So you’ve applied to university – congratulations! Perhaps you’ve applied through an admissions centre, or maybe you applied directly to the university of your choice. Either way, did you know that once you’ve submitted your applications, they’re not set in stone? Right up until the very last offer round, you can always change your preferences.
Preferences – the basics
By the time you’ve submitted your applications, it’s assumed that you understand ‘preferences’ and what it means for your application. But just in case you’re still a bit uncertain, let’s explain.
Preferences is just a term for the courses you want to apply for, listed in the order you’d like to study them. They’re also sometimes called choices or selections.
We recommend that you list your dream course/s first, some more realistic options next, and one safe option last. That way, you’ll increase the chances of receiving at least one offer in the main offer rounds. Listing the maximum number of possible preferences on your applications is also a good strategy.
Get more tips on choosing preferences in our video:
Flexibility can be handy
If you’re certain that you’ve applied to the best university and selected the best courses for you, that’s great! All you need to do is move on and wait for an offer.
But if you decide you’re not happy with your choices, or perhaps the order of your courses just isn’t sitting right with you any more, guess what? There’s good news – the whole applications system is designed to allow you to change your preferences.
When can you change your preferences?
Most universities and admissions centres provide plenty of opportunities to change your preferences. After submitting your application and before the first offers are released, you can usually log in to your application and adjust your preferences.
Changing your preferences is usually free, but some institutions may charge a fee. In some cases, you might need to pay a fee if you change them more than two or three times.
If you’re applying through an admissions centre, here are the change of preference cut-off dates for the main rounds of offers:
| Admission Centre | Results date | Offer date | Change of preference cut-off |
| UAC | 18 December 2024 | 23 December 2024 | 18 December 2024 |
| VTAC | 12 December 2024 | 23 December 2024 | 14 December 2024 |
| QTAC | 13 December 2024 | 23 December 2024 | 18 December 2024 |
| TISC | 15 December 2024 | 21 December 2024 | 17 December 2024 |
| SATAC | 16 December 2024 | 10 January 2024 | 2 January 2025 |
| UTAS | 18 December 2024 | Mid December 2024 | Contact UTAS |
| UCAS | TBC August 2025 | Up to 14 May 2025 | Contact the university |
| CAO | TBC August 2025 | TBC August 2025 | TBC July 2025 |
| OUAC | TBC April 2025 | Up to late May 2025 | Contact the university |
Note: If you’ve received an early offer for one or more of the courses on your preferences, and you’d still like more offers during other rounds, it’s best to call the admission centre directly if you’re unsure about what to do next.
Once the main round of offers are released, another window usually opens up. You’ll have the chance to change your preferences again and possibly receive more offers, then choose which one to accept. Or, if you didn’t get an offer in the first round, you can wait and see if you receive one in a subsequent round.
What if I’m applying directly to the university?
If you’re submitting your application direct to the university, you’ll need to check with them if:
- They allow you to change your course choices after your application has been submitted, and
- Whether there is any cut-off dates you need to change your preferences by.
Some universities will let you swap your course choices right up until you receive an offer. Others might ask you to complete a separate application if you change your mind about your course. We recommend you check the details on their website or contact them directly to confirm your options.
A note about quota and high-demand courses
If all the places in a course have been filled after the first offer round, you won’t be able to add it to your list in subsequent rounds.
If a course has an earlier closing date than the regular deadline, it’s highly likely you won’t be able to add it to your list once this date has passed, even if change of preference is still open.
If you want to apply to a course that is in high-demand or has caps on places, you should get your application sorted ASAP to ensure you don’t miss out.
Top tips for changing preferences
- Spend some time considering why you want to change your preferences before you go ahead and do it.
- Check if any fees or cut-off dates apply.
- If you’re unsure about what to do, contact the admissions centre or university for advice.
When might you decide to change your preferences?
Consider adjusting your preferences if:
- Your results are better than you expect. If there’s a competitive course you looked over because you didn’t think it was a realistic option before, move it to the top of your list.
- Your results aren’t as good as you had hoped for. To increase your changes of receiving an offer, put any courses you’re eligible for at the top of your list.
- You have a change of heart about the best course or university for you.
- A new course has become available and you think it would be perfect.
- You discover a course you didn’t know about when you applied.
- You find out that the prerequisites for a course you had on your list have changed.
- The course you applied for has been dropped by the university.
- You’re looking back over your application and realise you didn’t put your preferences in the right order.
Is changing your preferences really necessary?
If you get higher results than you expected (yay you!), don’t immediately rush off and change your preferences just because you can. If you’re happy with your preferences, the best thing to do is stick with them – there’s no such thing as ‘wasting’ good grades.
You might feel pressured into thinking you should change your list, particularly if your friends are talking about changing theirs and cut-off dates are coming up. Take a breath, spend some time researching any changes you’re thinking of making, and make sure you’re doing it for all the right reasons.
Finally, double check any prerequisites and eligibility requirements before you add or move a course. It would be a real shame to miss out on an offer because you didn’t take a few minutes to read the entry criteria.
Don’t panic
If you miss the change of preference cut-offs for the first round, that’s OK – you’ll get the chance to change them again before the next offer round.
If all the rounds are over and you have an offer, but it’s not for the course you really wanted, call up the university and find out what your options are. You might be able to start a different degree then transfer after completing a few subjects.
Most importantly, if you don’t receive any offers at all, please remember that you still have lots of options. Most institutions have at least one alternative pathway, from bridging courses to experience-based entry options. You may be surprised to learn about the number of choices available to help you get into the university of your dreams.
Need more information?
If you’re still after more information, we have heaps of other blogs on university applications to check out here.