School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme

Introduction

As per the recommendations of the Task Force on Review of School Curriculum (

published in September 2020), the School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme (SNDAS) was introduced in the 2022/23 academic year with the aim of recognising the talent of local secondary students that could not be fully assessed by the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination. It is a “programme-student matching exercise” in essence that provides opportunities for secondary students who have demonstrated exceptional talents and interests in specific disciplines / areas to be considered for direct admission to local universities.

Fourth cohort of SNDAS

The fourth cohort of SNDAS will be open for application by Secondary 6 students taking the 2025 HKDSE Examination and commencing their undergraduate studies in September 2025.

(a) Eligibility

Students meeting the following criteria will be eligible for nomination under the fourth cohort of SNDAS^Note(1):

(i)	Local students pursuing the local secondary curriculum and taking the 2025 HKDSE Examination^Note(2); and
(ii)	MUST apply for admission to universities through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) in parallel.
Note:
(1)	Student nominees CANNOT simultaneously apply for admission to universities via the School Principal’s Nominations Scheme (SPN) under JUPAS or the respective direct admission schemes for prospective student-athletes established by the eight University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities under the UGC’s Student-Athlete Learning Support and Admission Scheme.
(2)	To also cover schools for Hong Kong children on the Mainland listed under the HKDSE Participating School List published by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority; HKDSE graduates from the related schools for Hong Kong children on the Mainland are eligible for nomination provided that they fulfill the criteria listed under “Eligibility” of SNDAS.

(b) Application Arrangement

Secondary Schools

The SNDAS nomination period will run from 25 October to 4 December 2024. Each local secondary school has a quota of two nominations for nominating students with exceptional talents and interests in specific disciplines / areas. Each student nominee can apply for admission to one designated UGC-funded undergraduate programme participating in SNDAS.

SNDAS nominations are to be submitted by secondary school principals to the participating universities direct through the specified means. School principals are also required to complete the nomination form and return to the Education Bureau for verification.

Student Nominees

SNDAS will be implemented in parallel with the JUPAS route. Students nominated for SNDAS should submit their JUPAS applications and any necessary documents in accordance with the guidelines and deadlines set by the JUPAS Office.

Moreover, student nominees MUST include the chosen SNDAS-participating undergraduate programme as one of their 20 JUPAS programme choices; student nominees who failed to do so will not be considered by the participating universities for SNDAS.

Participating universities may also require student nominees to include their chosen SNDAS-participating programme as one of their JUPAS Band A programme choices. Please study the specific admission requirements for each participating programme.

Universities

The eight UGC-funded universities have designated a total of around 300 publicly-funded undergraduate programmes to participate in the fourth cohort of SNDAS. Please click herefor the specific admission requirements for each programme (updated as at 19 November 2024).

Participating universities will arrange interviews for ALL students nominated for SNDAS to assess the suitability of the nominees for specific programmes between January and early June 2025. Written / practical assessments may also be arranged.

(c) Announcement and Acceptance of Offers

Participating universities will make firm offers to successful SNDAS student nominees in June 2025, prior to the release of the 2025 HKDSE Examination results.

Successful nominees MUST decide whether to accept the offer BEFORE the release of the 2025 HKDSE Examination results. Once accepted, the firm offer will be binding and the nominees WILL NOT be considered / accepted by other programmes regardless of their HKDSE Examination results. Their JUPAS applications will automatically be removed from the JUPAS application system. Successful nominees who have accepted the firm offer will commence study for their chosen programme in September 2025.

For unsuccessful nominees (i.e. those who did not receive / rejected the SNDAS offer), their JUPAS applications will continue to be processed and be considered by the JUPAS-participating institutions for admission to their programmes following the release of the 2025 HKDSE Examination results.

(d) A new scholarship scheme for successful SNDAS student admittees

To promote a culture of multi-faceted excellence and to convey to society the message that academic results are not the sole criterion for measuring the success of youths, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) has implemented the Multi-faceted Excellence Scholarship (MES) since 2014 to support local students undertaking the HKDSE Examination who excel in arts, sports and/or community service to pursue undergraduate studies at universities and locally-accredited degree-awarding institutions in Hong Kong. Over the past decade, the MES has already provided 300-odd talented students with an alternative admission channel to higher education as well as financial support in undertaking undergraduate studies.

The objectives of the MES have been successfully accomplished upon reaching the scholarship scheme’s 10-year milestone. In order to support more students with remarkable achievements in arts, sports and/or community service, starting from the 2025/26 academic year, a new scholarship scheme will be introduced for successful SNDAS admittees. Among the students being formally admitted to their respective universities under the SNDAS, each of the eight UGC-funded universities will be invited to nominate SNDAS admittees demonstrating outstanding performance in arts, sports and/or community service for award of the scholarships in addition to the firm offers made. The quotas of nominations and scholarships will be distributed proportionally having regard to the number of students admitted to each university by SNDAS. Each awardee, not subject to means testing, will be granted a scholarship of $10,000 per year across his/her 4-year tuition period. HYAB will provide universities with general guidelines and selection criteria for reference, while universities shall enjoy the autonomy to select and nominate awardees for the new scholarship.

(e) Frequently Asked Questions

Please refer to the list of FAQs.

Enquiry

General enquiries on SNDAS can be directed to EDB at 2827 1011 or sndas@edb.gov.hk. For enquiries on the new scholarship scheme, please contact HYAB at 3509 7001 or scholarship@hyab.gov.hk.

For enquiries on admission requirements of specific SNDAS-participating programmes, please contact the relevant universities direct. Contact information is provided here.