After results: selection ranks, offers and pathways

Once ATARs are released, attention turns to the next step: getting into a course. These guides explain how universities actually select students, how to read course entry data, how preferences and offers work, and the many pathways available if your results aren't what you hoped.

Guides in this section

• Selection ranks and adjustments How adjustment factors build your selection rank.
• Reading course entry data ATAR profiles, lowest selection ranks and what they mean.
• Pathways into university VET, bridging courses, diplomas and more.
• Preferences and offers Ordering preferences, key dates and offer rounds.

Selection ranks

UAC explains that admission to most courses is based on your selection rank: your ATAR plus any applicable adjustments. QTAC explains that adjustment factors, previously called bonus points, are added to create a selection rank for a particular course and don't change your ATAR. QTAC lists common types such as equity, subject, location and elite athlete adjustments, and notes that all institutions limit the maximum adjustment.

Course entry data

VTAC explains that courses publish an ATAR profile showing the highest, median and lowest ranks of applicants who received offers in the previous round, both before and after adjustments. The lowest selection rank represents the minimum selection rank needed to have been sure of selection. VTAC stresses that lowest selection ranks aren't set in advance; they're produced by the selection process, and they change from year to year.

Preferences and offers

You apply by listing courses in order of preference, usually through your state's admissions centre. Put the course you most want first, include a range of options and check prerequisites. After results, you can usually change preferences before each offer round. Respond to offers by the deadline, and check deferment policies before accepting if you plan a gap year.

Pathways

SATAC reminds students that the ATAR is just one pathway. QTAC lists alternatives including completed VET qualifications at Certificate III level and above, bridging and preparation courses and courses that don't use the ATAR. Many universities also offer diplomas that lead into degrees and entry options for people who finished school some time ago.

Results day

Plan results day in advance. Know how you'll access your ATAR, have login details ready and arrange time to talk with someone you trust. Admissions centres and universities run advice lines and sessions around results time. Don't make rushed decisions; you'll usually have time to review your preferences.

A results-week checklist

Check your ATAR and selection ranks for each course. Review your preferences against current course information and prerequisites. Look up adjustment and access schemes and their deadlines. Note offer round dates. Talk to your careers adviser or university advisers about anything you're unsure of. Then give yourself a break; you've earned it.

If you're disappointed

Disappointment is normal. Give yourself time, talk to someone and explore pathways. Many students reach their goals by a different route.

Words you will see after results

Offer round: a set date when institutions release offers. Deferment: postponing the start of a course you've accepted. Lowest selection rank: the minimum rank needed to have been sure of an offer in a past round. Access scheme: a program that considers circumstances that affected your study. Pathway: an alternative route into a course, such as a diploma or bridging program. Understanding these terms makes admissions centre information much easier to use.

Five things worth knowing

1. The ATAR is a rank, not a mark, running from 0.00 to 99.95 in steps of 0.05.
2. Scaling aims to be neutral, so choose subjects you enjoy, are good at and need for prerequisites.
3. Most courses select on a selection rank: your ATAR plus any adjustments you're eligible for.
4. Lowest selection ranks aren't set in advance; they result from each year's selection.
5. The ATAR is one pathway, and there are many routes into further study and careers.

About these guides

ATAR Calculator is an independent information site about the ATAR, study and university entry in Australia. We aren't a tertiary admissions centre, curriculum authority, school, university or tutoring company, and we don't predict ATARs, publish cut-offs or recommend particular schools, tutors or courses. Our guides are general information written in our own words, with official sources listed on every page. Rules and dates change each year, so always check with your admissions centre and school.

How we keep these guides current

We review each guide against its sources and show the date it was last checked. Admissions centres update rules, dates and schemes every year. If you notice something out of date, please tell us through our contact page, and we'll check and correct it.

Questions we hear often

Students often ask which subjects "scale best", whether bonus points raise the ATAR, and whether online calculators are accurate. In short: scaling is designed so your subject choices neither help nor hurt you; adjustment factors raise a selection rank, not the ATAR; and SATAC says there's no accurate way to predict an ATAR in advance. Our guides explain each answer in detail, with links to the official sources behind it, so you can check the facts for yourself and ask better questions of your school and admissions centre.

Try the study planner

Our free study planner splits your weekly revision hours between subjects, counts the weeks to your first exam and includes a simple selection rank adder. It runs entirely in your browser, and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.