The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), on Monday, April 7, outlined seven common mistakes that students applying for courses on the students' portal made.
The first mistake KUCCPS listed was filling the contact form with incorrect phone numbers. This is especially detrimental as it could lead to applicants missing out on important communication from the placement services.
Secondly, KUCCPS noted that some applicants may leave courses in the Course Basket instead of applying, which is a very crucial step, as one must submit an application for it to be considered.
"Application does not end at the Course Basket. You must submit an application to be considered. To submit, click the “Application/Revision” button, then “Apply Now”," KUCCPS noted.
Another mistake candidates were warned against was applying for one programme and leaving other choices blank instead of the recommended four. This inevitably limits their chance of placement to only one.
In the same vein, the service warned against applying for the same course in all the choices, stating this was a risk, especially for applicants interested in competitive courses like medicine, nursing, and engineering.
The fifth mistake KUCCPS stated was students selecting only one course in one institution, which also limited their placement possibilities.
KUCCPS also insisted on not arranging courses randomly in the application form and advised applicants to apply in order of priority, with the first choice being the most preferred and the fourth choice being the least preferred.
Lastly, they were warned against using their mobile money transaction ID to submit an application instead of an eCitizen account.
The eCitizen account is indicated in the middle of the mobile money payment confirmation SMS and is made up of alphabetical letters only.
This notice comes barely two weeks after KUCCPS opened the portal on March 28 for 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates to apply to other preferred universities.
Candidates who run into problems and would need guidance in choosing their courses have been advised that there are support centres set up in all 47 counties.
Alupe University (Busia), Baringo National Polytechnic (Baringo), Maseno University (Kisumu), Technical University of Mombasa (Mombasa), and Karen Institute for the Deaf (Nairobi) are among the institutions the students can get help from.
