NSFAS to rejected applicants: ‘know your appeal deadline’

Applications for funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) closed recently on 31st October. This means that students will be receiving their answers back from the scheme soon, especially for those who applied far ahead of this deadline.

For those who have been rejected, NSFAS has put out a social media post reminding them of their deadlines and next steps that can be taken.

“NSFAS 2027 APPEALS | REJECTED? YOU CAN APPEAL! Has your NSFAS funding application been rejected? You may have an opportunity to appeal your funding decision! Know Your Appeal Deadline: 15 Days: First-time entering students (FTEN and FTF). 30 Days: Senior and continuing students. Your appeal period starts from the day you receive your funding decision. Appealing the N+ Rule? Ensure you include a propensity letter from your institution,” NSFAS writes in its post.

There’s a lot to unpack in that statement, especially for students applying for the first time. We’ll bring up the 2026 Bursary Guidelines PDF (available for anyone to read here) to tease out the nuisance.

FTEN stands for First Time ENtering, while FTF stands for First Time Funded. FTEN is a student applying for academic admissions to any university for the first time while FTF is a student studying at a TVET College whi is funded by NSFAS for the very first time.

As for the N+ Rule, it is described in the guidelines as “the outer limits for the duration that a student may receive financial aid from NSFAS. A student that is no longer compliant with the University academic progression pathways or exceeds the University N+ rule may not be funded to study at a university or TVET College. Similarly, a student who is no longer compliant with the TVET College academic progression pathways and exceeds the TVET College N+ rule may not be funded to study at a university.”

More about appeals and the N+ rule can be found on this dedicated section of the official NSFAS website by clicking or tapping here.

Finally, it’s worth noting that appeals happen in the same place applications do: inside of the NSFAS website on the myNSFAS student portal.

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