Intense SNBT Competition at Unpad Dominated by D4 Programmes

The University of Padjadjaran (Unpad) accepted 3,196 students via the 2026 National Selection Based on Test (SNBT) pathway, with 2,800 for undergraduate (S1) programmes and 396 for applied bachelor’s (D4) courses. A total of 80,541 candidates applied for SNBT at Unpad. Of the 15 most competitive SNBT programmes at Unpad, 11 were D4 programmes. Midwifery was the most competitive, with 15 seats contested by 1,782 applicants (0.84% acceptance rate), followed by Government Administration with 22 seats and 2,046 applicants (1.08%), and International Business with a quota of 30 and 2,121 applicants (1.41%). Other competitive D4 programmes included Digital Marketing (1.47%), Chemical Industry Technology (1.52%), Digital Archiving (1.55%), Chinese Language and Culture (1.58%), and Logistics Business (1.78%). Among S1 programmes, Digital Business had 37 seats contested by 1,986 applicants (1.86%), followed by Informatics Engineering (1.99%), Communication Science (2.02%), and Cosmetic Engineering (2.05%). Unpad Public Communication Office Head Dandi Supriadi noted the intense competition in D4 programmes this SNBT cycle. He speculated this was due to applicants being required to select vocational (D4) programmes as alternatives. ‘Those who don’t get their first-choice S1 programme often move to subsequent choices, which could be vocational,’ he said on Thursday, 28 May 2026. Successful SNBT candidates at Unpad are required to complete re-registration according to established procedures and deadlines. They must submit biographical data and upload required documents between 26 May and 3 June 2026, by 5:00 PM WIB. At the University of Education Indonesia (UPI), intense competition was observed in non-education programmes. The S1 Medicine programme was the most competitive, with 748 applicants competing for 15 medical student places, resulting in a 2.01% acceptance rate. Other competitive S1 programmes at UPI included Communication Science with 36 seats and 1,709 applicants (2.11%), Psychology with 76 places from 3,039 applicants (2.50%), Surveying and Geographic Information Science with 45 seats and 1,615 applicants (2.79%), and Management with 60 seats and 1,950 applicants (3.08%). ‘These data indicate that health, communication, business, and social science programmes remain top choices for applicants,’ said UPI’s Head of Communication, Information, and Public Services Vidi Sukmayadi in a statement on Tuesday, 26 May 2026. He noted that most applicants ranked their preferred programmes as their first choice. For Psychology, 1,644 candidates or 54.1% listed it as their first choice. Similarly, 833 applicants or 48.7% of total chose Communication Science as their first preference, while 865 candidates or 44.4% selected Management as their top choice. However, an anomaly was observed in Surveying and Geographic Information Science. ‘Most applicants selected it as their third choice, with 1,236 candidates or 76.5% of total applicants,’ Vidi said. Through the SNBT computer-based written exam (UTBK), UPI’s six campuses accepted 5,576 students from 56,670 total applicants, with an overall acceptance rate of 9.84%.