Offers and enrolment

About offers

Offers are posted by UAC on behalf of the institutions. The six offer rounds are Distance Education, Early, Preliminary, Main, Late and Final. Most offers are made in the Main Round.

If your application is successful, you will receive an offer letter and an information booklet or leaflet from the institution making the offer that explains acceptance and enrolment dates, and procedures. Some institutions will allow you to accept your offer online. You must accept your offer by the date shown otherwise you may lose your offer. Do not let your offer lapse. If you have not received an offer letter contact the institution making the offer.

You could receive an offer in more than one round. If you do, you can choose which course to accept. If you receive an offer in one round and accept it, and then receive an offer in a later round, you can choose either to:
• keep your previous offer and not accept your new offer or
• withdraw from your previous offer and accept your new offer.

Offers from the Distance, Early, Preliminary, Main and Late rounds are scheduled to be published in the media on the official offer publication dates (read Important information about application dates and offers rounds). If you do not want your offer published please write to the Managing Director, UAC before Monday 5 January 2009.

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Distance Education Round

The following institutions are offering distance education courses through UAC for 2009 admissions – Macquarie University, the University of New South Wales, the University of Newcastle and the University of Western Sydney.

Distance Education Round offers:
• can be accessed from 9am on Thursday 30 October 2008 on this website. Follow the online instructions and make sure you have your UAC application number and UAC PIN ready.
• will be posted to arrive at Australian addresses from Friday 31 October 2008. Offers to overseas addresses should arrive a few days after this.
• will be published with Main Round offers on Thursday 22 January 2009.

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Early and Preliminary rounds

Some institutions make a limited number of offers in the Early and Preliminary rounds. Offers in these two rounds are generally made to applicants who have deferred and applicants who are selected predominantly on criteria other than an Australian Year 12. A letter will be sent only to applicants who are made an offer. If you do not receive an offer in the Early Round or the Preliminary Round do not contact UAC. You will be considered in the Main Round.

Early Round offers:
• can be accessed from 9am on Friday 5 December 2008 on this website. Follow the online instructions and make sure you have your UAC application number and UAC PIN ready.
• will be posted to arrive at Australian addresses from Monday 8 December 2008. Offers to overseas addresses should arrive a few days after this.
• will be published with Main Round offers on Thursday 22 January 2009.

Preliminary Round offers:
• can be accessed from 9am on Tuesday 6 January 2009 on this website. Follow the online instructions and make sure you have your UAC application number and UAC PIN ready.
• will be posted to arrive at Australian addresses from Wednesday 7 January 2009. Offers to overseas addresses should arrive a few days after this.
• will be published with Main Round offers on Thursday 22 January 2009.

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Main Round

Most offers are made in the Main Round at which time institutions try to make sufficient offers to fill the places available. In the 2008 admissions period, institutions made more than 59 000 offers in the Main Round.

A letter will be sent to all applicants whether or not they receive an offer in this round.

To be considered in the Main Round, applications must be received at UAC by Friday 12 December 2008.

If you have already submitted an application, you can change your preferences for consideration in the Main Round until Wednesday 7 January 2009. For more information about changing your preferences read Course preferences.

Main Round offers:
• can be accessed from 9pm on Wednesday 21 January 2009 on this website. Follow the online instructions and make sure you have your UAC application number and UAC PIN ready.
• will be posted to arrive at Australian addresses from Thursday 22 January 2009. Offers to overseas addresses should arrive a few days after this.
• will be published on Thursday 22 January 2009, in the The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph and a subset in The Newcastle Herald and The Canberra Times. Details of the UAI cut-offs, which are required by 2008 NSW HSC applicants for entry, will be published, together with details of the courses that still have vacancies.

What happens if you do not receive an offer in the Main Round?
If you are not made an offer you will receive a notice advising why your application was unsuccessful. Wait until you have received your notice before seeking advice. UAC cannot give you any further information other than that provided in the letter. Instead you must call the relevant institution for further advice on your study options. Your preferences will automatically be considered in the same order in the Late Round. If you wish to change the order of your preferences or be considered for other courses, you must change your preferences.

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Late Round

Institutions will make offers in the Late Round only if courses have vacancies after the Main Round. In the 2008 admissions period, more than 7 000 offers were made in the Late Round.

A letter will be sent to all applicants who submitted an application after the Main Round, whether or not they receive an offer in this round.

To be considered in the Late Round, applications must be received at UAC by Friday 23 January 2009.

If you have already submitted an application, you can change your preferences for consideration in the Late Round between Wednesday 21 January 2009 and Tuesday 27 January 2009. For more information about changing your preferences read Course preferences.

Some institutions may not be able to consider changes of preference or new applications submitted between the Main and Late rounds, particularly for courses that use additional selection criteria. Check the institution entries before you submit an application or change of preference.

Also, remember that some institutions may start lectures for new students about the same time that Late Round offers are made.

Late Round offers:
• can be accessed from 9pm on Wednesday 4 February 2009 on this website. Follow the online instructions and make sure you have your UAC application number and UAC PIN ready.
• will be posted to arrive at Australian addresses from Thursday 5 February 2009. Offers to overseas addresses should arrive a few days after this.
• will be published on Thursday 5 February 2009, in the The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph and a subset in The Newcastle Herald and The Canberra Times. Details of the UAI cut-offs, which are required by 2008 NSW HSC applicants for entry, will be published, together with details of the courses that still have vacancies.

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Final Round

Only a very small number of offers are made to applicants in the Final Round. Institutions will make offers in the Final Round only if courses still have vacancies after the Late Round. In the 2008 admissions period, approximately 1 800 offers were made in this round.

A letter will be sent to all applicants who submitted an application after the Late Round, whether or not they receive an offer in this round.

To be considered in the Final Round, applications must be received at UAC by Thursday 5 February 2009.

If you have already submitted an application, you can change your preferences for consideration in the Final Round between Wednesday 4 February 2009 and Thursday 5 February 2009.

Some institutions may not be able to consider changes of preference or new applications submitted between the Late and Final rounds, particularly for courses that use additional selection criteria. Check the institution entries before you submit an application or change of preference.

Final Round offers:
• can be accessed from 9am on Wednesday 11 February 2009 on this website. Follow the online instructions and make sure you have your UAC application number and UAC PIN ready.
• will be posted to arrive at Australian addresses from Friday 13 February 2009. Offers to overseas addresses should arrive a few days after this.
• will NOT be published in the media.

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Accepting offers

Each institution has its own instructions on how to accept your offer. These instructions will be provided to you when you receive your offer. Follow the institution instructions carefully. Make sure you accept your offer by the date specified by the institution or you may lose your offer.

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About enrolment

Each institution has its own procedures for enrolment. For more information, check the institution entries.

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Advanced standing/academic credit

If you have already studied at a tertiary level you may be granted credit for those studies when you enrol. However, each institution has its own policy regarding advanced standing/academic credit, which you should check carefully. For more information, check the institution entries.

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Deferment

Deferment is where you are given permission from your institution to delay starting your course. Deferment is usually for six months or one year. Remember that each institution has its own policy regarding deferment, which you should check carefully. For more information, refer to deferment and the institution entries.

Deferred DFEE students From 1 January 2009 undergraduate domestic fee-paying (DFEE) courses are no longer being offered*. However, students who were offered a place in a DFEE course in 2008 and deferred until 2009 will be able to commence their studies on a fee-paying basis in 2009. Information about enrolling in a deferred DFEE course will be available from the institution. Deferred DFEE students who wish to apply for other courses in 2009 must apply either direct to their institution or through UAC. *There are some exceptions, including arrangements for continuing and deferred students, for students who enrol in employer-reserved places, and for students who have consumed their Student Learning Entitlement(SLE).

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Transferring to another course

Many students enrol in a course with a view to transferring into another course after completing a year’s study.

A typical example is:
• completing one year of a general degree (such as Arts) and then seeking to transfer to a more specialised program (such as Arts/Law)

Transfers such as these are possible but very competitive, usually requiring you to achieve excellent results in your first year of university study.

Remember that each institution has its own requirements for transfers and you should check with the relevant institution for more information before you enrol.

Transferring DFEE students From 1 January 2009 undergraduate domestic fee-paying courses (DFEE) courses are no longer being offered*. However, students who enrolled in a DFEE course before 1 January 2009 and who wish to transfer to another course (including the equivalent Commonwealth-supported place (CSP) course) in 2009 must apply either direct to their institution or through UAC. *There are some exceptions, including arrangements for continuing and deferred students, for students who enrol in employer-reserved places, and for students who have consumed their Student Learning Entitlement (SLE).

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