2021 UTME: Why UNILORIN, UNILAG, UNIBEN Remain Nigeria’s Most Preferred Universities

The University of Ilorin has again retained its top position as Nigeria’s most preferred university by admission seekers in the country.

For the fifth time running, data published by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has shown University of Ilorin as most preferred.

This year, the university had 78,466, which is about 6 per cent of 2021 admission seekers, jostling for admission into it, according to JAMB.

This perhaps explains why the university prides itself as “the university of first choice,” and the continuous preference of the university may not be unconnected to the school’s relatively stable academic calendar over the years as the school’s staff did not embark on strike for years unlike other public Nigerian universities.

With 59,190 applicants, University of Lagos recorded the second highest admission request this year. This is a move by one place from third in last year’s admission request, even though fewer numbers of students sought admission from the school this year.

In the third place is the  University of Benin, with 49,763 admission seekers. Save 2020, this means UNIBEN has maintained third place since 2017. As of August, from last year, about a quarter of its admission seekers had been offered admission.

The University of Nigeria had 47,239 applicants last year. The Federal University, Oye-Ekiti had 45,920 applicants, the first time it would record such demand and the first time it would break into the top ten most sought-after universities in four years.

Ahmadu Bello University slipped from second place, for the first time in four years, with 44,509 applicants, about half of the admission seekers last year.

Bayero University had 44,352 applicants; Nnamdi Azikiwe University, 43,542; Obafemi Awolowo University, 42,614; and for the fifth year running, the University of Jos placed tenth most preferred university in the country with 38,309 applicants.