Concessions

The Down Payment Exemption Concessions Cycle for the 2026 academic year is now open. This concession is a relief mechanism to facilitate access to academic and on-campus registration for academically deserving students who meet the following criteria:

Eligibility Criteria

Family or household income is less than R600,000 per annum.
Applicant is a South African citizen.
Applicant is admitted as a full-time student.
Vertical progression for postgraduate studies (e.g., Honours to Masters degree) is permitted.
Students must meet the university’s uniform academic progression rules, which define “academically deserving” students.
Final-year students may only submit one appeal for a concession.

Exclusions

The following students are not eligible for the concession:

First-year MBChB (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) students.
First time entering undergraduate students
Part-time students.
Students whose debt has been handed over to external debt collectors, written off, or prescribed.
Students who have dishonoured an Acknowledgment of Debt (AOD) for two consecutive years.

Important Notes

The concession is not funding but a temporary relief mechanism. It does not cover allowances, off-campus accommodation, or reduce student debt.
Any misrepresentation, such as submitting fictitious documents or falsifying household income, will render the application invalid.
Students who dishonoured their AOD payment terms will not be eligible to sign a third AOD.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted through the designated link (https://apps.mandela.ac.za/FinancialAid-Concessions).
Use Google Chrome for better access to the link.
Outcomes of the application will be communicated via email within 5 working days of submission.

For further inquiries, please email concessiondocs@mandela.ac.za.

Contact information

Student Accounts
studentaccounts@mandela.ac.za