The complete guide to UNSW early offers

Everything you need to know about accepting early offers from UNSW.

Wondering if UNSW offers early entry and how you can secure your place before completing your final exams?

This guide walks you through everything you need to know about UNSW early offers. From what early offers are to our admission pathways, we'll explain the process and help you understand your options when it comes to accepting an early offer from UNSW.

What is an early offer? 

Early offers are exactly that – early offers to study at UNSW for future students. The early offer process is different at each university. At UNSW, early offers are made through the Gateway Admission Pathway. Even though the offer isn't conditional on achieving a certain ATAR, the student must still sit the HSC and achieve an ATAR.

The Gateway Admission Pathway gives Year 12 students the opportunity to receive an early offer or an early conditional offer that lowers the required ATAR for your chosen degree.

What is an early conditional offer?

UNSW provides early conditional offers to participants before the HSC. ​We set an adjusted ATAR for their chosen degree, and the student needs to achieve that ATAR to receive a firm offer.​ We have two early conditional offer schemes:

Do I have to accept an early offer?  

If you receive an early offer from UNSW, we strongly encourage you to accept it.

We have a quota system for early offers, which makes sure every student receives the highest quality teaching and learning experience at UNSW. The quota may be reached before the deadline – especially in high-demand degrees such as Commerce. If you don’t accept your early offer, it may mean you miss out on a place in your preferred degree.

But no matter which degree you’ve applied to study, we recommend you accept your UNSW offer as early as possible – rather than waiting for the acceptance deadline – so you can secure your place.

If I accept an offer from another university first, can I accept one from UNSW later? 

Yes! If you’ve received an early offer from another university first but are still hoping to receive one from UNSW, hold tight! You could still get one from us in another offer round.

When you receive your offer from UNSW, just remove the degree you’ve already accepted from your UAC preferences.

When does UNSW make early offers?

The Gateway Admission Pathway and the Portfolio Early Conditional Offer Scheme make their offers at different times.

When do other universities make early offers?

Some universities begin making early offers from September, ahead of the main offer rounds in December and January. They consider factors like your Year 11 results, any school recommendations and achievements outside of school. They might ask you to do a test, interview or audition, depending on the degree you want to study. They may also consider your socio-economic status.

If you want to be considered for an early offer at another university as a back-up option, make sure you know when its UAC application deadline is.

How does this compare to UNSW’s standard offer rounds?

​Our main offer round for students in Year 12 is UAC December Round 2, with offers released on Monday, 23 December 2024. 

You can change your preferences for December Round 2 until 11:59pm on Wednesday, 18 December 2024. If you don’t receive an offer in the first round, you can still try our second offer round in UAC January Round 1.  

If you’re an interstate applicant, your main offer round will be after your ATAR is available in January Round 1, with offers released on Thursday, 9 January 2025. Change of preferences closes for January Round 1 at 11:59pm on Thursday, 2 January 2025.