Admission Criteria and Processes

BOR RESOLUTION NO. 3-R-01, S. 2025

The Mindanao State University System Admission and Scholarship Examination (MSU-SASE) serves as the primary basis for admitting first-year students into MSU campuses, including MSU-General Santos. Admission eligibility is determined by the cut-off score set by each campus, which fluctuates depending on the median and overall performance of the test-takers each year. While this mechanism ensures a standardized benchmark, it fails to fully account for the individual campuses' unique mandates, program demands, and absorptive capacities.
At MSU-General Santos, the limited intake capacity in relation to the large volume of applicants presents significant challenges in ensuring an effective and equitable admissions process. In response, academic units have adopted program-specific admission requirements. While these measures are valid, they operate independently and lack a unified institutional framework. To promote fairness, transparency, and responsiveness to evolving educational standards—as well as national and international priorities such as CHED mandates, DBM policies, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals—there is a pressing need to consolidate and formalize these practices under a standardized admissions system.The new admission criteria and process seek to standardize and enhance the undergraduate admission process of MSU-General Santos, incorporating multiple assessment dimensions beyond MSU-SASE scores. This multi-tiered approach will allow for a fairer, more inclusive, and better-aligned admission system that honors institutional autonomy while maintaining system coherence and responsiveness to student diversity and academic excellence.
ADMISSION CRITERIA
FOR INCOMING FRESHMEN

A. Admission Categories

MERIT-BASED ADMISSIONS (20% OF THE ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY)

Reserved for the top 20% MSU-SASE scorers who selected MSU-General Santos as their preferred campus. These students shall have the privilege to choose their program of choice, subject to the availability of slots. Should the 20% absorptive capacity be not fully filled in, the remaining slots will automatically be allocated to applicants from other admission categories

Comprising the majority of accepted students, admission shall be based on a holistic evaluation that includes academic performance, socio-economic indicators, and program-specific qualifications.

Designed to broaden access for students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds, promoting inclusive education in line with the strategic direction of a more inclusive university.Breakdown: 10% Moro/IP qualifiers 10% Non-Moro/IP qualifiers

B. Criteria for Admission

  1. Merit-based Admissions (20% of the absorptive capacity)
    • Admitted solely based on MSU-SASE rankings.
    • Students in this category may freely choose any academic program, subject to slot availability.
    • Should the 20% absorptive capacity be not fully filled in, the remaining slots will automatically be allocated to applicants from other admission categories.
  2. Regular Admissions (60% of the absorptive capacity)
    • Admissions in this category will be evaluated based on the
      following weighted criteria:

      Criteria

      Weight

      2.1. MSU-SASE Score

      2.2. Grade 12 General Average Grade

      2.3 . Financial Status

      2.4. Program-Specific Requirements 

      50%     

      10%     

      10%     

      30%      

    • Program-Specific Requirements may include qualifying exams, interviews, essays (e.g., mission statements), or physical
      evaluations/fitness test (where applicable).
    • If the chosen program does not require specific additional
      requirements, the weight of the MSU-SASE score will increase to
      80%.
  3. IDEA Admissions (20% of the absorptive capacity)
    • Moro and IP Students only (10%)

      Criteria

      Weight

      3.1.1. MSU-SASE Score

      20% 

      3.1.2. Senior High School General Average Grade

      10% 

      3.1.3. Financial Status

      20% 

      3.1.4. First Generation College Student

      20% 

      3.1.5. Child of Persons Deprived of Liberty or former Combatants

      10%

      3.1.6. Person with Disability

      5%

      3.1.7. Solo Parent/Child of Solo Parent

      5%

      3.1.8. Other Protected Characteristics (e.g. member of SOGIE population, Working Students, OFW children

      5%

      3.1.9. Employee Dependent (Direct dependent only-children, siblings, and spouse

      5%

    • Non-Moro/IP Students only (10%)

      Criteria

      Weight

      3.1.1. MSU-SASE Score

      20% 

      3.1.2. Senior High School General Average Grade

      10% 

      3.1.3. Financial Status

      20% 

      3.1.4. First Generation College Student

      20% 

      3.1.5. Child of Persons Deprived of Liberty or former Combatants

      10%

      3.1.6. Person with Disability

      5%

      3.1.7. Solo Parent/Child of Solo Parent

      5%

      3.1.8. Other Protected Characteristics (e.g. member of SOGIE population, Working Students, OFW children

      5%

      3.1.9. Employee Dependent (Direct dependent only-children, siblings, and spouse

      5%

SPECIAL ADMISSION

Students with exceptional talents in sports, performing arts, visual arts and who are valedictorian/salutatorian of their class coming from low-income families may be recommended by the Sports Development Office (SDO), Cultural Affairs Office, and Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA), respectively, for special consideration subject to slot availability and upon endorsement to the Chancellor. Applicants under this category must submit relevant documentary proof and undergo interview by the Special Admission Committee

DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS
  • Original Copy of Grade 12 Report Card
  • Original Certificate of Good Moral Character
  • PSA copy of Birth Certificate
  • Photocopy of Parents’ Latest Income Tax Return (both parents); or
  • Certification of Tax Exemption / Certification of No/Low Income from BIR (both parents); or
  • Photocopy of Overseas Employment Contract of OFWs stating their income
  • Certificate of Dependency (for dependents of MSU–General Santos)
  • One long plastic envelope
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR IDEA (INCLUSIVITY, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND ACCESS) IF APPLICABLE
  • PWD ID for Person with Disability (PWD)
  • Certificate of Confirmation from the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) for IP students, or the National Commission on Muslim Filipino (NCMF) for Moro students
  • Certification from the Bureau of Jail Management (BJMP) for children of Parents Deprived of Liberty
  • Certification from the Barangay Captain, MNLF/MILF Leaders/OPAPRU
  • Notarized Affidavit stating that the student is a member of LGBTQ+ community or raised by LGBTQ+ parents
  • Certificate of Employment for working students certified by the employer (household workers, company workers)
  • Notarized Affidavit of first-generation college students (first in the family to attend college)
  • Photocopy of Overseas Employment Contract for OFWs Solo Parent ID for solo parent-student or of the parent of the student issued by the CSWD/MSWD; or
  • Notarized Affidavit of Abandonment or Declaration of Absence; or Death Certificate of Deceased Parent/s; or
  • PSA Birth Copy for the “unknown” or N/A one of the parents