School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme (SNDAS) is a school nominations scheme introduced by the Education Bureau (EDB) and takes effect from the 2022/23 entry.
SNDAS aims at recognising the talent of local students that could not be fully assessed by the HKDSE. Local students pursuing the local secondary curriculum and taking the 2025 HKDSE examination, and in parallel holding a valid JUPAS application for 2025/26 entry, will be eligible for nomination by respective local secondary schools under SNDAS to participating UGC-funded programs.
Eligible students who wish to be nominated by their secondary schools to HKUST under SNDAS shall submit an online application to HKUST online application system following specific timeline. For full details of SNDAS and enquiries, please refer to the official SNDAS page by HKSAR Government.
Firm admission offer, regardless of the final HKDSE results, will be issued to each successful SNDAS applicant after the admissions interview. Successful applicants have to accept the SNDAS offer before the release of HKDSE exam results.
Each SNDAS offer recipient is eligible for the SNDAS Scholarship automatically. The scholarship amount is HK$50,000, one-off.
In order to be considered, all SNDAS nominees must fulfil all of the following:
The program applied via SNDAS must also be one of your JUPAS Band A choices.
Submit both the Other Experiences and Achievements in Competition / Activities (OEA) and the Student Learning Profile (SLP) in their JUPAS application.
Meet the Program-specific Admissions Requirements. Please click here for program-specific admissions requirements of HKUST programs in 2024 entry.
Attendance at the admissions interview is compulsory.
The program applied via SNDAS must also be one of your JUPAS Band A choices.
Submit both the Other Experiences and Achievements in Competition / Activities (OEA) and the Student Learning Profile (SLP) in their JUPAS application.
Meet the Program-specific Admissions Requirements. Please click here for program-specific admissions requirements of HKUST programs in 2024 entry.
Attendance at the admissions interview is compulsory.
In 2025/26 Academic Year, HKUST is offering SNDAS applicants total 25 program choices.
SNDAS only accepts local students pursuing local secondary curriculum and taking HKDSE Examinations.
Some programs prefer good performance in specific subjects in their admissions requirements.
You need to decide whether to accept the offer by the offer acceptance deadline as stipulated in the offer letter. Once the offer is accepted, your JUPAS applications will automically be removed from the JUPAS application system and you will not be considered / accepted by other JUPAS programs in the same Entry Year regardless of your HKDSE Examination results.
Your JUPAS application will continue to be processed and considered by the JUPAS-participating institutions for admissions after the release of your HKDSE results.
No, students nominated for the SPN under JUPAS will not be eligible for nomination under SNDAS and vice versa.
The spirit of SNDAS is to embrace students with outstanding non-academic talents, which is synchronized with the mission of the Beyond Academic Admissions Scholarship (BAAS).
Riding on this, HKUST extended the scope of BAAS to SNDAS, offering the ‘School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme Scholarship’ (SNDAS Scholarship).
Once SNDAS awardees accept the admissions offer and receive the SNDAS scholarship, they will not be further considered by BAAS.
Yes, students admitted via SNDAS are not participating in the JUPAS practice anymore, they can still receive admissions scholarships for HKDSE qualification should they obtain corresponding levels of HKDSE exam results.
For details about the admissions scholarship for HKDSE qualification, please see Fees and Scholarships | HKUST Undergraduate Admissions
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Undergraduate Recruitment and Admissions Office, HKUST
Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong