VCE change of preference closes Sat 12 Dec, 12 noon

VTAC Preference Planner for 2027 Entry

Build your eight preferences, put them in the order you actually want, and see where the offers for 2026 entry would have landed.

Your eight preferences

Up to eight courses, in the order you want them. VTAC gives you at most one offer a round: the highest on your list that says yes.

Optional, and an estimate works. It stays in this browser. Estimate it with the VCE ATAR Calculator

Your list

0 of 8

Pip the Polarbear's read

Nothing to read yet. Start with the course you want most.

    Saved in this browser only, with no account. On a shared computer, clear your list and your ATAR, press Clear all in the VCE ATAR Calculator if you used it, and close this tab when you're done. This is a planner: to change your real preferences, log in to your VTAC account. How to change them on VTAC

    Every figure here is VTAC's own: the lowest selection rank, median selection rank and lowest ATAR for 850 courses and campuses in the January 2026 offer round, and the December 2025 round's lowest selection rank wherever VTAC published one.

    A lowest selection rank is the floor from the 2026 entry rounds, after adjustment factors. It isn't a minimum ATAR, it isn't this year's number, and students under it still get offers, so read it as a guide, not a guarantee. Many courses also need prerequisite subjects, and some select on a test, an interview, an audition or a folio as well, such as the UCAT for medicine. Check each course on VTAC before you list it.

    Ranks from the official VTAC ATAR Profiles Report (January 2026 round), dated 13 January 2026, and VTAC's December 2025 round report · rules and dates from vtac.edu.au, checked November 2026. Polarbear isn't affiliated with VTAC.How we verify

    2027 entry

    When your list has to be right

    For current Victorian Year 12 students, in Melbourne time. VCE results and ATARs come out on Thursday 10 December 2026, 7am. The first close is 53 hours later, so it helps to have a list ready before results day.

    1. December round

      Change of preference closes
      Saturday 12 December 2026, 12 noon
      Offers released
      Wednesday 23 December 2026, 10am

      For current Year 12 students. Most courses make offers in this round, but not all.

    2. January round 1

      Change of preference closes
      Thursday 24 December 2026, 12 noon
      Offers released
      Tuesday 12 January 2027, 2pm

      Every course has to take part in this round.

    3. January round 2

      Change of preference closes
      Wednesday 13 January 2027, 2pm
      Offers released
      Wednesday 27 January 2027, 2pm

      From here on, courses only make offers if they still have places.

    4. February round 1

      Change of preference closes
      Thursday 28 January 2027, 2pm
      Offers released
      Wednesday 3 February 2027, 2pm

      Places permitting.

    5. February round 2

      Change of preference closes
      Thursday 4 February 2027, 2pm
      Offers released
      Tuesday 9 February 2027, 2pm

      Places permitting.

    6. February round 3

      Change of preference closes
      Wednesday 10 February 2027, 2pm
      Offers released
      Tuesday 16 February 2027, 2pm

      The last preference-based round.

    • Change of preference is closed between each close and that round's offers, and open the rest of the time.
    • Some courses can't be added after certain dates. Reorder with the arrows in your VTAC account rather than deleting a course and adding it back.

    Dates from VTAC's key dates page (last updated 21 September 2026), checked November 2026. Interstate, International Baccalaureate and post-school applicants have different dates on the same page. ATAR release dates for every state

    The system

    How VTAC preferences work

    Four rules explain almost everything, and they all point the same way: order your list by what you want.

    1. 1You list up to eight coursesIn the order you want them. You can change the list as often as you like, for free, whenever change of preference is open.
    2. 2Each course decides on its ownSelection officers look at everyone who listed their course. They don't use where you put it, so sitting fourth on your list costs you nothing with that course.
    3. 3You get the highest one that says yesOne offer per round. If your first three don't make you an offer and your fourth does, you get the fourth, and you never hear from anything below it.
    4. 4Then you can go againChange of preference reopens after each round. Take the offer, and VTAC still considers the courses you've listed above it next round. Courses below it are out unless you move them above.

    Sources:VTAC: How to apply for coursesVTAC fact sheet: Course preferences explainedVTAC: OffersVTAC: Changing your course preferences

    Worth unlearning

    Six things students get wrong

    Any of these can cost you a course you wanted. Here is what VTAC actually says.

    • The myth

      “Put the course you're most likely to get first.”

      Put the course you want most first. VTAC's own words: don't make the mistake of listing your course preferences in the order you think you will get into them. If your dream course and your safe course would both make you an offer and the safe one is higher, you get the safe one and never hear from the dream.

      VTAC: How to apply for courses

    • The myth

      “A uni will ignore me if I don't put it first.”

      It doesn't use that. VTAC says course authorities don't make selection decisions based on where you've listed the course: they look at all applicants who listed it, whatever the preference number.

      VTAC fact sheet: Course preferences explained

    • The myth

      “The lowest selection rank is the ATAR I need.”

      It's the lowest ATAR plus adjustment factors that got an offer by January 2026. Nobody sets it ahead of time: it comes out of who applied. In half of the 850 courses and campuses in VTAC's January 2026 report, the lowest ATAR that got an offer was 10 or more points under the lowest selection rank.

      VTAC: Results and the ATAR

    • The myth

      “My ATAR is under the number, so there's no point listing it.”

      VTAC says to list it anyway, first if it's the one you want most. Adjustment factors can lift your selection rank above your ATAR, and the rank may be lower the year you apply. A course that doesn't make you an offer is simply passed over.

      VTAC fact sheet: Course preferences explained

    • The myth

      “If I accept an offer, I'm stuck with it.”

      Accepting doesn't reduce your chances in later rounds. VTAC recommends accepting any offer you receive, because there's no guarantee of another, and you're still considered for the courses you've listed above it.

      VTAC fact sheet: Understanding offers

    • The myth

      “December's offer is the final word.”

      December is the first round for Year 12 students, not the last. Most courses make December offers, but not all, and every course takes part in January round 1. If December brings an offer from lower on your list, VTAC still considers you for everything above it. Floors move between the two: of the 803 courses and campuses here with a figure for both, 171 had a higher floor in December 2025 than by January 2026.

      VTAC: Offers

    Plain words

    What the numbers mean

    ATAR
    A rank, not a score: where you sit against everyone in your age group. VTAC works it out from your scaled study scores.
    Selection rank
    Your ATAR plus any adjustment factors a course applies. It's the number a course actually selects on, and it can differ from course to course.
    Adjustment factors
    Upward adjustments for particular subjects, for circumstances recognised through VTAC's equity schemes (SEAS), and for some courses' own schemes. Subject adjustments are applied to your aggregate, not added to your ATAR, so you can't just add points.
    Lowest selection rank
    The lowest selection rank that received an offer for a course. The floors on this page come from VTAC's January 2026 ATAR profiles, which count the offers made in November and December 2025 as well. The December round has its own figure, shown in a course's details when it differs.
    Prerequisites
    VCE studies a course requires, each with a minimum study score. That's your study score as reported, not the scaled one. Miss a prerequisite and you aren't considered, whatever your ATAR.
    Commonwealth supported place
    A place the government part-funds, with a VTAC code ending in 1. A code ending in 2 is a full-fee place, with no government contribution.

    Working out your own selection rank

    The planner compares your ATAR with each course's lowest selection rank, which is the cautious way round: your selection rank is generally your ATAR or higher. For subject adjustments, VTAC has its own subject adjustment tool. Equity adjustments through SEAS aren't published, so no tool can show you those.

    Sources:VTAC: Results and the ATARVTAC fact sheet: The ATAR profile and selectionVTAC: Lowest selection ranks, December 2025 roundVTAC fact sheet: Eligibility and course requirementsVTAC fact sheet: Understanding offers

    Frequently asked questions

    How should I order my VTAC preferences?
    In the order you want the courses, with the one you want most first. VTAC gives you at most one offer per round: the highest course on your list that wants to make you one. Listing a course you might not get above a safer one costs you nothing, because a course that doesn't make you an offer is passed over. Listing the safer one first can cost you the course you wanted.
    How many preferences can I list with VTAC?
    Up to eight. You need at least one, and VTAC recommends using all eight: the courses you want most at the top, then others you'd be happy to study, with pathway or backup courses at the bottom.
    Does where a course sits on my list affect whether I get in?
    Not with that course. VTAC says course authorities don't make selection decisions based on where you've listed their course: they consider everyone who listed it. Your order only decides which offer you receive when more than one course would make you one.
    What is a lowest selection rank?
    The lowest selection rank that received an offer for a course in an offer round, where a selection rank is an ATAR plus any adjustment factors. It isn't set in advance and it isn't a minimum ATAR. VTAC describes it as a broad indicator of how competitive entry was that year.
    My ATAR is below a course's lowest selection rank. Should I still list it?
    VTAC says yes, if it's a course you want: still list your dream course as your first preference. Your own selection rank may be higher than your ATAR once adjustment factors are added, and the lowest selection rank may be lower in the year you apply. Check the prerequisites, then put a course or two you'd be happy with underneath.
    When does change of preference close for 2027 entry?
    For current VCE students, change of preference closes on Saturday 12 December 2026, 12 noon for the December offer round. VCE results and ATARs come out on Thursday 10 December 2026, 7am, which leaves 53 hours. It reopens when December offers are released on Wednesday 23 December 2026, 10am, and closes again on Thursday 24 December 2026, 12 noon for January round 1. Interstate, International Baccalaureate and post-school applicants have different dates on VTAC's dates page.
    If I accept an offer, can I still get a better one?
    Yes. VTAC recommends accepting any offer you receive, and says accepting doesn't reduce your chances of offers in later rounds. In the next round you're considered for the courses you've listed above the one you were offered. Courses below it aren't considered unless you move them above it while change of preference is open.
    What does the offer replay show?
    Where VTAC's December 2025 and January 2026 offers would have landed on your list, using your ATAR alone: the first course on your list whose lowest selection rank your ATAR reached. That floor comes from VTAC's January 2026 ATAR profiles, which count December's offers too. Where the December round's own floor was higher than your ATAR, the replay says the offer wouldn't have come in December and marks where December's would have landed first. It can't see adjustment factors, prerequisites, interviews, tests or folios, and this year's ranks will be different. It's a guide to how the system works and how your list is shaped, not a prediction.
    I got a December offer for a course lower on my list. Have the ones above it said no?
    No. If you receive an offer in December, VTAC still automatically considers you for the courses you listed above it in later rounds. December's floors can sit above where a course ends up: VTAC notes that further offers are made in January, so the December round's lowest selection rank may not reflect a course's overall selection standard. Of the 803 courses and campuses on this page with a figure for both rounds, 171 had a higher floor in December 2025 than by January 2026. VTAC recommends accepting the offer you have in the meantime, and says accepting doesn't reduce your chances in later rounds.
    Where do the numbers come from?
    From two VTAC reports. The ATAR Profiles Report for the January 2026 domestic offer round gives the lowest selection rank, median selection rank and lowest ATAR for 850 course and campus combinations across 10 institutions. VTAC's report of lowest selection ranks for the December 2025 domestic offer round gives the December figures. Courses that made too few offers, or that don't select on the ATAR, have no published lowest selection rank (VTAC's report shows L/N or N/P for them), so they aren't in the planner's list and you add those by name.
    Does this planner change my VTAC application?
    No. It's a planning tool that runs in your browser. Your list is saved on this device only, and nothing is sent to VTAC. To change your real preferences, log in to your VTAC account while change of preference is open.
    Who can see my list?
    Only you, unless you share it. A shared link carries your courses in order and nothing else: no name and no ATAR. A parent, a friend or a careers teacher who opens it sees the same list and can try an ATAR against it themselves.

    Before and after results day

    No ATAR yet?VCE ATAR CalculatorEstimate your ATAR from your study scores, then bring the number back here.The longer readATAR cutoffs in Victoria, explainedSelection ranks, adjustment factors and guaranteed ATARs.10 DecemberVCE results day 2026When results and ATARs arrive, and what happens next.Everything VCEThe VCE hubExam dates, past papers, mock exams and essay examples.

    The planner covers courses with a published rank in VTAC's report. For every course VTAC offers, with its prerequisites and requirements, use VTAC CourseSearch. Interstate universities take applications through their own admissions centres.

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