✅UTME (Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination) is for students coming straight from secondary school with WAEC/NECO/NABTEB results.
They write JAMB and then seek admission into 100 level.
✅Direct Entry (DE), on the other hand, is for students who already have higher qualifications like OND, NCE, HND, or A’levels.
With DE, you don’t start from 100 level but usually gain admission into 200 level (sometimes 300 level) depending on the school and course.
So, the key difference is: UTME = admission into 100 level with O’level + JAMB, while Direct Entry = admission into 200/300 level with higher qualifications.