University Applications- Information

FAQs

I am in Year 12. How do I apply for university?

It depends on where you want to go! Some universities have direct applications. If you want to go to most universities in NSW/ACT you need to go through UAC (see next FAQ). If you want to go to uni in a different state you need to go to that states Tertiary Admissions Centre (see next FAQ).

What is UAC?

UAC stands for Universities Admissions Centre. This is where you apply for most university courses in NSW and the ACT. Each state has their own Tertiary Admissions Centres. If you want to go to uni in Victoria for example, you need to apply through VTAC. A full list of these is at the end of this communication.

You also apply through UAC for other schemes such as the Educational Access Scheme (EAS) which is for students who have experienced long-term disadvantage due to circumstances beyond their control in Years 11 and/or 12

How do I apply through UAC?

You will have been emailed a PIN in April. The email came from UAC and was sent to ALL year 12 students. If you can’t find it you need to call UAC to get your PIN reissued (contact details below).

Go to www.uac.edu.au and click on ‘undergraduate application’ under the ‘Apply or Log in’ drop down menu in the top right hand corner. You then use your student number (the same number that you use at Dickson College) and your PIN to begin your application.

Contact UAC

PHONE1300 ASK UAC (1300 275 822)

from mobile (02) 9752 0200

8.30am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday

What am I applying for?

Once you have started your application, you can then choose up to 5 preferences. A preference is an undergraduate degree. You can have your preferences for courses at different universities or all from the same university. An example of a preference list might be something like this:

1. Bachelor of Business – University of Wollongong

2. Bachelor of Business (Management) – University of Canberra

3. Bachelor of Business (International Business) – University of Canberra

4. Bachelor of Communication and Media – University of Canberra

5. Bachelor of Accounting – Charles Sturt University

You can log back in to your application an unlimited number of times throughout the year and change these preferences if you wish. This process is free.

How much does it cost?

The application costs $70 if you do it before 30^th September and goes up to $200 if you do it after the 30^th September. It is well worth doing the application before the 30^th September even if you aren’t sure yet what you want to apply for because you can always log back in and change your preferences at any time throughout the year.

How do I receive offers?

At various points throughout the year, UAC will release ‘Offer Rounds’. The main offer round (that is based on your ATAR result) is 22nd December but there are a few early offer rounds previous to this.

The way the offer system works is that UAC will look at your first preference first. If you get an offer for that course, they will stop looking at your preferences below that. If you don’t get an offer for your first preference, they will look at your second preference. If you get an offer for your second preference, they will stop looking at your preferences below that but will again consider your first preference in later offer rounds. The main thing to take from this is that you need to put your preferences in order of what you want the most!

Once you receive an offer for a course, you can accept that offer and then remove it from your preference list. You can then be considered for your other preferences in subsequent rounds. You might end up with multiple offers. You can accept them all and then decide later which one you actually want to choose to study.

What is the Educational Access Scheme (EAS)?

Educational Access Schemes (EAS) aim to help students (who are domestic applicants), whose education has been negatively affected during Year 11 and/or Year 12 (or equivalent), receive an offer to university. The scheme works by increasing your selection rank for courses you have applied for. This can be by up to 5 points but is dependent on individual institutions and their criteria. There are 9 categories of disadvantage that are considered under the EAS and the supporting documentation that is required for each category is outlined at the following website: https://www.uac.edu.au/future-applicants/scholarships-and-schemes/educational-access-schemes/disadvantages-and-documents

Schools Recommendation Scheme (SRS)

This is a program run through UAC where universities will give students an offer to an eligible course based on the school’s rating of you (rather than your actual academic results). Not all universities participate in this scheme and not all courses are available at participating universities. UAC asks the school to rate you on a few different factors (such as commitment to achieving long-term goals) and to tell them whether or not the school believes you are capable of studying successfully at a university level of education. Dickson College takes this responsibility seriously and have implemented our own application process in addition to the UAC process to assess whether or not we will recommend students using this scheme.

You can check whether the course you want to study is eligible under the SRS at the following link: https://www.uac.edu.au/future-applicants/scholarships-and-schemes/schools-recommendation-schemes/institution-specific-srs-criteria

The SRS application process involves three steps:

1. Complete your UAC application as outlined above

2. Apply for the SRS through the UAC website (find it in the ‘apply or log in’ drop down menu on the top right corner of the website)

3. Apply to be considered by Dickson College through the Careers Office application form (available from the Careers Office and on the Careers Google Classroom).

The due date is Friday 3rd September (Week 8)

There is a separate page on this website that is dedicated to the SRS and the application process.

State Admissions Centres

• NSW and ACT - UAC (www.uac.edu.au )

• Victoria - VTAC (www.vtac.edu.au)

• Queensland - QTAC (www.qtac.edu.au )

• South Australia - SATAC (www.satac.edu.au)

• Western Australia - TISC (www.tisc.edu.au)

• Tasmania – UTAS (www.utas.edu.au)

• Northern Territory – (www.cdu.edu.au )

The pdf below has been produced by UAC and has lots of information on applying for uni. There are some NSW heavy sections, but also a lot of information relevant to ACT Year 12 students. Click the top corner to view in a new tab for greater navigation tools.