How to Order Your UAC Preferences for University Offers

How should you order your UAC preferences? Put the university course you genuinely most want to study first, then rank your remaining choices in the order you would actually prefer to receive them. Don’t put an easier-to-enter course first just because you think it will improve your chances of getting an offer.

For domestic NSW HSC students applying through UAC, your preference order determines which eligible course you receive an offer for. It does not increase your selection rank or make you more competitive for a particular course.

The distinction is important: UAC considers your preferences from top to bottom, but you should order them by what you want, not by how difficult you think they will be to get into.

This guide focuses on domestic Year 12 applicants using UAC’s undergraduate application for semester 1, 2027 entry. International applicants and students applying directly to institutions may have different processes.

01How does UAC preference ordering work?

Imagine you have listed five university courses in your UAC application. UAC considers them in the order you’ve entered them.

For each course, the relevant institution considers whether you:

• Meet the course’s admission requirements.
• Are competitive enough for a place based on the applicable selection criteria.

If you meet both conditions for your first preference, you receive an offer for that course. UAC does not continue checking your lower preferences in that offer round.

If you aren’t eligible or competitive enough for your first preference, your second preference is considered. The process continues until an offer can be made or your preference list runs out.

For domestic undergraduate applicants, you can receive only one offer in each offer round.

There are two important consequences.

First, putting a course higher does not improve your chances of being selected for it.

UAC explicitly states that your chance of selection for a course is not reduced because you placed it lower on your preference list. You are considered on the same basis as other eligible applicants for that course.

Second, putting a course lower can affect which offer you receive.

If you’re competitive enough for your first preference, UAC offers you that course and does not consider your lower preferences in that round.

This is why genuine preference order matters.

Eligibility and competitiveness are different

Before looking at an example, it’s worth separating two ideas that are often confused.

Eligibility means meeting the course’s admission requirements. These might include:

• Completing a particular HSC subject.
• Meeting a specified standard in an HSC subject.
• Satisfying English language requirements.
• Completing an audition, interview, portfolio or other additional selection requirement.

Competitiveness means having a sufficiently strong selection rank or meeting the relevant selection criteria compared with other applicants.

For most university courses, your selection rank is based on your ATAR plus any applicable adjustment factors.

Your selection rank may therefore be different from your ATAR, and it can vary between courses at different institutions.

If you’re unsure about this distinction, read What Is the Difference Between an ATAR and a Selection Rank?.

03How should you choose your actual preferences?

Knowing the offer system is one thing. Deciding which courses belong on your list is another.

A useful approach is to separate your decisions into three stages.

1. Rank courses by genuine preference

Start by asking yourself:

If I received offers for every course on this list, which one would I actually choose?

That course belongs at number one.

Repeat the process with your remaining choices.

Think about:

• The subjects and majors you would study.
• Whether the degree leads towards the career or further study you’re considering.
• Whether you prefer the course structure at one institution.
• Campus location, travel time and study arrangements.
• Opportunities for practical experience, placements or specialisations.
• Whether the course offers flexibility if your interests change.

Don’t rank a course highly just because its name sounds prestigious or because you think it will be easier to enter.

You are choosing where you might spend several years studying. The actual course matters.

2. Include realistic alternatives

Your first preference can be ambitious. Your entire list shouldn’t depend on receiving an offer for one highly competitive course.

Consider including:

• Courses with selection ranks that appear more achievable.
• Related degrees at other institutions.
• Diploma courses or other recognised pathways into your preferred area.
• Alternative courses that share subjects or career directions with your first choice.

UAC recommends including a backup course that you’re confident you could receive an offer for and would genuinely be happy to study.

For example, if you want to study engineering, a related diploma may provide an alternative route towards further engineering study.

However, check the actual pathway arrangements. Don’t assume every diploma provides automatic entry or credit towards a particular bachelor’s degree.

A backup should be a course you would seriously consider, not something you’ve added simply to fill another preference.

3. Use selection ranks to assess your options, not to determine their order

Previous years’ lowest selection ranks can help you understand how competitive a course has been.

However, they are historical information, not guaranteed entry requirements for the next intake.

The lowest selection rank can change depending on:

• The number of places available.
• The number of applicants.
• The academic competitiveness of those applicants.

Adjustment factors can also affect the selection rank used for a particular course.

The UAC admission criteria explain how these factors influence selection.

A sensible approach is to use previous selection ranks to assess whether your list contains a reasonable range of options.

Don’t move your genuine first choice down simply because its previous selection rank was higher than you expect to achieve.

Also, remember that you don’t have to fill all five preferences. If only two courses genuinely interest you, listing two is perfectly reasonable.

04UAC preferences are not the same as choosing HSC subjects

This is an important distinction, particularly if you’re still in Year 11 or planning your Year 12 subjects.

Choosing HSC subjects and ordering university preferences are two separate decisions.

Your HSC subject choices can affect your eligibility for certain university courses, but they do not determine the order of your UAC preferences.

There are four different sets of rules to understand.

For example, suppose you want to study engineering at university.

A particular engineering course might require you to have completed Mathematics Advanced at HSC level.

That requirement is set by the university, not by the order in which you list the course in UAC.

If you haven’t completed the prerequisite, placing engineering at preference number one won’t overcome the problem.

At the same time, NESA has its own rules governing the HSC pattern of study and course completion. Your school must also manage subject availability and its internal subject-selection processes.

A school might have an earlier deadline for changing subjects, for example. That is a school-specific process, not a UAC preference deadline or a statewide rule.

05What happens after you receive a UAC offer?

Receiving an offer doesn’t necessarily mean you have to stop considering other courses.

You can accept an offer and still be considered in later offer rounds, but you need to understand how your preference list works after an offer.

Let’s say your preferences are:

You receive an offer for Bachelor of Science, your second preference.

You accept the offer, but you still want to be considered for Engineering in a later round.

You also want the Diploma of Engineering to remain an option.

Here is the important detail: if you leave your preferences unchanged, UAC will consider only your first preference in subsequent rounds.

Your third and fourth preferences won’t automatically remain active for consideration.

UAC explains this situation in its guide to changing preferences after receiving an offer.

How to keep your options open

If you want to pursue other courses:

1. Accept your current offer by the deadline specified by the institution.
2. Log in to your UAC application.
3. Remove the course you’ve received an offer for from your active preference list.
4. Reorder your remaining courses according to your current genuine preferences.
5. Submit the changes before the next offer round’s preference deadline.

Your accepted offer is not automatically lost when you change your UAC preferences. As long as you’ve accepted it, you can retain that place while being considered for other courses.

If you receive another offer, you can decide whether to keep your original offer or accept the new one and withdraw from the original course.

If both offers are from the same institution, check its policy on holding multiple offers. You may need to give up your first offer to accept the second.

Never reject or ignore an offer simply because you hope a better one will arrive later. UAC advises applicants not to assume they will receive another offer in a subsequent round.

06Important UAC dates and fees for 2027 university entry

If you’re completing your NSW HSC in 2026 and applying for semester 1, 2027 entry, the following dates are relevant.

These details were checked against UAC’s official information on 9 November 2026.

A few details are worth noting:

• The 26 November deadline is for applying and paying to be considered in the main December offer round.
• The 18 December deadline is specifically for changing preferences before that round.
• Not every institution makes offers to every course in December. Some courses make offers in later rounds.
• You should check the relevant institution’s participation and course-specific offer dates rather than assuming every course follows the same schedule.

You can check the full schedule on the official UAC key dates page.

How much does a UAC application cost?

For 2027 undergraduate applications, the standard UAC application processing charge is currently $215.

The early bird fee of $82 ended on 30 September 2026. The standard $215 fee applies from 1 October 2026 until the 2027 application closing date of 5 February 2027.

There is no additional charge for changing your course preferences after submitting your application.

One practical point: UAC advises that payment may take up to three working days to clear with your financial institution and appear in your application. Don’t leave payment until the final few hours before a deadline.

Check the UAC application processing charges before submitting your application.

07Questions and solutions

Question 1

Daniel has listed three courses in his UAC application:

1. Bachelor of Engineering
2. Bachelor of Science
3. Diploma of Engineering

He meets the admission requirements for all three courses. However, his selection rank isn’t competitive enough for Engineering, but it is competitive enough for both Science and the Diploma.

Which course will he receive an offer for in the current offer round?

Solution 1

Daniel will receive an offer for Bachelor of Science, his second preference.

UAC first considers Engineering. Because Daniel isn’t competitive enough for a place, it moves to his second preference.

He meets the requirements for Science and is competitive enough for an offer, so the process stops there.

His third preference isn’t considered in that round.

This demonstrates why you should list your courses in genuine preference order. UAC will move down the list if it cannot make an offer for a higher preference.

Question 2

Sophie wants to study Engineering, but she is worried that her selection rank might not be high enough.

She also likes Science and believes she has a much better chance of receiving an offer for it.

She lists Science as her first preference and Engineering as her second preference.

Assume she is competitive enough for both courses and meets all their admission requirements.

Does putting Engineering second reduce her chance of being selected for Engineering? What course will she receive an offer for in this round?

Solution 2

Putting Engineering second does not reduce her competitiveness for Engineering, but Sophie will receive an offer for Science in this round.

The reason is that she is already competitive enough for her first preference.

UAC therefore makes an offer for Science and stops considering her lower preferences.

If she had reversed the order, Engineering would have been considered first. Because she is competitive enough for that course, she would receive an Engineering offer instead.

The tempting strategy is to put the easier course first to secure a backup. However, this can result in receiving an offer for a course you like less, even when you are competitive enough for your preferred course.

Sophie should put Engineering first if it is genuinely the course she would choose.

Question 3

Olivia wants to study a competitive university course.

Her ATAR is below the lowest selection rank published for that course in the previous year. However, she may be eligible for adjustment factors that increase her selection rank for this particular course.

She has also satisfied the course prerequisites.

Should Olivia assume she is ineligible for the course, or should she assume that the adjustment factors guarantee an offer?

Explain how she should use the previous year’s selection rank when deciding whether to include the course in her preferences.

Solution 3

Olivia should not assume either outcome. She should consider the course if it genuinely interests her, but she must not treat the previous year’s selection rank or potential adjustments as a guarantee of admission.

Her ATAR is not necessarily the rank the university will use when considering her application.

If she qualifies for the relevant adjustment factors, her selection rank may be higher than her ATAR.

There is another complication: the lowest selection rank can change between years. It depends on available places, applicant numbers and the competitiveness of the applicant pool.

Therefore, the previous year’s figure is a guide, not a fixed entry requirement for the next intake.

Olivia should check the institution’s adjustment-factor rules, calculate which selection rank may apply to her circumstances, and include realistic alternatives in her preference list.

She should not automatically remove her preferred course simply because her ATAR is below last year’s figure.

Question 4

Lucas is planning to study engineering at university.

The course he wants has a published HSC subject prerequisite. Lucas hasn’t completed that subject, but he expects to achieve a strong ATAR.

He plans to put Engineering at preference number one.

Can his high selection rank or first preference position compensate for the missing prerequisite? Explain the difference between the roles of NESA, his school, the university and UAC in this situation.

Solution 4

No. Lucas’s first preference position and strong selection rank cannot automatically replace a course prerequisite.

The university sets its own admission requirements. If Lucas hasn’t met a required prerequisite, he may be ineligible regardless of his selection rank.

The different organisations have separate responsibilities:

• NESA determines the HSC curriculum, course requirements and credential rules.
• His school manages subject availability, timetabling and its own subject-selection processes.
• The university determines the engineering course’s prerequisites and other admission criteria.
• UAC processes his application and preferences, but the university makes the selection decision.

Lucas should contact the university to check whether an equivalent qualification or alternative pathway is available.

He should also investigate related courses that could lead towards engineering.

The key point is that changing the UAC preference order cannot change his HSC subject history or override the university’s admission requirements.

Question 5

Harper has submitted the following UAC preferences:

Harper meets the admission requirements for all four courses.

In the December offer round, she isn’t competitive enough for Engineering, but she is competitive enough for Science and the Diploma.

She receives an offer for her second preference, Bachelor of Science, and accepts it before the institution’s deadline.

After researching the courses further, Harper decides she would also like to be considered for the Diploma of Engineering in January. She wants to keep her accepted Science offer as a fallback.

She leaves her UAC preferences unchanged.

Explain which courses will be considered in the next offer round. What should Harper change if she wants to be considered for the Diploma while retaining her accepted Science offer? What happens if she subsequently receives a Diploma offer?

Solution 5

Harper will only be considered for her original first preference, Bachelor of Engineering, in the next offer round if she leaves her preferences unchanged.

Her accepted Science offer does not automatically keep her lower preferences active.

This is a particularly important detail because it is easy to assume that accepting a second preference leaves the third, fourth and fifth preferences available for later consideration.

UAC’s actual process works differently.

Step 1: Understand what happened in December.

Harper received an offer for her second preference because she wasn’t competitive enough for her first preference.

She accepted the offer, so she has secured her place in Bachelor of Science.

Step 2: Identify which courses remain under consideration.

If she leaves the original list unchanged, UAC’s published rules mean she will only be considered for her first preference in subsequent rounds.

Her third preference, the Diploma of Engineering, won’t be considered.

Step 3: Change her preferences before the next deadline.

Harper should remove Bachelor of Science from her active preference list.

She can then reorder the remaining courses:

She should keep Engineering first if it remains her genuine first choice.

Now, if she isn’t competitive enough for Engineering in January, UAC can consider the Diploma next.

Step 4: Understand what happens to her accepted Science offer.

Changing her UAC preferences does not automatically cancel the Science offer she has already accepted.

As long as she has accepted it correctly and followed the institution’s instructions, she can retain that place while being considered for other courses.

Step 5: Decide what to do if another offer arrives.

If Harper receives an offer for the Diploma, she can decide whether to:

• Keep her existing Science offer and decline the Diploma.
• Accept the Diploma and withdraw from Science.
• Hold both offers, subject to the relevant institutions’ acceptance policies.

Because the Science and Diploma offers are from different providers in this example, she can consider the options separately, following each provider’s instructions.

The important constraint is that an accepted offer and an active UAC preference list are two different things.

Accepting a course protects your place, but you must actively update your preferences if you want UAC to consider other courses in later rounds.

This is why checking your preference list after every offer is just as important as getting the original order right.

Once your UAC preferences reflect what you genuinely want to study, the next step is checking that you meet each course’s admission requirements and understanding the selection rank that will be used. Those two checks will help you build a preference list that balances your ambitions with realistic alternatives.