Unified Admission Dates 2026: End of Achievement Tests, Aptitude Tests, and Automated Monitoring
As part of the intensive preparations for the new academic year, the National Unified Admission Platform “Qabool” officially announced the precise timetable for electronic linking and processes related to the admission of high school graduates, revealing the crucial deadlines for taking the standardized tests that are a prerequisite for enrollment in higher education.
Deadlines and technical connectivity
The platform confirmed in its urgent statement that the automated monitoring of high school grades and National Center for Assessment test results will take place on June 26 and 27, 2026. It clarified that the process of importing grades will be fully automated through official, approved channels, without any human intervention, to ensure the highest standards of accuracy and transparency in the data, which will serve as the sole primary reference for competitive admissions to public universities and technical colleges in the Kingdom.
Standardized Testing Roadmap
"Qubool" has set specific, non-extendable dates to ensure the smooth running of the admission process, specifying:
- June 9, 2026: The deadline for conducting the achievement test , in order to ensure that the results are received and monitored in the system before the sorting process begins.
- June 21, 2026: The last opportunity for male and female students to take the General Aptitude Test .
The platform stressed the need for all applicants to adhere to these dates, warning that exceeding them could mean losing the opportunity to compete for study places this year.
The importance of tests in the Saudi education system
These announcements are of paramount importance given the pivotal role the Education and Training Evaluation Commission plays in shaping the future of higher education in the Kingdom. The General Aptitude Test (GAT) and the Achievement Test are cornerstones of the weighted average used by Saudi universities for admission. While the GAT measures a student's analytical and reasoning skills beyond rote memorization, the Achievement Test focuses on assessing their scientific knowledge in core subjects (mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology) acquired during their secondary school years.
Digital transformation and fairness in unified admissions
This measure comes within the broader context of the digital transformation that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is witnessing in order to achieve the goals of Vision 2030. The university admission process has moved from the traditional paper application and individual reviews of universities, to a unified electronic system that ensures equal opportunities and fairness among all applicants from different regions of the Kingdom.
The automated system helps reduce human errors in data entry, speeds up sorting and results announcement processes, saves time and effort for students and parents, and enhances the reliability of university admission outcomes, which positively impacts the quality of educational inputs to universities and the labor market in the future.
