The University Grants Commission will release cut-off marks for state university admission for the 2025/26 academic year during the first week of August, UGC Vice Chairman Prof. Wasantha Liyanage said, with 92,043 candidates having applied based on the latest G.C.E. Advanced Level results.
Of those applicants, 42,937 students are expected to be selected for admission to state universities, Prof. Liyanage told NewsFirst. Selected students will be enrolled during the second, third and fourth weeks of August 2026, with academic activities expected to begin in early September depending on the specific institution.
The numbers track closely with the May parliamentary briefing in which the Prime Minister told MPs that around 42,937 students would be admitted in September 2026, and the August release date marks an acceleration on prior cycles where cut-offs slipped into late August or even September. With around 92,000 candidates competing for fewer than 43,000 places, the selection ratio remains around 47% — broadly in line with historical norms for state university admission.
The UGC has been under sustained pressure this year to compress the admissions timeline. The Commission earlier published the university admissions handbook at midnight on the day applications opened and confirmed the applications window had closed with high volume ahead of the cut-off computation. A faster handbook-to-enrollment cycle reduces the gap between the A-Level results release and the start of undergraduate study, a long-standing student grievance.
Source: University Cut-Off Marks for 2025/2026 Academic Year Expected in Early August — NewsFirst, June 17.
