What is the JAE (Joint Admissions Exercise)?

Joint Admissions Exercise

The Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) is how students with GCE O-Level results apply to junior colleges (JC), Millennia Institute (MI), polytechnics and ITE in Singapore. The 2027 JAE runs in January 2027, after the 2026 O-Level results, and it is the last one. From 2028, students with SEC results apply through the Post-Secondary Admissions Exercise (PSE) instead.

Full guide: JAE 2027 step by step, with the dates, a worked aggregate and how to use 12 choices

In context

Applicants list 12 course choices in order of preference on the JAE Internet System (JAE-IS), signing in with Singpass. JC admission uses the L1R5 aggregate, MI uses L1R4 and polytechnic diplomas use ELR2B2. Each grade counts as its number of points, so a lower aggregate is better, and applicants with better net aggregates are considered first for the courses they chose.

Who takes the 2027 JAE?

Students who sat the 2026 GCE O-Level, the final O-Level cohort, take part if they are eligible. Eligibility depends on citizenship and on whether the student has already taken part in a similar post-secondary admissions exercise. Eligible students get an email on the afternoon of results day with Form A, which lists their gross aggregate scores for JC, MI, polytechnic and ITE, and the courses they can apply for.

2027 JAE timeline

13 to 15 January 2027 (tentative): O-Level results are released, and Form A arrives by email that afternoon.
From 4pm on results day, for 6 calendar days: apply on JAE-IS with Singpass, until 4.30pm on the last day.
9am on 2 February 2027 (tentative): posting results on JAE-IS and by SMS.
3 February 2027: students posted to a JC or MI report to the school that morning, in secondary school uniform.
2 to 5 February 2027 (tentative): appeals for polytechnic and ITE 2-year Higher Nitec courses on the JAE Online Appeal Portal. For a JC or MI, approach the school directly.
By end February 2027: polytechnic enrolment instructions by email.

Which score each pathway uses in the 2027 JAE

JC (2-year A-Level or IB Diploma): L1R5, which is English or a Higher Mother Tongue plus 5 relevant subjects. The gross L1R5 must be 20 or below.
Millennia Institute (3-year A-Level): L1R4. The gross L1R4 must be 20 or below.
Polytechnic diploma: ELR2B2, which is English, 2 relevant subjects and 2 best subjects. The net ELR2B2 must be 26 or below, or 28 for the Diploma in Nursing.
ITE 2-year Higher Nitec: at least 5 O-Level subjects sat over at most 2 years, and the course's own minimum entry requirements.

Grade requirements and bonus points for JC

JC also needs English at C6 or better, Mathematics or Additional Mathematics at D7 or better, and a Mother Tongue at D7 or better (E8 or better in a Higher Mother Tongue). Bonus points come off the gross L1R5 to give the net L1R5 used for posting, up to 4 in total: 2 for a CCA grade of Excellent or 1 for Good, 2 for English and Higher Mother Tongue both at C6 or better, 2 for Chinese or Malay (Special Programme) or Bahasa Indonesia at C6 or better, and 2 for choosing your affiliated JC as your 1st choice, or 1st and 2nd. A place in a JC's Chinese, Malay or Tamil Language Elective Programme adds 2 more. Polytechnics count CCA bonus points only.

Gross scores, net scores and cut-offs

The gross aggregate is the sum of the grades used. The net aggregate is the gross minus bonus points. JC and MI eligibility is checked on the gross score, and polytechnic eligibility on the net score. Each course's net score range is not set in advance. It depends on the results and course choices of that year's applicants. SchoolFinder (JC and MI) and CourseFinder (polytechnic and ITE) show the 2026 JAE ranges as a reference only, and MOE adds the 2027 ranges on posting results day.

How JAE posting works

You can only choose courses whose admission criteria you meet. Posting goes by net aggregate score, the vacancies in each course and the other applicants' scores, with academic merit first, so better net scores are considered first. When applicants with the same net score compete for the last place, tie-breakers apply. Applicants who meet the minimum entry requirements and put a Diploma in Nursing at Nanyang Polytechnic or Ngee Ann Polytechnic as their 1st choice get priority for it.

How to choose your 12 choices

Put the course you want most first. Choices are made in order of preference.
Check each course's subject requirements and minimum entry requirements before you list it.
Spread your choices across a range of last year's net scores in SchoolFinder and CourseFinder, since this year's ranges can differ.
For the affiliated JC bonus, the JC must be your 1st choice, or your 1st and 2nd.
Talk to your school's Education and Career Guidance (ECG) counsellor, or book the ECG Centre @ MOE.

What changes in 2028: the PSE and L1R4

From 2028, students with SEC results apply through the Post-Secondary Admissions Exercise (PSE) instead of the JAE. JC and MI both use L1R4, with every counted subject taken at G3: L1 is G3 English or a Higher Mother Tongue, R1 the best G3 Humanities subject, R2 the best G3 Mathematics or Science subject, R3 the best remaining G3 Humanities, Mathematics or Science subject and R4 the best remaining G3 subject. The gross L1R4 must be 16 or below for JC and 20 or below for MI, and bonus points are capped at 3, plus 2 for a Language Elective Programme place. Polytechnic eligibility moves to a net ELR2B2 of 22 or below, or 24 for the Diploma in Nursing. SEC results are due in mid-January 2028, applications run for 6 calendar days from results day, and posting results follow by early February.

Source / further reading: https://www.moe.gov.sg/post-secondary/admissions/jae

Related terms

GCE O-Level GCE A-Level

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