Pathways 

What happens in Pathways?

Pathways focuses on developing a student’s individual career development.  This is a lifelong process of managing life, learning and work (paid and unpaid) over our lifespan.  Career development provides the ability to make informed decisions, manage and transition through change for a personally determined future.

Young people build their career development through self-awareness; understanding how they make decisions and how these decisions impact future aspirations.  Through identifying interests, values and preferred learning styles through careers exploration activities such as Morrisby in Yr9 and Career Tools in Year 10.  The ability to research a wide range of career options helping them to select subjects they may enjoy learning whilst aligning to tertiary course pre-requisite requirements in the future.  Additionally, young people juggle the expectations and requirements of school, extra-curricular activities, sport and family responsibilities, part-time work and social interests which further enhances their evolving Career Development. 

To further assist your Career Development please visit  vscpathways.com  an easy to use interface with links to various career resources, career videos, career bullseyes, course exploration, tertiary admission publications, options for Senior School: VET in the VCE or VCE VM, work experience, newsletter, money matters, workplace health and safety information, study skills advice, links to Youth Central website plus lots of helpful resources for both Students and Parents.  We encourage all VSC students and their families to explore the Pathways website to assist in making informed decisions about their future. 

VSC Pathways Team! 

What is the ATAR and when do I receive it?

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is a ranking system showing a student’s achievement in relation to other VCE students across Victoria.  The ATAR is calculated by the Victorian Tertiary Admission Centre (VTAC) solely for the use of tertiary providers (Universities, TAFE’s, private colleges and registered training organisations) to compare the overall achievement of students who completed different combinations of VCE studies.  

VTAC forwards the ATAR together with the application information to the tertiary selection authorities to make course offers to applicants. The ATAR is calculated using the student’s VCE results.  The ATAR is a percentile rank so shows the relative performance of each student compared to everyone else.  The ranks is based on each students total (aggregate) produced by adding:

* The VTAC scaled study score from the Year 12 English stream

* The next best 3 scaled study scores from Year 12

* 10% of the 5th and 6th permissible scores available

The ATAR is available from 7am on Thursday 12th December 2024 via the Year 12 student’s personal email account, accessing VTAC account or through the VCE Results and ATAR 2024 app.

VCE Results and ATAR 2024   Year 11 students that completed a Year 12 study in 2024 should use the VCE Results and ATAR 2024 service to access their study scores.  Students must register first using their VCAA student number.  We recommend completing prior to the results release date. 

When will I receive a tertiary offer?

All offer dates for the 2025 intake are available on the VTAC dates page. Upcoming offer rounds for Domestic students are listed below.Course offers are emailed to applicants on the day of release and available in the applicants VTAC account from 2pm the same day. To be considered for offers, you must pay your course application processing fee on time.  All offer dates and payment deadlines are on the Dates and fees page.

How the offer system works

It is each tertiary institutions responsibility to decide which applicant gets an offer.  Applicants may receive a maximum of one offer per round. If a university wishes to make you an offer, they will inform VTAC who will advise the applicant via their VTAC account.  If several universities offer you a place, VTAC will look at your preferences and offer the highest course listed on your preference list.  Note: All offers are provisional and subject to applicants meeting the eligibility requirements, provided correct information on their VTAC application and attend enrolment at the date and time specified in the offer message.  https://vtac.edu.au/files/pdf/factsheets/understanding-offers-2024.pdf

When can I change my preferences?

Change of preference is closed during each selection period (just before each offer round) but is open at all other times.  For more information, check the dates and fees page.

How to change your preferences1. Log in to your VTAC account to access change of preference you must log in to your VTAC account using your VTAC ID and PIN.

2. Open your course preference list You can open your course preference list from the link on the home page of your VTAC account, or under Course application.

3. Add, delete or re-order your course preferences You can add courses by using the institution and course drop down menus or by entering the course codes. You can delete courses by clicking on the red X to the right of each line. You can re-order your course preferences using the up and down arrows to the right of each line.

Don't forget to list course in the order you would most like to study them, with the course you most want to get into at the top.

4. Submit your change of preference Click on the Change my preference button at the bottom of the screen to submit your changes.

Tips for changing your course preferences

Always list courses in order of YOUR preference! Don’t make the mistake of listing course preferences in the order you think you will get into them.  Selection authorities may make multiple offers to the same applicant, but you will only receive an offer for the highest course listed on your preferences.  If you don’t list in the ord

er, you most want to study them, you may end up missing out on the course you want the most.  For more information on how offers work, see Offers, enrolment and deferment.

Check course selection criteria carefully Keep in mind that the closing dates for any additional requirements in the selection criteria for courses may be soon or may have already passed. Read the selection criteria carefully before adding any new courses to your preference list and contact the institution if you're not sure of the requirements.  Also, applicants must meet the pre-requisite course entry and minimum ATAR.  However, there is some scope for adjustments to your ATAR aggregate if you applied for SEAS (Special Entry Access) and performed well in certain subjects provide additional subject bonuses.

Some courses can't be added after certain dates Some courses do not accept new course applications after a certain date. Check the course description and selection criteria carefully before adding any courses to your preferences to make sure the closing date has not already passed.

Don't delete and re-add courses – use the re-ordering arrows If you delete a course with an early closing date from your preferences, you will not be able to add it back to your application. To be safe, use the up and down arrows to re-order your preferences.

Changing your preferences during the offer rounds Once you have received an offer you cannot delete that course from your preferences, however you can move it up or down your list, change the order of your other preferences or add new courses.

Don't forget to list courses in the order you would most like to study them, with the course you most want to get into at the top.

FAQ’s

How does change of preference work? Change of preference will reopen after each offer round, and close before the next one (until the last round). While change of preference is open, you can add, remove, and re-order your preferences as many times as you like.

Can I change my course preferences after offers are released? Yes, all applicants can change their preferences between offer rounds. The deadline for each offer round can be found in the table above.

Will all courses participate in offer rounds outside the main offer round in January? Courses are not required to participate in future offer rounds.

The course I want to add to my preferences requires me to attend an interview, submit a folio, etc. Can I still add it to my course preferences?

When you add a course to your course preferences you must always ensure that you’ve met the prerequisites and selection requirements for that course. If the course you want to add has selection requirements, contact the institution directly as they may be prepared to allow you to fulfil the requirements before the next round of offers.

What if I don’t get an offer, should I change my preferences? If you don’t get an offer, you have two options:

• Wait to see if you receive an offer in a subsequent offer round for your existing course preferences. You will be automatically reconsidered for all of your preferences in the next round.
• Change your preferences by adding, deleting or re-ordering your course preferences for the next offer round.

Whichever option you choose, you remain eligible to receive supplementary offers (after February Round 1) as long as you haven’t received any other offer.

If I get an offer, can I still change my preferences? Even if you receive an offer for a course, you can still change your preferences before the next round. Just make sure that you meet the prerequisites and have completed any selection requirements outlined in the course entry.

What if I get my first preference, can I still change my preferences? If you get your first preference in an offer round, congratulations. If you want to change your preferences and see if you get an offer for one of the other courses included on your preference list or maybe add a new course, simply move your offered course to the bottom of your preference list. That way, institutions will know to consider your course application in subsequent rounds.

Remember, you are not guaranteed to get an offer in any subsequent rounds! Make sure you follow the enrolment instructions available from your VTAC account by the deadline specified in the offer message.

Will accepting my offer lock me out of changing my preferences in future rounds? No. You can change your preferences as many times as you like, irrespective of whether or not you have already received an offer and enrolled or not.  If you have enrolled in a course and receive an offer in a subsequent offer round, all you need to do is contact the institution at which you have enrolled to withdraw.

How do I know what courses are still actively selecting applicants after each offer round? After the January round, institutions are not obliged to participate in subsequent offer rounds. Courses that know they will no longer be making selection decisions will indicate this and it will be shown against your references in your VTAC account. This will assist you in making smart change of preference decisions.  

There is no way to predetermine which courses will and will not be participating in subsequent offer rounds, so you should not wait until results of future offer rounds before you enrol to accept your current offer.  This could be your only offer … Failure to accept an offer could result in missing out on a university place altogether!