As many as 2,205 students who applied for 11th-grade admission for the 2026-27 academic year were not assigned to any college, despite applying. Questions have been raised over why students who achieved the top results still failed to secure a college seat, and how their admission process will now proceed.
Applications for 11th-grade admission are taken online from students who have passed the SSC exam, who may list a minimum of five and a maximum of ten colleges in order of preference. Colleges are then assigned based on those choices and the student’s SSC results. For example, if a student lists Viqarunnisa Noon School and College as their first choice, the system considers how many seats are vacant there and where the student ranks against others based on their results. If students with better results or higher marks also listed that college as a preference, the student will not be assigned there, and their second-choice college is then considered instead. This process continues down the list of preferences, weighed against the SSC results, until a student is assigned a seat.
Admission officials said many students who achieved GPA-5 listed only two or three top colleges as their preferences. Competition for seats at those colleges is intense, with essentially only GPA-5 achievers able to compete there. Even among students who scored GPA-5, differences in marks mean some get their preferred college and others do not — which is exactly why 2,205 students with GPA-5 ended up without a college.
Education board officials said these students will still get an admission opportunity; their problem arose because they listed too few college choices when applying. Later, subject to seat availability, they will either be placed at their preferred college or given the chance to submit a fresh list of preferences.
Published results show a total of 980,815 students were selected for college admission in the first phase, while the 2,205 students who scored GPA-5 were not assigned to any college this time. According to board data, online applications for 11th-grade admission opened on September 2 and closed at 8pm on September 13. Under the admission guidelines, a student could list a minimum of five and a maximum of ten college choices. A total of 995,234 students applied for 11th-grade admission this year.
Classes for admitted students will begin on September 24. Classes had originally been scheduled to start on September 23, but the start date was pushed back a day because all educational institutions in the country will be closed that day for the holy occasion of Fateha-e-Yazdaham.