UAC Preferences 2026: Should You Change Them Before Your ATAR Arrives?

You can review your UAC preferences before your ATAR arrives, but change them because your course choices or information have changed. A difficult HSC paper alone is a shaky basis for removing a course you genuinely want to study.

For domestic undergraduate applicants, the useful starting point is a list in your true order of preference, with alternatives you would actually accept. This guide is for NSW students completing the 2026 HSC and considering university entry in 2027.

Check the October editing pause

UAC preference changes are unavailable from 11:59 pm on Thursday 15 October until 7:30 am on Thursday 22 October 2026, Sydney time. This is the October Round 2 processing window. See the official UAC admissions timetable for current dates.

If you are reading during that pause, you can still research courses and prepare a revised list to enter when changes reopen. The temporary pause does not mean every Year 12 applicant needs to settle their final December choices in October.

Put the course you want most first

UAC allows up to five domestic undergraduate preferences. If a higher choice is unsuccessful, you are considered equally with other eligible applicants for the next one. Placing a course lower does not itself weaken your chance; placing it first does not make you eligible. UAC explains preference order here.

Try this practical question: if you received an offer for every course on your list, which would you choose? Write that order down before looking at entry figures. Then examine whether the courses are realistic options and what alternatives belong alongside them.

A higher entry figure does not automatically make a course a better fit. Course content, location and the kind of work you want to do all deserve a place in the decision.

Give every preference a job

Open the current course page for each option and make a short note covering:

• Interest: which first-year subjects would you look forward to studying?

• Requirements: what prerequisites, assumed knowledge, portfolios, interviews or other selection steps are listed?

• Practical fit: can you manage the campus, travel, timetable and likely costs?

• Timing: is there a course-specific closing date or a separate application step?

• Alternative route: if it is a pathway course, what are the published requirements for progressing?

For example, two courses with similar names may lead to quite different majors. Compare their actual subject lists before deciding they are interchangeable. If your backup option only appeals because somebody called it “easy to get into”, spend more time checking what studying it would involve.

Some courses close earlier than the general offer-round deadlines. Check each course individually rather than assuming the December preference deadline covers every requirement.

Use estimates to explore possibilities

UAC’s ATAR Compass accepts estimated marks, including trial or assessment results, and uses five years of historical scaling data. Its result is a guide; your actual ATAR can differ.

If an estimate changes after an exam, pause before treating the change as a final outcome. Your recollection of an answer is not an official result. A more useful exercise is to identify which courses you would investigate across several possible outcomes, then keep that research ready for results day.

Leave time for the December review

For December Round 2, the preference deadline is 11:59 pm Friday 18 December 2026, with the first ATAR-based offers released at 7:30 am Wednesday 23 December 2026, Sydney time. Institutions and courses can participate in different rounds, so check your chosen course.

Set aside time after results arrive to review your list with accurate information. Save your course notes now, write down unanswered questions for the university, and keep admissions administration from taking over the remaining exam period.

If you would like help focusing your remaining HSC revision, explore North Shore Tutors’ private tutoring or get in touch about the subject support you need.

Dates and guidance checked on 15 October 2026. Confirm current deadlines with UAC and the relevant university.