Mutib Al-Awad

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

HAIL — Public universities will begin to accept applications from non-Saudi applicants born to Saudi mothers from the upcoming academic year.



A source from a public university said the new registration and acceptance regulations state that universities will allocate 80 percent of available places to Saudis and 20 percent to non-Saudis with Saudi mothers.



He said: “Non-Saudi applicants of Saudi mothers must submit a copy of their mother’s ID, a copy of the applicant’s residence permit and a copy of the applicant’s birth certificate with the application. Applications are done online.”



Applications are open until the 21st of June and those submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.



“Applicants who have chosen the science stream in high school may apply to study in the colleges of medicine, natural sciences, engineering and social sciences.



“Applicants who have chosen the literature stream in high school may apply to study in the colleges of humanities and social sciences and Islamic studies.”



The source added that students who have studied in the science stream in high school need to have an average mark of at least 75 percent in order to apply to the colleges of medicine and health sciences.



“Science stream students who have achieved a total mark of 65 percent and above may apply to colleges of engineering. Literature stream students who have achieved a total grade of 65 percent and above may apply to colleges of humanities and social sciences.”



Students who scored under 65 have the right to apply to community colleges.



“The weighting system differs from one field of study to another. For natural sciences applications, the final high school mark accounts for 35 percent of the university acceptance weighting. The results of the Qiyas exam accounts for 35 percent and the results of the university acceptance exam, ‘tahseeli’, accounts for 30 percent.”



“For Islamic studies applications from boys the weighting is 60 percent from high school marks and 40 percent from the Qiyas exam. For girls it is 35 percent from the high school mark, 35 percent from the Qiyas exam and 30 percent from the ‘tahseeli’ exam,” the source said.



Students who have completed their high school years in two years or less are given priority.



“Selection is done automatically by scanning and comparing final grades. Students with the highest grades are accepted.”