26/09/2026
This week I met with a mum who flew in from Bulawayo for no other reason than to come and see me.
She was really stressed about her son’s university applications — to the point that it was affecting her sleep and wellbeing. And frankly it’s just better to sit down together, face-to-face, and chat through everything!
Her son is a strong academic, a national sports player and a leader within his school. He had applied to Stellenbosch on his own back in April and, five months later, still hadn’t received a decision.
So we logged into his application together.
I immediately spotted a few problems.
His AS Levels had been entered as A Levels — which he is only sitting in November. Some of the grades entered weren’t correct. Only ONE IGCSE subject had been reported instead of his full set of results. And he hadn’t used all three programme choices, so there was no real “back-up” option.
With the SA application cycle now coming towards the end, you can imagine why his Mum was stressed!
I’ve since contacted Stellenbosch to clarify the errors and request that the necessary corrections be made, and we’ll take it from there. But this is what I want to say:
University applications can look simple… but they can actually be really tricky to navigate especially for a high school student who isn't familiar with all the portals and terminology. Small mistakes can matter, especially when you’re dealing with different qualification systems like Cambridge.
So Mums if your child is applying on their own, my advice is simple:
Have someone else look over the application before it's submitted!
A fresh pair of eyes — preferably someone who understands the process — can pick up things you may never have realised were wrong.
Sometimes sitting down, talking it through and having a solid plan makes everything feel a whole lot less overwhelming. 💚
