Ep 121 - What If I Don't Get the ATAR I Need? How to Prepare for Your VTAC Preferences
What happens if you don't get the ATAR you were hoping for?
If you're in Year 12, you might be spending a lot of time thinking about your first preference — but it's just as important to think about what you'll do if your ATAR is higher or lower than you expect.
In this Q&A episode, I explain how to prepare your VTAC preferences before you receive your results, what you can do after your ATAR is released, and why not getting the ATAR you hoped for doesn't necessarily mean you can't study the course or pursue the career you want.
The most important thing is to have a plan before results day.
What we're talking about:
What happens if I don't get the ATAR I need for my first preference?
First, don't panic.
Your VTAC preferences aren't locked in forever when you submit your application. There are opportunities to change your preferences, including after you receive your ATAR.
For the 2026 Year 12 cohort applying for courses commencing in 2027, VCE results and ATARs are released on 10 December 2026. Current VCE students can then change their preferences before the December offer round, with change of preference closing at 12 noon on 12 December 2026. There are further change-of-preference periods around later offer rounds.
That means you don't necessarily need to decide everything based on what you think your ATAR will be.
Use the change-of-preference period
One of the most useful things to understand about VTAC is that you can continue to change your preferences during the designated change-of-preference periods.
So if your results aren't what you expected, you can look at your options again.
You might:
move another course higher on your preference list
add a course with a lower selection rank
consider a similar course at another university
look at a pathway course
consider a related degree
investigate TAFE or diploma pathways
consider transferring later
reconsider the combination of course and university you're applying for
VTAC allows applicants to add, remove and reorder preferences during the relevant change-of-preference periods (Please note that there are some courses, particularly Medicine and courses with extra requirements such as auditions, that have an early closing date. You will not be able to add these courses after their early deadline. Check the VTAC website or the course page for more information.)
But don't wait until results day to start thinking about your alternatives
This is the part I particularly want Year 12 students and parents to think about.
You don't want to be sitting at your computer on ATAR day thinking, “What else could I possibly do?”
Instead, prepare a Plan B — or even a Plan C — beforehand.
One approach is to structure your VTAC preference list so that it includes courses with a range of entry requirements.
That means you might have your most ambitious options towards the top, followed by courses where your chances of receiving an offer are stronger.
Another option is to have a separate list of alternative courses ready to go.
If your ATAR comes in lower than you hoped, you can look at that list and decide which alternatives you want to move into your actual preference list.
This can make results day feel much less overwhelming because you've already done the research.
What should be on your backup list?
Your alternative list doesn't have to be a list of courses you don't want.
Look for options that still move you towards something you're interested in.
For example, you could investigate:
A similar course at another university
Perhaps the course you want is offered at several universities with different selection requirements.
A related course
There may be another degree that covers many of the same areas or provides a pathway towards a similar career.
A pathway program
Some universities have diploma or other pathway arrangements that can provide an alternative route into further study.
TAFE or other vocational pathways
Depending on your career goal, a TAFE qualification may be a useful starting point in its own right or a pathway into further study.
Starting somewhere else and transferring
In some circumstances, students can begin in another course or institution and later apply to transfer.
The important thing is to investigate these options before you need them.
What if I don't get into my preferred university?
Not getting the ATAR required for a particular course or university doesn't automatically mean you've lost your opportunity to pursue your career.
You might be able to:
study a similar course elsewhere
enter through a pathway program
start in a related course
complete a diploma and progress into a degree
transfer later
take a different route towards the same career
The right option will depend on the particular course and career you're interested in, so this is where researching pathways is really important.
An ATAR isn't a prediction of your future career
It's also worth remembering what an ATAR actually is.
Your ATAR is used as part of the selection process for university courses. It doesn't tell you how successful you'll be in your future career.
A student who receives a lower ATAR than they hoped for can still go on to develop valuable skills, complete further study, gain professional experience and build a career they love.
Your ATAR matters for what options are available to you at a particular point in time.
It doesn't have to define where you eventually end up.
Don't forget about courses with early closing dates
There is one important caveat to all of this.
Although there are opportunities to change your preferences later, not every course can simply be added at the last minute.
Some courses have earlier application deadlines because they have additional selection requirements such as auditions, interviews or other tasks.
VTAC specifically advises students to check the course entry and selection criteria because some courses cannot be added after their early closing date.
This can be particularly important for courses such as Medicine and courses that require auditions or other additional selection processes.
So if one of these courses is something you might want to consider, don't leave it off your original application assuming you can add it after your ATAR comes out.
Check the individual course requirements and closing dates carefully.
Your VTAC preference list is a plan, not a prediction
I think this is the most useful way to think about your preferences.
You're not trying to predict exactly what ATAR you're going to receive.
You're creating a list of options that reflects what you would like to study, while also making sure you have alternatives if your results don't turn out exactly as expected.
And remember: VTAC says your courses should be listed in the order you'd most like to study them.
So don't put a course lower simply because you think you're unlikely to get the ATAR for it.
Put your preferences in the order you actually want them.
Then make sure you've researched enough alternatives that you can make sensible changes if you need to.
The big takeaway
Don't wait until ATAR day to work out what you'll do if you don't get the result you hoped for.
Before results are released, make sure you know:
What are my first-choice courses?
What courses have lower entry requirements that I'd genuinely be happy to study?
Are there similar courses at other universities?
Are there pathway options?
Could I start somewhere else and potentially transfer later?
Are there any courses I'm interested in that have early closing dates or additional selection requirements?
If you've answered those questions before results day, you'll be in a much better position to make decisions when your ATAR actually arrives.
And if your ATAR isn't what you hoped for, remember that you haven't suddenly run out of options.
You may simply need to take a different route.