1.2 Who Writes Which Test
Key Takeaways
- Applicants to programmes that require NBTs write AQL; MAT is added only when mathematics is a programme requirement.
- Health Sciences faculties require both AQL and MAT.
- AQL is the morning paper and MAT is the afternoon paper on the same day; you may not write MAT alone or on a different day.
- Each faculty decides which tests are required and when results must arrive; some faculties need scores in June or July.
- The National Senior Certificate does not replace an NBT requirement, and NSC Mathematics does not automatically exempt a writer from MAT.
Why which-test is a faculty question, not a school-subject guess
The National Benchmark Tests (NBTs) include two papers: Academic and Quantitative Literacy (AQL) and Mathematics (MAT). Who writes which paper is not decided by how confident you feel in mathematics, and it is not decided only by whether your National Senior Certificate (NSC) subject was Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy. Each faculty states which tests an applicant must write and when results must arrive. Some faculties need scores in June or July. Health Sciences faculties require both AQL and MAT. This OpenExamPrep section is independent NBT study material. It is not a faculty admissions table and it does not speak for the National Benchmark Tests Project (NBTP), the Centre for Educational Assessments (CEA), Universities South Africa (USAf), or any university.
If you guess, you either pay R390 for a MAT afternoon you did not need, or you arrive without MAT when a Health Sciences faculty required it. Both errors waste a date. Read the programme letter first, then book.
NBT papers versus the NSC
The NSC is the school-leaving qualification. The NBT is a university academic-readiness assessment conducted for NBTP by CEA at the University of Cape Town (UCT). A strong NSC Mathematics mark does not cancel a faculty MAT requirement. A strong NSC English mark does not cancel an AQL requirement. Faculties that ask for NBTs are asking for an additional measure, not a duplicate printout of your NSC subjects.
| Measure | What it is | Who requires it | Typical mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSC | School-leaving qualification | The usual school route into university | Treating NSC Maths as an automatic MAT exemption |
| AQL | Combined Academic Literacy and Quantitative Literacy multiple-choice paper | Programmes that require NBTs | Skipping AQL because you only need maths |
| MAT | Mathematics multiple-choice paper | Programmes that require mathematics, including Health Sciences | Trying to write MAT alone or on another day |
Independent NBT practice by OpenExamPrep can help you rehearse the three skill domains. It cannot tell a faculty to waive MAT, and it cannot move MAT to a Saturday of your choosing.
Who writes AQL
Write AQL if you are an applicant to a programme that requires NBTs. AQL is the morning paper. It contains Academic Literacy (AL) and Quantitative Literacy (QL) as timed sections. QL is quantitative literacy for university study, not a substitute for MAT. A BA student who writes AQL only still faces QL items. An engineering applicant who writes MAT still writes AQL that morning.
AQL is therefore the default NBT sitting whenever a programme requires NBTs at all. MAT is the extra paper, not the other way around. Writers who are strong in school mathematics still sit the morning literacy paper if the faculty asked for NBTs.
Who writes MAT — and who must not try to write MAT alone
Write MAT only when mathematics is a programme requirement. Health Sciences faculties require both AQL and MAT. Other faculties may require AQL only. If two programmes on your list disagree, meet the stricter rule: if either programme requires MAT, book AQL and MAT.
Same-day rule from the official what-to-expect pages:
- AQL is written in the morning
- MAT is written in the afternoon
- You write them on the same day
- You may not write MAT alone
- You may not write MAT on a different day
That rule is operational, not optional. A writer who already has an AQL score from an earlier date still follows the current cycle's booking rules for another sitting. This chapter does not invent a MAT-only product that nbt.ac.za does not sell.
Health Sciences and other faculty deadlines
Health Sciences faculties require both papers. That includes the common first-year health programmes that tell applicants to write AQL and MAT. Do not rely on a friend in Commerce who wrote AQL only.
Each faculty also sets result deadlines. Some need scores in June or July. A late-year sitting can be a valid test and still useless for that admissions cycle. Check the faculty, not a national rumour.
Faculties may use scores for admission, placement, or both. A Basic band in one domain may trigger a support module in one faculty and a declined offer in another. Section 1.1 covered the band names Proficient, Intermediate, and Basic. Here the point is who chooses the consequence: the faculty, not a national pass mark, and not a commercial course.
Decision sequence before you pay
- Read the faculty or programme instructions for the current cycle.
- If the programme requires NBTs, plan AQL.
- If the programme requires mathematics — or is a Health Sciences faculty — plan MAT as well.
- Book the matching 2026 product: AQL only (R195) or AQL and MAT (R390).
- Diary the faculty result deadline, including June or July cut-offs.
- Plan a full day if MAT is included: morning AQL, afternoon MAT, identification documents, and lunch.
If instructions conflict between a school counsellor and the faculty website, the faculty website and offer letter win. CEA contact details (nbt@uct.ac.za, 021 650 3523) are for test administration, not for rewriting a faculty rule. Official exemplars remain on https://www.nbt.ac.za.
Realistic scenarios
Scenario A — occupational therapy. Health Sciences requires both papers. Book AQL and MAT. Do not copy a BA cousin's AQL-only receipt.
Scenario B — BA Law, AQL required, mathematics not required. Book AQL only. QL items still appear in the morning paper. MAT afternoon is not a bonus extra.
Scenario C — engineering plus a second BA application. Engineering requires mathematics; the BA may not. Book both papers on one day so the stricter programme is covered.
Scenario D — MAT on Saturday and AQL next week. Not allowed. AQL morning, MAT afternoon, same day. MAT cannot be isolated.
Scenario E — NSC Mathematical Literacy, so the writer assumes MAT is impossible. Faculty requirement, not school-subject identity, decides whether MAT is required. If the faculty requires MAT, you write MAT and AQL that morning. If it requires AQL only, you do not add MAT for pride.
Scenario F — two Health Sciences choices at two universities. Expect both papers for both, and track each faculty's June or July or other deadline separately.
Traps
- Booking MAT only because you are strong in mathematics
- Skipping AQL because Quantitative Literacy sounds like MAT
- Splitting papers across two dates
- Assuming every South African degree requires both papers
- Assuming no degree requires MAT if you did not take NSC Mathematics
- Using another faculty's deadline as your deadline
- Treating independent OpenExamPrep practice as a faculty requirement list
A learner who needs MAT for a BSc Engineering programme wants to write MAT on Tuesday and AQL on Friday. What is the official same-day rule?
Which faculties require both AQL and MAT?
Who decides whether an applicant must write AQL only or AQL and MAT, and when the scores must arrive?