Between 2020 and 2023, applicants taking the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) most frequently applied to the Universities of Ilorin (UNILORIN) and Lagos (UNILAG).
UNILORIN emerged as the highest first choice applied for the institution in the last four years (2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023). The university had 103, 582 applications in 2020, and was closely followed by Ahmadu Bello University with 82, 984 applications.
The university also had the lion’s share of the total UTME applications with 78,466 in 2021, and 73,749 in 2023 to lead the pack.
The University of Lagos remains the closest contender with 59,190 in 2021 to come second. UNILAG was also the second highest applied for institution in 2022 and 2023 with 61, 606 applications. It however came third in 2020 behind UNILORIN and ABU.
According to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) the top 10 universities chosen by candidates during the 2023 UTME are the University of Ilorin in the first position, followed by the University of Lagos, and in the third position is the Lagos State University with 55,964 applications.
Below is the top ren universities chosen by candidates during the 2023 UTME:
1 University of Ilorin
2 University of Lagos
3 Lagos State University
4 Federal University, Oye Ekiti
5 University of Benin
6 University of Nigeria
7 Obafemi Awolowo University
8 Nnamdi Azikwe University
9 Nigerian Defence Academy
10 University of Ibadan
