How do institutions select applicants?
The institutions decide who they will make offers to. UAC doesn't select applicants, or have the power to persuade institutions to make a particular offer, or question decisions made by institutions.
For offer rounds where all preferences are being considered, your course preferences are considered in the order you have listed them on your application. You can choose up to nine course preferences. If there is no place available in the course listed as your first preference, your second preference will be considered and so on until an offer can be made or you have no more preferences.
In some offer rounds only your first preference will be considered. For information about choosing your courses, course preferences and offers read:
Different courses select applicants in different ways
You must meet the admission requirements outlined in Australian and New Zealand secondary studies, Australian tertiary studies, overseas qualifications and alternative entry before you can be considered for a course.
For most courses, you'll be selected mainly on your academic qualifications.
For example, 2011 Year 12 applicants may be selected on the basis of their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) or equivalent.
For non-Year 12 applicants, the ATAR or equivalent alone is generally not applicable. Most institutions take into account one or more of the following when considering your application:
- secondary studies
- postsecondary studies
- tertiary studies and
- other relevant factors such as employment experience and special circumstances.
Some courses select applicants on the basis of additional selection criteria such as a personal statement, questionnaire, portfolio of work, interview or test. Other courses may use a combination of both academic qualifications and additional selection criteria.
Additional selection criteria can be found in the course descriptions available through the course search.
