A total of 51,835 students who qualified for university admission by attaining a KCSE mean grade of C+ and above did not apply for placement through the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), opting instead for alternative education and career pathways.
Speaking during the release of the 2026 university placement results, KUCCPS Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Agnes Wahome said while the majority of eligible candidates sought placement through the agency, thousands chose to study abroad, join the military or enroll in public and private universities as self-sponsored students.
“When we look at how the students applied, those who had straight A, 96.3 per cent, applied. Some have gone abroad, some have joined the military, while others are joining universities as self-sponsored students in both our public and our private universities,” Wahome said.
She noted that KUCCPS considers the high application rate among top-performing students a positive sign that the agency has reached most candidates eligible for university admission.
According to KUCCPS, 270,508 candidates, representing 27.4 per cent of the 2025 KCSE cohort, attained the minimum university entry grade of C+ and above, an increase from the previous year.
However, application rates varied across grades, with students who attained lower qualifying grades being less likely to apply through KUCCPS.
The data shows that of the 1,931 candidates who scored an A (Plain), 1,860 applied for placement while 71 did not, representing an application rate of 96.3 per cent.
Among the 9,259 candidates who attained an A-, 8,667 submitted applications, while 592 did not apply, translating to an application rate of 93.6 per cent.
For candidates who scored B+, 20,911 out of 23,748 eligible students applied, leaving 2,837 who did not seek placement through KUCCPS. This represented an application rate of 88.1 per cent.
The agency also recorded 42,029 applications from the 49,805 candidates who attained a B (Plain), while 7,776 eligible students did not apply, resulting in an application rate of 84.4 per cent.
Among the 80,128 candidates with a B-, 65,410 applied and 14,718 did not, translating to 81.6 per cent.
The largest number of non-applicants came from the C+ category. Of the 103,858 candidates who attained the minimum university entry grade, 78,017 applied through KUCCPS while 25,841 did not, representing an application rate of 75.1 per cent.
In total, 216,894 of the 268,729 eligible candidates in the A to C+ categories applied for university placement, leaving 51,835 students who did not submit applications through the placement agency.
Also Read: KUCCPS Explains How Students Are Selected for University Courses in Kenya
2025 KCSE Applicants Per Grade
| KCSE Grade | Eligible Candidates | Applied | Did Not Apply | Application Rate | Did Not Apply (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A (Plain) | 1,931 | 1,860 | 71 | 96.3% | 3.7% |
| A- | 9,259 | 8,667 | 592 | 93.6% | 6.4% |
| B+ | 23,748 | 20,911 | 2,837 | 88.1% | 11.9% |
| B (Plain) | 49,805 | 42,029 | 7,776 | 84.4% | 15.6% |
| B- | 80,128 | 65,410 | 14,718 | 81.6% | 18.4% |
| C+ | 103,858 | 78,017 | 25,841 | 75.1% | 24.9% |
| Total | 268,729 | 216,894 | 51,835 | 80.7% | 19.3% |
Also Read: KUCCPS Releases 2026 University Placement Results; How to Check
Medicine Remains the Most Competitive Course
Wahome also used medicine admissions to illustrate the intense competition for limited university places, noting that attaining an A or A- does not automatically guarantee admission to the programme.
She revealed that approximately 6,500 students applied for medicine programmes despite universities having capacity for only 702 students.
The applicants included 1,535 candidates who scored an A (Plain) and 3,328 who attained an A-.
According to Wahome, admission to medicine is based on cluster subject performance rather than the overall KCSE grade.
Candidates are ranked using their performance in Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology and a Language, after which universities admit students based on their available capacity.
“So the students compete in those four subjects. They get a cluster weight, and the weights are ranked from the first to the last student. We then determine the cut-off based on each university’s capacity,” she said.
The KUCCPS CEO added that this year’s exercise focused on university admissions because placement to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions remains open throughout the year under the continuous placement system.
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