To be eligible for admission into a USC program you must have achieved an ATAR or selection rank equal to or above the minimum selection threshold in an offer round as well as any subject prerequisites or other admission criteria.

ATAR

From 2020, the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) replaced the Overall Position (OP) as the primary selection mechanism for tertiary admission for Queensland Year 12 students.

The ATAR is a standard measure of a student’s overall academic achievement in relation to that of other students. The ATAR is a percentile rank, not a mark. This rank indicates a student’s position relative to other students in their age group in any given year.

The ATAR is expressed as a number on a 2000-point scale from 99.95 down to 0.00 in steps of 0.05.

An ATAR of 70.00 does not mean a student got 70%. It indicates that the student placed in the top 30% of students in Queensland in their Year 12 age group.

You don’t need an ATAR to get into uni. QTAC may be able to calculate a selection rank based on your other qualifications (eg certificate and diploma studies), or relevant work experience.

Selection rank

Selection ranks range from 1 to 99.95 (with 99.95 being the highest). The use of selection ranks allows applicants with different qualifications to be assessed and compared against each other for entry into a particular program.

Minimum selection threshold

Each year USC determines the minimum selection threshold for each program by the number of places available in the program (the quota), the number of applicants who apply for those places, and the standard of those applicants.

As a result, the minimum selection threshold can vary from semester to semester and offer round to offer round. These thresholds are not pre-determined, therefore last year's minimum selection threshold can only be used as a guide.

Domestic students applying for undergraduate programs may be eligible for adjustments to be applied to their ATAR or Selection Rank under the Access USC Scheme.