When you apply through the Central Applications Office, your university choices are simply the programmes you put on that one application, ranked in the order you would most like to study them. One application lets you pick up to six programmes, all covered by a single administration fee, at participating institutions in KwaZulu-Natal. Below you will find how that choice works in practice, how to put together a list that is honest about what you want, and what to watch out for with nursing programmes.
How Many Programmes Can You Choose on CAO?
Yes, six is the limit on a single CAO application. CAO’s own homepage for 2027 entry says your one administration fee covers a combination of up to six programmes at member and partner institutions in KwaZulu-Natal. So you pay once, and you send one application — you do not pay per programme, and you do not apply to each institution separately.
Six is a ceiling, not a target you have to reach no matter what. Four programmes you would truly be happy to study beat six padded with options you would dread getting into, because an offer for a programme you do not want helps nobody. At the same time, listing only one or two programmes is a needless gamble when you have six slots to use. Go for a list where every single choice is something you would actually accept, ranked in the order you really mean.
You can spread those six across institutions. One application might include programmes at UKZN, DUT, MUT and UNIZULU, and you can also add programmes at participating TVET colleges and private colleges in KwaZulu-Natal, as long as each programme is offered through CAO for your entry year. You apply using programme codes, so getting the code right matters more than just knowing the institution’s name.
Does the Order of Programme Choices Matter?
Yes, it does. Put your programmes in the order you genuinely want them, with your favourite right at the top. CAO and the institutions read your ranking as a statement of what you want most, and that order shapes what you get offered. Trying to be clever by ranking a programme you want less above the one you really want usually backfires: you could land an offer for the higher-ranked programme and lose your shot at the one below it.
Rank by what you want to study, not by what looks easiest to get into or what other people call prestigious. For each spot on your list, ask yourself a plain question: if this were the only offer I got, would I take it gladly? If the answer is no, leave it off. If the answer is a reluctant yes, it belongs near the bottom as a backup, never at the top.
Some guides online claim certain institutions favour applicants who rank them first. Nobody verified that claim on an official CAO page at the time of writing, so do not treat it as a rule. What CAO’s own published structure does confirm is that your choices sit on one application in order of preference, and that ranking forms part of how your application is handled. Rank honestly, and do not build your whole plan around an unconfirmed priority claim.
How to Build a Balanced List of Six
A strong list usually has three layers. The exact mix depends on your results and your interests, but this shape works well for most applicants:
Layer 1 — Your true first picks (choices 1 and 2). These are the programmes you want most, even if they are competitive. Your absolute favourite goes first. Your second choice should be something you would be almost as pleased with — not a copy of your first choice at another institution if you would not honestly enjoy studying there.
Layer 2 — Realistic matches (choices 3 and 4). These are programmes where your results fit comfortably inside the published requirements, in fields you actually enjoy. They are not second best. They are the programmes most likely to bring you an offer, and plenty of students discover that a realistic match turns into a programme they love once they start it.
Layer 3 — Safe backups (choices 5 and 6). These are programmes you would accept and see through with commitment, where you clearly meet the requirements. A backup is not a wasted slot. It is insurance against losing a year to reapplying, and it keeps a door open into your field even if your preferred programmes do not offer you a place.
Watch out for two traps. One is six almost identical, fiercely competitive choices — six medicine or health sciences programmes with very high selection thresholds and nothing to fall back on, for example. The other is six unrelated choices picked only because they looked easy to enter. Both waste the advantage of having six slots. Your list should show a real plan for your future: varied in competitiveness, but steady in direction.
Choosing Across Institutions and Qualification Types
Your six choices are not limited to degrees at the four public universities. You can also include diploma and certificate programmes at universities of technology, TVET college programmes and private college programmes offered through CAO. That range is a real advantage, especially if you are still deciding whether a degree, a diploma or a more hands-on qualification suits you best.
Give qualification type just as much thought as institution. A diploma at a university of technology and a degree at a traditional university lead down different paths, with different lengths, practical work and options to move on afterwards. Read the handbook entry for each programme — its qualification type and duration included — before you list it. Pick a programme because its qualification, content and career direction fit what you want to do, not only because its institution is well known.
If you are eyeing a programme outside KwaZulu-Natal, keep in mind that it cannot go on your CAO list at all. CAO covers KwaZulu-Natal institutions only. Apply to that institution directly through its own system, and keep its deadlines and fees completely separate from your CAO application.
CAO Application for Nursing Programmes
Nursing is one of the most searched CAO areas, and it needs extra care because “nursing” is not one single route. Through CAO you may find nursing-related programmes at participating institutions, and you should check the handbook for the exact programme codes, requirements and closing dates for your entry year. This page does not list specific nursing programmes, APS scores or subject requirements, because those details differ by programme and were not verified on an official page at the time of writing.
Then there is a separate route you need to know about. The KwaZulu-Natal College of Nursing, run by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, handles its own applications for its Diploma in Nursing programme, and third-party guides report that those applications go online through the college’s own portal, not through CAO, with its own closing date and its own eligibility rules, including KwaZulu-Natal residence. Never assume a nursing programme you have heard about is automatically a CAO programme. If nursing is your goal, check both paths: search the CAO Handbook for nursing programmes offered through CAO, and read the KwaZulu-Natal College of Nursing’s own announcements for its separate intake. Applying through the wrong route for the nursing programme you actually want is a mistake you may not be able to fix after the closing date.
Nursing programmes also tend to be competitive, and some carry early closing dates or a “No Late Applications will be considered” note. CAO confirms that programmes carrying that note will not consider applications received after their closing date, and it gives health sciences programmes as examples. If nursing is your goal, apply early, keep realistic nursing or health sciences alternatives among your six choices, and do not leave a nursing application until the last week of the cycle.
Closing Dates Apply to Each Choice, Not to the List
Here is another reason to choose with care: every one of your six programmes has its own closing date. CAO’s homepage shows this for 2027 entry with two DUT programmes: Diagnostic Radiography closed on 31 August, while Medical Laboratory Science closed on 30 September. Your application as a whole does not have one closing date — each choice does. If one of your six closes earlier than the rest, that choice has to be in before its own date, and a late submission for that programme may get “Late Application” status or, where no late applications are accepted, “Programme Close” status.
On top of that, 1 November is the date from which late payments take effect across the CAO system. Applications and fees received from 1 November attract a “Late Payment” status and the late fee applicable at the time. So a programme can already be late in status terms before 1 November if its own closing date has passed, even though the higher late fee only kicks in from 1 November. Check the closing date for all six of your choices, and submit before the earliest one among them.
Common Mistakes With CAO Course Choices
- Ranking programmes in an order that is not your genuine preference, on the assumption that order makes no difference.
- Filling all six slots with near-identical, fiercely competitive programmes and no backup at all.
- Listing programmes you would turn down if offered a place, which wastes a slot and can leave you with an offer you do not want.
- Trusting one general closing date instead of checking each programme’s own closing date.
- Assuming a nursing programme runs through CAO when it actually runs through a separate institutional process.
- Mistaking a CAO application for a funding application — CAO never decides NSFAS funding, so that needs its own application.
- Handing your CAO login password to someone who offers to “fix” your choices for you. Use the official Change of Mind process yourself.
