The ABUAD JAMB cut-off mark for 2026/2027 is 180. That is the university's own minimum, and it sits above JAMB's national floor of 150 because a university is permitted to set its bar higher. What ABUAD has not published is a cut-off mark for each department, so the per-course score tables circulating in WhatsApp groups are estimates rather than official figures. This page is organised around that line: what is confirmed first, then what is genuinely still unknown, then the dated deadlines that decide admissions in practice.
Last updated 3 August 2026, during the 2026/2027 admission cycle.
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What changed in this update
If you read this page earlier in the year, five things are different now.
- There are two minimum scores in play, not one. JAMB's national floor is 150. ABUAD's own institutional minimum is 180. This page now explains how the two relate, which is the reason you see different numbers on different sites.
- The department-by-department score table has been removed. ABUAD has not published departmental cut-off marks for 2026/2027, and presenting community guesses in a table made them look official. The confirmed 180 stays; the invented per-course numbers do not.
- Three hard deadlines are now confirmed and they are absent from almost every other guide. The one that ends the cycle for ABUAD applicants is 30 November 2026.
- A new JAMB rule means turning down or ignoring an offer now carries a penalty. The old advice on this page, that you can simply decline and try again next year, is no longer safe as written.
- The programme list has been rebuilt from ABUAD's 2026/2027 admission notice. Several courses this page used to list are not on it, and four newer ones were missing.
If you have not applied yet, the mechanics of registration, payment and screening are covered separately in our ABUAD Post-UTME guide for 2026/2027. This page deals only with the numbers and the requirements.
Table of Contents
- 1. What is actually confirmed for 2026/2027
- 2. What ABUAD has not published
- 3. Why "the cut-off for Medicine" is the wrong question
- 4. The dates that can cost you your admission
- 5. The O'Level rules that are documented
- 6. Programmes on the 2026/2027 list
- 7. If your score is below what your course needs
- 8. Before your family commits: the money questions
- 9. The role of connections
- 10. How parents factor into the process
- Frequently asked questions
- What to do this week
What is actually confirmed for 2026/2027
Every figure in this table was decided at the JAMB 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions, held in Abuja on Monday 11 May 2026 and chaired by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa. These are national rules. They bind ABUAD along with every other Nigerian university.
| What it governs | The figure | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum admissible UTME score, universities | 150 | National floor. All universities, federal, state and private |
| ABUAD's own institutional minimum | 180 | ABUAD applicants. Higher than the national floor, as permitted |
| Minimum admission age | 16 by 30 September 2026 | All tertiary institutions |
| Deadline to conclude admissions, private universities | 30 November 2026 | ABUAD falls in this category |
| Window to accept an offer on CAPS | 4 weeks from approval | All candidates |
| Minimum admissible score, polytechnics and monotechnics | 100 | Not relevant to ABUAD, listed for context |
Why you will see 150, 180 and 140 all quoted as "the ABUAD cut-off"
This confuses more applicants than any other part of the process, and the explanation is simple once you see it.
Nigerian admission uses two minimums stacked on top of each other:
- 150 is the national floor. JAMB and the Vice-Chancellors set it at the Policy Meeting. No university in the country may admit anyone below it, whatever its own preference.
- 180 is ABUAD's own minimum. A university is free to set its bar higher than the national floor, and ABUAD does. It cannot set it lower.
So both numbers are correct, they just answer different questions. If you are asking what Nigeria permits, it is 150. If you are asking what ABUAD requires, it is 180, and 180 is the number that applies to you. Scoring 165 makes you admissible somewhere in Nigeria, but not here.
The 140 you may also come across is a lower figure from earlier admission cycles that several aggregator sites have never updated. Ignore it.
Alongside the 180, ABUAD's requirements are five relevant O'Level credit passes and ABUAD selected as your first-choice institution on JAMB.
The practical version. Treat 180 as your eligibility gate for ABUAD and 150 as irrelevant to your planning. Then treat 180 as a floor rather than a target, because clearing it lets you apply, it does not make you competitive for a sought-after course. {alertInfo}
What ABUAD has not published
This is the part that matters most, and it is the part every other guide skips.
ABUAD has not published a departmental cut-off mark for 2026/2027. Not for Medicine, not for Law, not for Pharmacy, not for Engineering. What circulates instead is a mixture of figures from previous cycles, numbers copied between websites until nobody remembers the origin, and estimates presented in tidy tables that give them the appearance of official data.
Our earlier version of this page did exactly that, and we have taken it down. A table that says "Medicine and Surgery: 230 to 270+" reads like a published requirement. It was not one.
Two other things are also still unpublished as at the date on this page:
- The screening date and mode. ABUAD conducts its own screening exercise rather than relying on your UTME score alone, and it has historically run this online through a computer-based platform. For 2026/2027, the university indicated that the screening date and mode would be communicated later through its official channels. [VERIFY: check admissions.abuad.edu.ng for the 2026/2027 screening date and mode; update this section once announced.]
- How the aggregate is weighted. ABUAD considers your UTME score, your screening performance and your O'Level grades. The relative weight of each is not something the university publishes as a formula, so anyone quoting you percentages is guessing.
Here is why the honest answer is more useful than a confident one. If you plan around a fabricated figure of 250 for Medicine, you will either give up when you score 235, or relax when you score 255. Neither reaction is grounded in anything ABUAD has said.
Why "the cut-off for Medicine" is the wrong question
At its 2025 Policy Meeting, the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, made a point that reframes this entire topic. He described the UTME as a ranking exam rather than an achievement test, and JAMB result slips now show your national rank alongside your score.
That distinction has a practical consequence. A score does not have a fixed meaning. It has a meaning relative to everyone else who sat the exam that year. Figures presented at that meeting illustrated the spread: a candidate with 370 ranked around 16th nationally, while a score of 200 placed a candidate somewhere past the 500,000th position. [VERIFY: these rank illustrations come from reporting of the JAMB 2025 Policy Meeting presentation, not from a JAMB document we have read directly. Confirm or soften before publishing.]
So when you ask what the cut-off for Medicine is, the useful question underneath it is: how does my score rank against the other people applying for the same small number of Medicine slots at this particular university? Nobody can hand you that number in advance, including us.
What we can tell you is that the top of the pool genuinely does apply here. ABUAD's own Vice-Chancellor's office announced that Ayuba Simon-Peter John, who scored 374 out of 400 in the 2025 UTME and ranked as the nation's second-highest scorer, chose ABUAD as his first-choice institution to study Mechanical Engineering. In the 2026 cycle, one of the candidates JAMB named among its top scorers applied to ABUAD to study Software Engineering. Competition at the top of the range is real, and it is not limited to Medicine.
Three practical implications:
- Your screening performance is the part still inside your control. Your UTME score is fixed by the time you are reading this. Your screening result is not.
- Your O'Level grades are doing more work than you think. They are a documented component of the decision, and unlike the score ranges, the subject requirements are published. See the section below.
- Aim well above ABUAD's minimum of 180. Meeting 180 makes you eligible to apply. For the competitive colleges it will not make you competitive, and that is true regardless of which unverified table you read.
The dates that can cost you your admission
This section did not exist in the earlier version of this page. It is the most actionable thing here, because these are firm, dated, national rules rather than estimates.
30 November 2026: the cycle closes for ABUAD
Private universities must conclude their 2026/2027 admission exercise on or before 30 November 2026. JAMB has stated that once the deadline for a category expires, institutions that have not concluded admissions lose access to candidates on the Central Admissions Processing System. In plain terms, there is no informal extension to hope for after that date.
Four weeks: the window to accept an offer
Candidates must accept an approved admission offer on CAPS within four weeks. JAMB has stated that failure to accept within that period can lead to the offer being withdrawn, and that candidates who refuse admission may be placed in a category that makes them ineligible for further admission consideration in that session.
This changes the advice this page used to give. Previously we said you could simply turn down an alternative offer and reapply next year. Under the 2026 rules, ignoring or refusing an offer is not a neutral act. If you are unsure about an offer, find out what refusal means for your CAPS status before the four weeks run out, not after.
16 by 30 September 2026: the age rule
JAMB retained 16 as the minimum admission age. Candidates below that age as at 30 September 2026 fall outside the standard route and are considered only under a strict exceptional-ability screening process.
Practical reading of all three together: the useful thing is not knowing a cut-off number, it is not losing your slot to a calendar. Register for screening early, watch your CAPS profile rather than waiting for a phone call, and act on an offer the week it appears.
The O'Level rules that are documented
Unlike the score ranges, the O'Level requirements are published, stable across recent cycles, and the single most common reason a strong UTME score still fails to convert into admission.
The general rule for most programmes
- Five O'Level credit passes, meaning C6 or better, from WAEC, NECO, GCE, NABTEB or IGCSE
- Must include English Language and Mathematics, plus three subjects relevant to your course
- Permitted from not more than two sittings
The stricter rule, and a correction
ABUAD's published requirements specify five credit passes at one sitting for the MBBS programme and for the College of Law. For MBBS the five must include English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Biology. For Law they must include English Language, Mathematics, Literature in English and two other Arts or Social Science subjects. {alertError}
An earlier version of this page also listed Pharmacy under the single-sitting rule. The ABUAD requirement notices we checked name only MBBS and Law in that category and place other programmes under the two-sitting rule. [VERIFY: confirm directly with the College of Pharmacy or the admissions office whether Pharm.D requires one sitting or two for 2026/2027. This distinction decides whether a candidate can apply at all, so do not publish either version unconfirmed.]
If you are short of the single-sitting requirement for MBBS or Law, sitting WAEC or NECO again to obtain all five credits in one go is the only route in. That adds a year. It is better to know now than to discover it after paying for a screening you were never eligible for.
Documented subject combinations
| Programme | Required O'Level subjects | Sittings |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) | English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology | One |
| Law (LL.B) | English Language, Mathematics, Literature in English, plus two Arts or Social Science subjects | One |
| All other programmes | English Language, Mathematics, plus three subjects relevant to the course | Not more than two |
Individual departments can carry additional subject requirements beyond this general pattern, and those are the ones that catch people out. Confirm your exact department on the official ABUAD website before you pay for anything. Our full ABUAD admissions guide walks through the surrounding process.
Programmes on the 2026/2027 list
Since no credible per-course score exists to publish, here is something that is both verifiable and genuinely useful: what ABUAD is actually admitting into this session, with course durations. This list is rebuilt from ABUAD's 2026/2027 undergraduate admission notice.
| College | Programmes |
|---|---|
| Medicine and Health Sciences | Medicine and Surgery, MBBS, 7 years. Dentistry, B.DS, 6 years. Optometry, OD, 6 years. Medical Laboratory Science, B.MLS, 5 years. Nursing Sciences, B.NSc, 5 years. Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Public Health, 4 years each. |
| Pharmacy | Doctor of Pharmacy, Pharm.D, 6 years. |
| Law | Law, LL.B, 5 years. |
| Engineering | Aeronautical and Astronautical, Biomedical, Civil, Chemical, Mechanical, Mechatronic, Electrical and Electronic, Computer, Petroleum, Agricultural. B.Eng, 5 years each. |
| Sciences | Computer Science, Software Engineering, Cyber Security, Data Science, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biotechnology, Industrial Chemistry, Geology, Architecture, B.Arch, Agricultural Sciences, B.Agric. |
| Social and Management Sciences | Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Economics, Communication and Media Studies, International Relations, Political Science, Sociology, Conflict Peace and Strategic Studies, Intelligence and Security Studies, Tourism and Event Management. |
| Arts and Humanities | Performing Arts, B.A. |
Two things worth flagging, because they affect whether you should apply at all.
Newer programmes. Software Engineering, Cyber Security, Data Science and Architecture appear on the current list and were missing from our earlier version. If you are aiming at tech and assumed Computer Science was the only route, it is not.
Programmes we previously listed that are not on the current notice. These include Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, English Language, History and International Studies, Philosophy and Marketing. Banking and Finance now appears as Finance, and Mass Communication as Communication and Media Studies. [VERIFY: confirm whether the missing programmes have been discontinued, renamed, or simply omitted from the notice we consulted, before stating that ABUAD no longer offers them.]
If your score is below what your course needs
Since no official departmental figure exists, "below the cut-off" in practice means: your score is not competitive against the other applicants for that department this year. Three things commonly follow, and applicants report all three.
An offer for a different course
Where a candidate is not competitive for a first choice but is for a related programme, an alternative offer may appear on the portal. Applicants describe this pattern regularly, for example applying for Medicine and being offered Medical Laboratory Science. It is not necessarily an error, though you can contact the admissions office to clarify.
What is different this session is the decision clock. You have four weeks to accept, and refusal now carries a documented risk to your eligibility for the rest of the session. Weigh an alternative offer on its merits quickly, and confirm what declining does to your CAPS status before you decline.
Supplementary rounds
Where departments are not filled in the first round, universities commonly open further rounds. If you are close, monitor your CAPS profile and ABUAD's official channels rather than relying on group chatter. Remember that every round still has to finish inside the 30 November 2026 deadline, so these windows are short.
Reapplying next year
This remains a legitimate route and many admitted students did not get in on a first attempt. Two cautions. First, check what refusing this session's offer means for your record before you treat next year as a clean slate. Second, if the barrier was a single-sitting O'Level requirement rather than your score, another UTME attempt alone will not fix it.
Before your family commits: the money questions
Two financial facts belong in any honest discussion of ABUAD admission, because they change decisions.
Fees differ substantially by college. Medicine and Pharmacy sit among the more expensive programmes. Some families factor this into course choice, and there is nothing wrong with being practical about it. We are not publishing figures here, because fee schedules change per session and a stale number is worse than none. Get the current schedule for your specific programme from the ABUAD admissions portal or the bursary, in writing, before you accept.
The federal student loan does not currently cover private universities. The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, established under the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, is directed at students in public tertiary institutions. Students at private universities are, on the guidance published so far, not eligible. If your plan for ABUAD fees depends on NELFUND, verify eligibility at nelf.gov.ng before you accept an offer, not after. [VERIFY: confirm current NELFUND eligibility for private-university students at nelf.gov.ng, and re-check at each update, as the scheme's scope has been revised before.]
ABUAD does publish material on its own bursaries, scholarships and discounted tuition through its access and participation reporting. If cost is the deciding factor, ask the admissions office directly what applies to your programme and your circumstances.
The role of connections
Do connections help at ABUAD? Honestly, they can play a role in any institution. But here is the important part: your scores need to be strong enough on their own. A recommendation from someone influential will not override a weak UTME score for a Medicine slot. ABUAD has academic standards that it maintains regardless of who knows who, and the 180 minimum plus the O'Level requirements are not discretionary.
The best advice is simple. Score high enough that you do not need to rely on anything other than your results. That way your admission is entirely yours, and nobody can question it.
How parents factor into the process
If you are a parent reading this, yes, many parents contact the ABUAD admissions office during the admission period, and the university is generally responsive to enquiries.
The most useful call you can make is not about the cut-off mark, because there is no departmental figure to be told. Ask instead for the three things that are documented and decision-relevant: the current fee schedule for the specific programme, confirmation of the O'Level sitting requirement for that programme, and the screening date once it is announced. Those are answers an admissions officer can actually give you, and they are the ones that determine whether your child's application succeeds.
One diary note. ABUAD sits in the private-university category, so the whole exercise must conclude by 30 November 2026, and any offer needs accepting within four weeks. Whoever in the household is watching the CAPS profile should be checking weekly.
Frequently asked questions
What is the confirmed minimum UTME score for ABUAD admission in 2026/2027?
180. That is ABUAD's own institutional minimum and it is the figure that applies to you as an ABUAD applicant. The separate national floor set at the JAMB 2026 Policy Meeting on 11 May 2026 is 150, but a university may set its bar higher than the national floor and ABUAD has. Meeting 180 makes you eligible to apply, not competitive for a sought-after course.
Why do some sites say the cut-off is 150 or 140 instead of 180?
Because two different minimums exist. 150 is the national floor that JAMB applies to every Nigerian university, and no institution may go below it. 180 is ABUAD's own minimum, which it is entitled to set higher than the national floor. Both are accurate, but only 180 governs your ABUAD application. The 140 figure comes from earlier cycles and is out of date.
Has ABUAD published a cut-off mark for each department?
No. There is no published ABUAD departmental cut-off table for 2026/2027. The score ranges circulating for Medicine, Law, Pharmacy and Engineering are community estimates, not official figures, no matter how neatly they are tabulated.
Does Pharmacy require five credits at one sitting like Medicine and Law?
The ABUAD requirement notices we checked name only MBBS and the College of Law under the one-sitting rule, and place other programmes under the two-sitting rule. Because this decides whether you can apply at all, confirm it directly with the admissions office before relying on either answer.
What happens if I do not accept my offer within four weeks?
JAMB set a four-week window for candidates to accept an approved offer on CAPS. Offers not accepted within that period can be withdrawn, and candidates who refuse admission may be treated as ineligible for further admission consideration in that session. Check your CAPS profile weekly rather than waiting to be contacted.
Can I use the NELFUND student loan to pay ABUAD fees?
On the guidance published so far, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund is directed at students in public tertiary institutions, and private-university students are not eligible. Verify your position at nelf.gov.ng before accepting an offer if your funding plan depends on it.
What to do this week
Ordered by what actually blocks admissions, rather than by what people worry about most.
- Check the O'Level sitting rule for your exact programme. If you are aiming at MBBS or Law with credits spread over two sittings, you are not eligible, and no UTME score changes that. Settle this before spending money.
- Confirm your five credits include English Language and Mathematics plus the three subjects relevant to your course, and that they are uploaded to your JAMB profile.
- Check your score against 180, not 150. 180 is ABUAD's own minimum and the one that governs your application. If you are between 150 and 179 you meet the national floor but not ABUAD's requirement.
- Register for the screening now if you have not. The mechanics are in our ABUAD Post-UTME guide for 2026/2027. The screening result is the one component still in your hands.
- Get the fee schedule for your specific programme in writing, and if your plan relies on NELFUND, confirm private-university eligibility first.
- Diarise the two dates. Admissions conclude by 30 November 2026. Any offer must be accepted within four weeks. Check CAPS weekly from now until you have accepted.
Written by the Everything ABUAD Team
Everything ABUAD is an independent student-run guide to Afe Babalola University. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or speaking for the university. For this update we worked from ABUAD's published admission notices, JAMB's 2026 Policy Meeting resolutions and announcements from the university's own offices, and we mark anything we could not trace to a primary source so readers can check it themselves. Figures on this page are dated. Always confirm current requirements on abuad.edu.ng before acting.
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