ABN 19 070 055 935 ACN 070 055 935
Quad 2, 6 Parkview Drive Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127
post: Locked Bag 112, Silverwater NSW 2128
tel: 1300 ASK UAC (1300 275 822)
From mobiles: (02) 9752 0200 from overseas: +61 2 9752 0200
website: uac.edu.au
Media release – Monday 5 December 2016
For immediate release
University preference statistics for 2017 admissions
UAC has released preference statistics for courses offered through UAC for NSW and ACT universities
in 2017. These statistics include:

a comparison of preference statistics as at 30 November 2015 and 30 November 2016

the number of applicants who actually enrolled in their offered course last year – to place the figures
in context in terms of the size of the institution and its anticipated intake for 2017.
These figures do not include international students.
The following table shows that there has been a varying degree of increases and decreases in the overall
number of first preferences.
UAC provides the information in this release on behalf of participating institutions. For comments, call
the institutions using the contact details provided at the end of this release.
Background information
Preferences – applicants’ choice
UAC applicants can include up to nine courses in their preferences. They can include different types of
courses and different institutions. The order in which applicants list their preferences is crucial to their
application and UAC strongly advises applicants to list their preferences in the order they would most like
to receive an offer.
The course they would most like to do should go first, followed by the course they would like to do
second, and so on. Preferences are considered in the order in which they are listed so applicants will
receive an offer to the first preference on the list for which they are both eligible and competitive enough.
Preference statistics – real or a wish
The average number of preferences per application is five.
Year 12 applicants tend to include more preferences than other applicants, with many listing the
maximum nine preferences. In many cases the courses they include as their first and second preferences
are ‘wishes’ – courses they would really like to receive an offer for but which, in previous years, had a
cut-off higher than the rank they expect to achieve. They include these courses because they have nothing
to lose by listing them as a preference. Cut-offs fluctuate every year and they may get into their dream
course. It’s also very important to remember that cut-offs are not the ATARs of students accepted into
the course as cut-offs include bonus points and most Year 12 students will receive some amount of bonus
points.
For example, each year a considerable number of applicants list medicine and law courses in their higher
order preferences even though their results are below – sometimes well below – the previous year’s
cut-offs for those courses. Some applicants also include in their lower preferences courses for which they
do not intend to accept an offer.
Non-Year 12 applicants tend to list fewer than nine preferences, often including only two or three
preferences in their application. They appear to have more focus, most likely because they have other
factors to take into account when selecting their courses – work, family and/or time commitments.
Some do include nine preferences.
Page 1 of 4
It is therefore reasonable to say that all types of applicants may include ‘phantom’ preferences at the
top and the bottom of their list of course preferences.
In addition, for all applicants there are higher fees for applying after certain dates, so many applicants list
purely random courses when they apply, safe in the knowledge that they can be changed in time for the
offer rounds.
Preference statistics – a static picture of a dynamic situation
Applicants can change their preferences as often as they wish – and often do. The preference statistics in
the attached table show the picture as at 30 November 2016. The numbers change daily and if we took a
snapshot on a different day the numbers would be different.
All applicants can change their preferences at any time until Friday 6 January 2017 for inclusion in the
Main Round of offers.
Most preference changes happen after the release of the ATAR. This is when Year 12 applicants can
re-evaluate their preferences for the Main Round. This year, NSW HSC students receive their ATARs on
Friday 16 December. Based on figures from previous years, UAC expects about 25,000 of these students
to change their preferences after receiving their ATAR.
Knowing their ATAR and looking at cut-offs from previous years, students review and change their
preferences based on what they would really like to do, but they balance this with a realistic appraisal of
courses to which they may qualify for admission.
First preferences – a word of caution
For several reasons, first preference statistics should be used with caution as an indicator of demand for a
particular institution:
1
Applicants may list ‘wish’ courses in their higher-order preferences. Only the applicant knows
what their ‘realistic expectation’ preference is, and whether it is the first, second or even third
preference. Obviously not all applicants list ‘wish’ courses but, historically, of those applicants
receiving offers, only just more than half receive an offer to their first preference. To further
illustrate the shakiness of first preferences as an indicator of real demand, approximately 54 per
cent of offers made in 2016 progressed into actual enrolments.
2
Applicants change their preferences. UAC applicants can change their preferences as often as they
wish. As previously noted, every year about 25,000 current Year 12 applicants take advantage of
this option to review and change their list of preferences after they have received their ATAR.
3
There is a danger that overall demand for courses may be taken to indicate perceived variations in
the quality of the institutions. It is important to be aware of the many reasons applicants have for
choosing particular courses and institutions – proximity to home, financial considerations, the same
course or institution their friends are enrolling in, perceived prestige, etc.
4
Specialised courses, which are often high-demand courses such as medicine, physiotherapy and
law, are not offered at all institutions.
5
The number of preferences is meaningless without consideration of the size of the institution. The
column headed ‘2016 intake through UAC’ in the attached table shows the number of applicants
who actually enrolled in a course for which they received an offer through UAC last year.
6
Some institutions also process applications directly and through interstate tertiary admissions
centres, and the figures provided by UAC may not reflect the total demand for these institutions.
Page 2 of 4
Preference statistics 2017 admissions – summary as at November closing date
2016 intake through
UAC
Australian Catholic University
Australian National University
Charles Sturt University
Macquarie University
Southern Cross University
University of Canberra
University of New England
University of Newcastle
University of Sydney
University of Technology Sydney
University of Wollongong
UNSW Australia
Western Sydney University
Total
No.
% of
total
2,780
2,063
1,128
7,408
677
1,053
237
4,069
6,980
7,703
3,643
6,053
9,577
53,371
5.21%
3.87%
2.11%
13.88%
1.27%
1.97%
0.44%
7.62%
13.08%
14.43%
6.83%
11.34%
17.94%
100.00%
Preference statistics for
2016 admissions
(as at November 2015 closing date)
1st preferences
% of
No.
total
3,467
3,650
3,039
6,486
1,108
1,625
893
7,280
12,136
10,955
5,170
10,623
10,077
76,509
4.53%
4.77%
3.97%
8.48%
1.45%
2.12%
1.17%
9.52%
15.86%
14.32%
6.76%
13.88%
13.17%
100.00%
Total preferences
% of
No.
total
20,272
17,675
14,906
38,763
5,350
12,622
5,985
34,186
65,428
57,038
25,476
57,525
61,023
416,249
4.87%
4.25%
3.58%
9.31%
1.29%
3.03%
1.44%
8.21%
15.72%
13.70%
6.12%
13.82%
14.66%
100.00%
Preference statistics for
2017 admissions
(as at November 2016 closing date)
1st preferences
% of
No.
total
3,297
3,648
2,450
6,483
688
1,683
696
6,669
12,069
11,010
5,225
10,662
9,531
74,111
4.45%
4.92%
3.31%
8.75%
0.93%
2.27%
0.94%
9.00%
16.29%
14.86%
7.05%
14.39%
12.86%
100.00%
Total preferences
% of
No.
total
20,122
17,758
13,628
39,363
3,956
12,584
5,041
32,951
64,842
57,900
26,383
55,727
58,522
408,777
4.92%
4.34%
3.33%
9.63%
0.97%
3.08%
1.23%
8.06%
15.86%
14.16%
6.45%
13.63%
14.32%
100.00%
Notes:
1. Includes all applicants who apply through UAC, excluding internationals, for both 2016 and 2017 admissions.
2. Only NSW & ACT universities are included. CQU, Griffith University, La Trobe University, Australian Maritime College and some private providers, which process a small number of
applications through UAC, are not included.
3. The preference statistics include preferences to all courses – ie both Commonwealth-supported (CSP) and domestic fee-paying (DFEE) courses for Australian students.
4. UAC runs a full-year admissions cycle, however, some institutions have elected to only accept preferences for semester one.
Page 3 of 4
Media contacts for comments
For further information about these statistics, call individual institutions on the numbers given below:
University
Contact person
Position
Telephone
Australian Catholic
University
Jen Rosenberg
National Media Manager
(02) 9739 2513
0407 845 634
Australian National
University
James Grubel
Manager, Strategic
Communications
(02) 6125 7979
Charles Sturt University
Polly McDougall
Senior Public Relations Officer
(02) 6933 4565
Macquarie University
Shannon Kliendienst
Director of Communications
(02) 9850 7456
0407 200 474
Southern Cross University
Ms Brigid Veale
Head of Communications and
Publications
(02) 6659 3006
0439 680 748
University of Canberra
Claudia Doman
Media and Communications
Manager
0408 826 362
University of New England
Milly Taylor
Manager, Business Intelligence
& Data Governance
(02) 6773 2177
University of Newcastle
Joanna Harrison
Media Manager
(02) 4913 8146
0418 445 888
University of Sydney
Kirsten Andrews
Head of Media and PR
(02) 9114 0748,
0413 777 404
University of Technology
Sydney
Terry Clinton
Media Officer
(02) 9514 1623
0419 293 261
University of Wollongong
Andrew Herring
Media Communications
Manager
(02) 4221 5501
UNSW Australia
Denise Knight
Director, UNSW Media Office
(02) 9385 3249
0405 207 685
Western Sydney University
Amanda Whibley
Manager, Media and Public
Relations
(02) 9678 7084
0418 438 399
For further information (media only) email [email protected] or contact:
Raquel Tracy, Communications Officer, UAC on (02) 9752 0775 or
Kim Paino, General Manager, Marketing and Engagement, UAC on (02) 9752 0760 or 0409 155 112
Page 4 of 4