Starting from the 2004 Entry, JUPAS applicants who have selected CityU's programmes as their Band A choices (choices one to three) can apply for the Self-Recommendation Scheme offered by the University. The Scheme is another initiative by the University to broaden the admission criteria for applicants with non-academic achievements.

A sub-system offered under the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS), the Self-Recommendation Scheme (SRS) aims at encouraging students to actively participate in extra-curricular activities and to promote all-round education. Students applying via the JUPAS can compile a portfolio of their outstanding achievements in extra-curricular activities and submit it with the JUPAS application. The information will then be sent to the participating institutions, currently the Chinese University, Lingnan University, Hong Kong Institute of Education, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and City University. For CityU, such information will be computed to an aggregate Non-Academic Score (NAS) as a criterion for selection at the main round of admissions in July.

"We support the SRS in order to encourage students to have all-round performance and to increase the intake of students with a variety of talents. Moreover, this scheme is consistent with CityU's emphasis on whole-person development," said Prof Haydn Chen , Chairman of the Subcommittee on Undergraduate Admissions and Head of the Department of Physics and Materials Science. "The Scheme also provides an avenue for departments to select the most suitable candidates for the relevant programmes by considering the applicants' aptitudes and leadership skills as demonstrated from their extra-curricular activities." The SRS complements the current Principal's Nominations Scheme and the University's Outstanding Student Athletes Admission Scheme, enabling more JUPAS applicants to enroll with non-curricular achievements.

Students joining the SRS should submit a portfolio to JUPAS with specifications on four main categories?Xawards from international and local competitions; awards from other local competitions and key positions demonstrating leadership; school/community services; and other extra-curricular activities. Each type of awards will be given a score. The aggregate Non-Academic Score (NAS) and a score for each section will be computed for SRS applicants. The NAS will be used as a criterion for selection during the JUPAS main round exercise (after the choice reprioritization in mid July) and for selecting applicants for interviews if deemed appropriate by departments. To be eligible for consideration under the Scheme, students should have selected CityU programmes as their Band A choices (choices 1 to 3) and fulfilled the relevant programme entrance requirements.

Apart from the SRS, the University supports admission of students with non-academic achievements through the School's Principal's Nominations Scheme and the University's Outstanding Student Athletes Admission Scheme, both offered in 1998. In the 2003 entry, 52 and 38 applicants were successfully admitted via these two schemes, respectively.