EAE for O-Level and ITE Students
Early Admissions Exercise (EAE) FAQs
What is EAE?
The Polytechnic Early Admissions Exercise (Poly EAE) is an aptitude-based admissions exercise that allows students to apply for and receive conditional offers for admission to polytechnics prior to receiving their final grades. It allows the polytechnics greater flexibility to select and admit students based on their aptitudes and interests, apart from academic grades, thus allowing a wider range of talents to be recognised.
Who can apply?
- O-Level Students
- Singapore Citizens (SC) and Permanent Residents (PR) who have registered to sit for the GCE O-Level examinations in 2024; or
- International Students enrolled in government, government-aided and Independent Schools and have registered to sit for the GCE O-Level examinations in 2024.
- ITE Students
Final-year ITE students who are completing their
- Nitec course in June or December 2024 or
- Higher Nitec course in September 2024 or March 2025
- Working Adults
Working adults who are Singapore Citizens (SC) and Permanent Residents (PR) with at least two years of relevant work experience.
The Early Admissions Exercise for Working Adults (EAE WA) is only open to working
adults with work experience. Current enrolled students who wish to apply to a different full-time diploma course with a different polytechnic, should apply through the
Direct Admissions Exercise (DAE).
When will the application take place this year?
| Early Admissions Exercise (EAE) | AY2025 Intake |
S/N | Activity | ITE Students | O-Level Students | Working Adults |
1 | Application Stage | 6 Jun (Thurs) - 12 Jun (Wed) | 20 Jun (Thurs) - 26 Jun (Wed) | 3 Jun (Mon) - 30 Jun (Sun) |
2 | Selection Stage | 1 Jul (Mon) - 27 Aug (Tues) | 1 Jul (Mon) - 27 Aug (Tues) | 1 Jul (Mon) - 27 Aug (Tues) |
3 | Offer & Acceptance Stage | 6 Sep (Fri) 2pm - 11 Sep (Wed) 11.59pm | 6 Sep (Fri) 2pm - 11 Sep (Wed) 11.59pm | 6 Sep (Fri) 2pm - 11 Sep (Wed) 11.59pm |
4 | Withdrawal Stage | 12 Sep (Thurs) to 11 Oct (Fri) 11.59pm | 12 Sep (Thurs) to 11 Oct (Fri) 11.59pm |
Are all the courses in SP offered under EAE?
Yes, SP offers all its courses under EAE.
What is the EAE application process?
- Application Stage
Interested students can apply via the EAE portal. Applicants will be asked to complete your personal particulars and submit a 600-character write-up to explain your passion and aptitude
for the courses that you are applying for. Each applicant can select up to three courses of interest.
For working adults, please also include details of your relevant working experience (job scope, number of years of experiences and work achievements, etc) in the short write-up.
- Selection Stage
- Selection will be based on demonstration/evidence of interest and aptitude for applied learning. Applicants may be invited for aptitude tests and/or interviews to demonstrate their aptitude and interest in a specific course.
- Applicants are encouraged to prepare supporting documents such as a portfolio of works, testimonials on past leadership, participation in competitions and relevant programmes during the interview to support their application.
- Offer & Acceptance Stage
Offers will be made to successful applicants. EAE applicants may view and accept offers on the online application system within the stipulated period. A non-response will be deemed as a rejection of the offer. A student who accepts his EAE offer during
this stage will be given a conditional offer and guaranteed a place in the polytechnic course, as long as he meets the admissions criteria.
To cope with the rigour of polytechnic education, applicants will have to meet the prevailing polytechnic admissions criteria to confirm their conditional offers:
Admissions criteria for O-Level students:
You have to meet the following admissions criteria:
- Meet the minimum entry requirements (MERs) for the offered course. The MERs for each course can be found here; and
- Obtain a net ELR2B2 aggregate score of 26 points or better for the O-level exams
Admissions criteria for ITE students:
You have to meet the following admissions criteria:
- Higher NITEC qualification – final net GPA of 2.0 or above (including CCA bonus points)
- NITEC qualification – final net GPA of 3.5 or above (including CCA bonus points)
Note: Students who have secured a place in the polytechnic by accepting and confirming the EAE offer will not be eligible to participate in the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE), Joint Polytechnic Admissions Exercise (JPAE) or other
polytechnic admissions exercises. A student who accepts an EAE offer cannot concurrently accept an offer from a JC via the DSA-JC exercise. Students who accept both offers will be disqualified from both exercises unless they reject one of the
offers before the end of the Acceptance Stage.
- Withdrawal Stage
Should students wish to withdraw their acceptance, they must submit their withdrawal online via the EAE portal. Students who have accepted an EAE offer but do not withdraw by the stipulated deadline will not be able to switch courses within or across polytechnics once their offers are confirmed upon release of their final examinations results.
Will the order of choices as listed determine whether a student gets a particular course?
The applicant is encouraged to select and rank the polytechnic courses based on their choice of preference. If you are found suitable for more than one course, you will only be offered 1 course based on the order of your course choice.
When will I know if I am accepted for EAE?
Applicants may check their application outcome via the EAE portal during the “Offer & Acceptance” stage. They will receive notification of the release of the posting results via email. Successful applicants must decide if they wish to accept the offer.
What if I was not offered a course during the EAE application?
‘O’ Level students may apply for polytechnic admissions through the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) using their ‘O’ Level results while the Higher Nitec and Nitec students may apply via the ITE Joint Polytechnic Admissions Exercise (JPAE).
Can I switch courses after I have successfully obtained an offer?
No. Once you have accepted your offer, you will not be able to switch courses within or across polytechnics. Applicants are expected to honour the commitment to their choice of polytechnic and the course under Poly EAE.
How will an applicant’s work experience be assessed and considered relevant for the course?
Applicants’ work experience will be assessed holistically to consider the relevance of their demonstrated competencies and skills for their courses of interest. Applicants will need to submit their employment records together with their application,
as well as employer recommendations where available.