UAI questions and answers
When is your UAI calculated?
You will receive a UAI the first year you are eligible for a UAI. If you complete additional courses or repeat courses you have completed, your UAI will be recalculated.
^topAre all courses included in the calculation of your UAI?
Only UAI courses can be used in the calculation of your UAI. UAI courses are Board Developed courses for which there are formal examinations conducted by the Board of Studies that yield a graded assessment. These are the only courses that can be included in the UAI calculations.
^topAcceleration or accumulation?
As far as the calculation of your UAI is concerned, no distinction is made between acceleration and accumulation. You can accumulate courses over a period of up to five years. This five-year period is a 'rolling period': if you wish to go beyond the five years you will have your UAI based on your marks from the most recent five years.
Your UAI is based on the aggregate of scaled marks in 10 units as described above, irrespective of the year in which the courses are completed within the five-year span. This means that you may, subject to the approval of your school, sit courses ahead of your cohort and they will be available for inclusion in the calculation of your UAI.
^topWhat are Distinction courses?
Distinction courses are one-year courses generally undertaken in Year 12. To be eligible to undertake a Distinction course you must successfully accelerate a year ahead of your cohort in at least one HSC course studied at the highest level. Following consideration of your overall school performance, level of achievement in the accelerated HSC course and your school principal's recommendation, the Board of Studies may offer you a place in a Distinction course.
Distinction courses are accredited as two-unit courses and are scaled in the same way as other courses. There is no restriction on the number of Distinction courses that can be included in the calculation of your UAI.
^topWhat does satisfactorily completed mean?
- You will be considered to have satisfactorily completed a course if in the principal's view there is sufficient evidence that you have:
- followed the course of study prescribed by the Board
- applied yourself with diligence and sustained effort to the set tasks and experiences provided in the course by the school
- achieved some or all of the course outcomes.
Receiving a mark for a course on your Record of Achievement issued by the Board of Studies is an indication that you have satisfactorily completed that course.
^topDoes an Extension course have to be completed at the same time as the corresponding 2 unit course?
No. If you wish, you can complete the 2 unit course one year and the Extension course in a later year. If you are adding an Extension course and withdraw, the marks from the 2 unit course that you have already done will be available for inclusion in the calculation of your UAI.
^topHow do English Extension courses work?
Irrespective of whether you complete the courses in one year or over two or more years, the unit value of the courses always stays the same. English Advanced = 2 units, English Extension 1 = 1 unit, and English Extension 2 = 1 unit.
The two (or three) courses are available for inclusion in the calculation of the UAI. The course/s with the highest scaled marks will be used first to satisfy the best two units of English requirement.
^topHow do Mathematics Extension courses work?
You can study:
1. Mathematics which has a unit value of 2
2. Mathematics and Mathematics Extension 1 which have unit values of
2 and 1 respectively
3. Mathematics Extension 1 and Mathematics Extension 2 both of which have a unit value of 2.
If you complete Mathematics you can add Mathematics Extension 1, which has a unit value of 1, in a later year.
If you complete Mathematics and Mathematics Extension 1 you can add Mathematics Extension 2 in a later year. In this case Mathematics is no longer available for your UAI and the unit value of each Extension course is 2.
If you enrol in Mathematics Extension 1 and Mathematics Extension 2, and decide to drop the Extension 2 course, you must then complete the 2 unit Mathematics course. The unit values are 2 for Mathematics and 1 for Mathematics Extension 1.
^topWill I be notified if my UAI is recalculated?
Your UAI will be recalculated if you complete additional courses or repeat courses you have completed, and you will receive a new UAI Advice Notice.
^topWhich UAI is used for selection purposes?
Institutions use your latest UAI for selection purposes. This could be better or worse than a previous UAI.
^topIf I'm eligible to get bonus points, does my UAI change?
No. If universities allocate bonus points they are not added to your UAI. Bonus points are not UAI points, they are just that – bonus points. Bonus points don't change your UAI; bonus points change your selection rank.
- There are some instances where your UAI might change:
- if the Board of Studies provides amended HSC results to UAC
- if you complete additional courses and
- if you repeat courses you have already completed.
If it does change, you will receive a new UAI Advice Notice. Otherwise, your UAI never changes.
^topIf bonus points don't increase my UAI, then how do they work?
Universities allocate bonus points for different circumstances. Examples include students with strong performance in HSC subjects, students who live or attend school in an area defined by the university and students who have applied for special consideration through Educational Access Schemes.
For most Year 12 applicants, their selection rank for university entrance is their UAI. However, if universities allocate bonus points to you, then your selection rank = UAI+bonus points. As the bonus points schemes for each university, and often for each course at the same university, are different then your selection rank can be different for each course you list in your course preferences.
UAC's You and your UAI booklet has more frequently asked questions about the UAI.
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