Exemption from grade requirement or entry grade point average

All of SDU’s education programmes have a grade requirement under quota 1. This means that you must have obtained a certain grade in order to be considered for admission under quota 1. The grade requirement varies from programme to programme. 

You can apply for an exemption from the grade requirement under quota 1 if your GPA is lower than the GPA required for admission. You can also apply if you graduate this year but expect your GPA to be lower than the GPA required for admission.

Note: When you apply for exemption from the grade requirement under quota 1, SDU recommends that you also register for and take the entrance examination for quota 2. This allows you to be assessed under quota 2 if your exemption application for an exemption is rejected. 

For the following programme, you must meet a grade requirement if you apply for admission under quota 2:

• Medicine (4,o)

You can apply for an exemption from the grade requirement under quota 2 if your GPA is lower than the GPA required for admission. You can also apply if you graduate this year, but expect your GPA to be lower than the GPA required for admission. 

Note: When you apply for an exemption from the quota 2 grade requirement, you must register for and take the admission test – even if you have not yet received a reply to your application for an exemption. This is because we are unable to assess all applications for an exemption before the test takes place. 

This also means that you may risk having your application for an exemption rejected after you have taken the admission test. In this case, you cannot be assessed under quota 2, regardless of how you did in the admission test.

If there are more qualified applicants than available study places under quota 1, the places will go to the applicants with the highest GPA. SDU can make an adjustment to your overall GPA to give you a better chance of admission.

However, we also will consider whether any such adjustment of your GPA will give you a realistic chance of admission.

Note: When you apply for exemption from the admission GPA, SDU recommends that you also register for and take the admission test under quota 2. This also allows you to be assessed under quota 2 if your application for an exemption is rejected. 

In the application form, you must explain:

• The reason you are applying for an exemption
• What unusual circumstances have arisen during upper secondary school
• Whether the circumstances applied to an isolated incident or a short or long period of time
• What impact the unusual circumstances have had on your grades and overall GPA on your qualifying examination. 

At optagelse.dk, you must upload documentation for the circumstances you have described in the application form. Examples of relevant documentation include:

• Medical certificate or medical record relating to injury, accident, short-term or long-term illness 
• Medical certificate or other relevant professional documentation for accidents, deaths or particularly serious illnesses of close relatives
• Specialist opinion in connection with, for instance, tests for dyslexia, acalculia or disabilities
• Statement from psychologist/psychiatrist or transcript of medical record 
• Statement from student counsellor, subject teacher or rector  
• Overview of grades from your Upper Secondary School Leaving Examination 
• Police report with relevant information on the persons involved
• 9th or 10th form-level examination diploma may be relevant if the unusual circumstances started towards the end of lower secondary school

Note: If you have been compensated for exceptional circumstances when taking your qualifying examination – for example, if you are dyslexic and have received help in the form of IT assistance programmes, or you have attended a 4-year course organised in connection with elite sports, this may impact your chances of being granted exemption.

Documentation from professionals should generally include:

• Your name, CPR (Civil Registration System) number or date of birth 
• Dates of first and latest consultation, hospitalisation, therapy session or similar.
• Description of whether professional judgements have been made on the basis of the professional’s examinations or the patient’s statements
• Description of condition and ability to study
• Date of issue/printing of the documentation
• Name of professional and hospital department, private practice, educational institution or similar. CBR no./provider no., signature/stamp
• Printouts from Sundhed.dk or Lectio must state the URL (website address).

Any costs associated with obtaining a medical certificate from your doctor or another professional are at your own expense.

We assess whether there is evidence of unusual circumstances in connection with the applicant’s qualifying examination and whether this has had a negative impact on their grades and overall GPA. 

We also assess the duration of the unusual circumstances and whether it has had a negative impact on grades in an isolated incident, a short-term period or a long-term period.

Admissions at SDU cannot disregard current admission and grade requirements, but we can assess whether the unusual circumstances have put you at a disadvantage compared to other applicants. 

If you know well in advance that you want to apply for admission, you can apply for pre-assessment. You can apply for a pre-assessment from 1 October – 15 November of the year before you apply for admission.

The pre-assessment can only be used for the next intake (ie once), after which you must apply for a new one.

If your application is pre-assessed, you must upload the decision as an attachment when subsequently applying for admission at optagelse.dk.

Please note that for pre-assessments, we reserve the right to make changes to the admission order.

SDU requires non-EU/EEA-citizens to pay an application fee of 100 EUR/750 DKK. The application fee must be paid prior to submission of the application. 

Decisions are valid only for the admission for which you have applied.

If you re-apply for admission, you must go through the application process again and upload the relevant documentation.