Understand About Cut-Off Marks
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board) sets a national minimum benchmark score every year during its policy meeting.
This benchmark simply means: if you score below it, you cannot be considered for admission into that category of institution. It is a qualifying threshold, not a promise.
If the benchmark for universities is, say, 160, that does not mean universities will admit everyone who scores 160. It only means candidates below 160 are automatically disqualified from university consideration.
This is where confusion starts.
Students treat the benchmark like a guarantee. In reality, it is just permission to compete.
The Real Game Starts After the Benchmark
Once JAMB announces the national minimum, each university decides what works for its own system.
And this is where competition becomes real.
Let me give you a scenario I’ve seen play out repeatedly.
A federal university may officially accept 160 as its general cut-off. But if 1,200 students apply for Medicine and the department only has 100 available slots, admission becomes a ranking exercise.
The school will arrange all applicants from highest to lowest score. It will begin admitting from the top until the available slots are filled. The last admitted score becomes the “real” cut-off for that course.
Notice something important: that number is not fixed beforehand. It emerges from competition.
That is why one year, a course may close at 245, and another year it may close at 262. It depends on how strong the applicant pool is.
Why Your Friend’s Score Worked Last Year — But Yours May Not
I’ve had students walk into my office angry because someone they know got admitted with a “lower” score the previous year.
But admission is not static. It responds to supply and demand.
If overall performance nationwide improves, competition rises. If more high-scoring candidates choose a particular school or course, the departmental threshold climbs.
Your 220 is not evaluated in isolation. It is evaluated against everyone else who applied for that same course that same year.
Admission is comparative, not emotional.
Departmental Cut-Offs Are the Deciding Factor
Many institutions calculate an aggregate score. This may combine JAMB score with Post-UTME performance or O’Level grades.
For example, a school may weight JAMB at 50% and Post-UTME at 50%. Another may use 60% JAMB and 40% O’Level.
I’ve seen candidates score 270 in JAMB and lose admission because their Post-UTME performance dragged down their aggregate. I’ve also seen candidates with moderate JAMB scores secure admission because their overall aggregate was strong.
What matters in the end is not just your JAMB score. It is your total ranking after all calculations are completed.
In case you missed this: 7 Insane Reasons Why You Didn’t Secure JAMB Admission This Year
The Role of Catchment and Admission Policy
There is another layer many students ignore.
Federal institutions operate under national admission policies that consider merit, catchment areas, and Educationally Less Developed States (ELDS).
This means admission decisions may not rely solely on raw scores. Institutional guidelines also shape the final list.
You may not like it. But you must understand it.
Smart candidates factor policy realities into their strategy instead of pretending they do not exist.
The Biggest Mistake Students Make
The most common mistake I see is this: students aim for the minimum instead of aiming for safety.
If history shows that competitive courses in a particular school close above 240, targeting 200 is risky. You are placing yourself at the mercy of fluctuations you cannot control.
Students who consistently secure admission tend to approach JAMB differently. They treat it as a competitive exam, not a qualifying one. They aim to dominate their bracket, not just survive it.
That mindset shift alone changes outcomes.
Why Cut-Off Marks Change Every Year
Cut-off marks are not permanent figures engraved in stone. They shift because national performance shifts. Institutional capacity changes. Policy decisions evolve.
Some years, the exam is relatively easier and average scores rise. When that happens, competition intensifies. Departments are forced to raise their internal thresholds.
Other years, performance drops and cut-offs may reduce slightly.
The number you see online is always a reflection of that specific year’s data.
The Honest Truth About “Being Safe”
There is no such thing as being safe simply because you crossed a benchmark.
You are competitive only when your score places you comfortably above the likely ranking range for your course. The closer you are to the minimum, the thinner your margin.
In practical terms, if you want peace of mind, your score should not merely meet expectations. It should exceed the average performance of serious applicants in your chosen field.
Final Advice From Experience
After working with hundreds of candidates across multiple admission cycles, I can tell you this with confidence: students who understand the mechanics of the system called JAMB make better decisions.
They choose institutions strategically.
They adjust courses when necessary.
They monitor trends instead of rumours.
They treat JAMB as phase one of a larger process.
Cut-off marks are not magical numbers. They are administrative filters within a competitive ranking system.
If you understand that, you stop asking, “Is this score enough?”
Instead, you start asking the more intelligent question:
“Where does this score place me in the competition?”
That shift in thinking is often the difference between hoping for admission and actually securing it.
