The Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) is conducted every January following the release of GCE O-Level results. Students can apply for Junior Colleges (JC), Millenia Institute (MI), polytechnics, and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) through this annual exercise.
This article provides updated JC rankings and essential admission criteria to help you make informed choices for your post-secondary education.
JC Rankings and Cut-off Points
The rankings below are based on 2025 JAE aggregate cut-off points as released by MOE. These scores represent the net aggregate scores of the last student admitted to each college through JAE.
Note: All Junior Colleges use L1R5 aggregate scoring, except Millennia Institute which uses L1R4 aggregate scoring.
DISCLAIMER:
The cut-off points below are accurate as of 6 August 2025, based on the 2025 JAE L1R5 aggregate results. For the most current and official information, please refer to the MOE SchoolFinder website or contact the respective schools directly.
Ranking | Junior College | Arts Stream | Science Stream | Commerce Stream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Raffles Institution | 2-5 | 2-3 | - |
2 | Hwa Chong Institution | 2-5 2-5 | 2-4 | - |
3 | Eunoia Junior College | 2-6 | 2-5 | - |
4 | Nanyang Junior College | 2-7 | 2-5 | - |
5 | Victoria Junior College | 3-8 | 2-6 | - |
6 | Temasek Junior College | 6-8 | 2-7 | - |
7 | Anglo-Chinese Junior College | 3-9 | 2-8 | - |
8 | National Junior College | 5-8 | 3-7 | - |
9 | Dunman High School | 3-8 | 4-7 | - |
10 | River Valley High School | 7-9 | 4-8 | - |
11 | St. Andrew's Junior College | 6-10 | 4-9 | - |
12 | Anderson Serangoon Junior College | 7-11 | 5-10 | - |
13 | Catholic Junior College | 7-13 | 5-12 | - |
14 | Tampines Meridian Junior College | 9-13 | 6-12 | - |
15 | Jurong Pioneer Junior College | 10-15 | 6-14 | - |
16 | Yishun Innova Junior College | 5-19 | 7-18 | - |
17 | Millennia Institute* | 7-19 | 5-17 | 11-19 |
*Millennia Institute uses L1R4 aggregate scoring (not L1R5)
IB Junior Colleges
Two JCs offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme as an alternative to A-Levels.
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) has cut-off points of 7-11 for Arts and 8-11 for Science streams.
St. Joseph's Institution offers the IB programme with cut-off points of 5-10 for Arts and 3-10 for Science streams.
Admission Criteria for JCs & MI
Students must meet specific subject requirements and achieve L1R5 scores to gain admission into the 2-year A-Level or IB Diploma course in JCs, or the 3-year A-Level course in MI. Your L1R5 score cannot exceed 20 points, and you must fulfil the minimum grade prerequisites for required subjects.
What is L1R5
The L1R5 aggregate comprises six subjects that determine your eligibility for JC admission. L1 represents English or a Higher Mother Tongue Language, whilst the five relevant subjects (R1-R5) cover different academic areas to ensure breadth of learning.
The breakdown is as follows:
R1 includes any best-scoring subject from Humanities
R2 covers Mathematics or Science subjects
R3 allows any subject from Humanities, Mathematics or Science
R4-R5 represent your two best-scoring subjects, excluding Religious Knowledge.
Non-Eligible Subjects
Certain restrictions apply when computing your L1R5 aggregate score. You cannot use both Higher Mother Tongue Language and Mother Tongue Language in the same calculation. For instance, if Higher Chinese serves as L1, Chinese cannot count towards R1-R5.
Additionally, "Merit" and "Pass" grades for Mother Tongue 'B' Syllabus subjects (Chinese 'B', Malay 'B', Tamil 'B') are not accepted for aggregate computation.
Conditional Admission
Students who fail to meet minimum subject grade requirements may still qualify for conditional admission under specific circumstances. This applies if your L1R5 is 15 or below, or if your L1R5 ranges from 16-20 with A1 or A2 grades in all five relevant subjects.
Conditionally admitted students must retake the required subject and achieve the minimum grade by the end of JC Year 1. Failure to meet this requirement results in transfer to Year 2 of a Millennia Institute course, with subsequent failure leading to dismissal from the programme.
Choosing Your JC Subject Combination
Selecting the right subject combination is crucial for your A-Level success and university prospects. Consider your career aspirations, university entry requirements, and personal strengths when making your choice. We particularly recommend considering H2 Economics, as it provides excellent analytical skills and opens doors to diverse university programmes.
For comprehensive guidance on selecting your optimal subject combination, explore our detailed subject combination guide.
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