If you've been holding onto an old university admission offer, hoping for a miracle, your prayers might just have been answered – for the last time. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has thrown a lifeline to candidates who have outstanding admission offers, some stretching back to 2021. The board has pushed the deadline for accepting or rejecting these offers to September 30, 2026. Yes, you read that right. You now have an extra month to make up your mind.
JAMB, through its Ag. Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, stated that this final extension is all about tidying up their records. Some candidates have had admission offers hanging over their heads for years without making a decision. This includes those with pending regular admissions or offers related to 'Condonement of Undisclosed Illegal Institutional Admissions' (CUIIA).
These lingering offers were making it hard for JAMB to get a clear picture of who is actually in school and where.
The board is urging everyone affected to act fast. Don't wait until the last minute, because if you miss this September 30 deadline, it's game over for those offers. Failure to take action will mean those offers automatically revert to a 'Not Admitted' status on your dashboard and in JAMB's national records. For those of you who decide to accept, the next step is printing your admission letters. If you've decided it's not the path for you, rejecting the offer will update your dashboard accordingly, allowing JAMB to update its national data.
But what if life happened and you're no longer at the institution that offered you admission, or perhaps you've switched courses? JAMB has a solution for that too. They say you can accept the old offer first and then immediately apply for the necessary corrections or deletions. This way, your records get updated properly. Similarly, if you're already pursuing a second degree but still have an old, unaccepted offer lurking, you can reject that old offer and focus on your current studies without any fear of it impacting your present programme.
For those of you who've secured an admission for the 2026 exercise but are still worried about that pending older offer, JAMB wants to reassure you. Rejecting that old offer won't mess with your current 2026 admission in any way. This whole exercise is simply a final chance to ensure JAMB's national admission records are accurate, current, and reliable. After September 30, 2026, there will be no more extensions. All pending offers that haven't been dealt with will be automatically marked as 'Not Admitted', and that's final.