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Your pathway to uni
How does it work?
Let’s say you want to study a Bachelor of Commerce at UNSW and the advertised Lowest Selection Rank for that degree is 93. By submitting a Gateway Admission Pathway application via UAC, you could receive an early conditional offer to study a Bachelor of Commerce at UNSW for the following year if you achieve a Gateway adjusted ATAR of 81. You can check Gateway adjusted ATARs here.
What is it?
The Gateway Admission Pathway is an early conditional offer to UNSW for eligible Year 12 students that is administered through the UAC Schools Recommendation Scheme. Your application will be assessed based on your written personal statement, Year 11 results, schools’ ratings of your aptitudes and performance in relevant areas of study. If your application is successful, you will receive an early conditional offer with an ATAR entry requirement significantly lower than the advertised Lowest Selection Rank. Then, if your ATAR result is the same or higher than the requirement set for you in your early conditional offer, you will receive a firm offer to that UNSW degree, if it is your highest eligible preference.
What is a Gateway school?
To find out if you attend a UNSW Gateway school, please see the schools list here.
Applications open on 12 April and close on 19 September 2022 via UAC’s website
The Gateway Admission Pathway considers a range of factors that contribute to your success at university and is separate to UAC’s Educational Access Scheme (EAS). For further information EAS, please click here.
Eligibility criteria
You are no longer required to upload a portfolio for any degree associated with the Gateway Admission Pathway
You can preference up to two UNSW degrees and be assessed on both of these in your application, however you will still only receive one early conditional offer if you are successful
Once you receive your ATAR and are ready to convert your early conditional offer to a firm offer, you can choose another degree at the same or lower adjusted ATAR in the same faculty, if you wish.
You can apply for all undergraduate courses at UNSW, excluding the Prep Program.
Please note:
- Bachelor of Medical Studes/Doctor of Medicine has different eligibility critiera and a different application process - see Gateway Medicine Entry Scheme for more information
- B Aviation (Flying) has considerable costs associated and final entry to the program is dependant on additional selection criteria - see Bachelor of Aviation (Flying) for more details
- B Vision Science/M Clinical Optometry will prioritise places for regional/remote students and less than 10 places are available
Gateway Admission Pathway - FAQs
UNSW is committed to student equity and we want to ensure that as many young people as possible can access higher education. We understand that the ATAR alone is not the only measure of academic potential and that schools can experience different levels of educational advantage.
The Gateway Admission Pathway considers where schools are in terms of geography and socio-economic status, and students who are from low-SES backgrounds as identified by SEIFA criteria. See eligibility criteria further down.
To find out if you attend a UNSW Gateway school, please see the schools list here.
Applications open on 12 April and close on 19 September 2022 via UAC’s website
The Gateway Admission Pathway considers a range of factors that contribute to your success at university and is separate to UAC’s Educational Access Scheme (EAS).
For further information EAS, please click here.
Eligibility criteria
You are no longer required to upload a portfolio for any degree associated with the Gateway Admission Pathway.
You can preference up to two UNSW degrees and be assessed on both of these in your application, however you will still only receive one early conditional offer if you are successful.
Once you receive your ATAR and are ready to convert your early conditional offer to a firm offer, you can choose another degree at the same or lower adjusted ATAR in the same faculty, if you wish.
You can apply for all undergraduate courses at UNSW Sydney, excluding degrees at UNSW Canberra.
Please note:
- Bachelor of Medical Studes/Doctor of Medicine has different eligibility critiera and a different application process - see Gateway Medicine Entry Scheme for more information
- B Aviation (Flying) has considerable costs associated and final entry to the program is dependant on additional selection criteria - see Bachelor of Aviation (Flying) for more details
- B Vision Science/M Clinical Optometry will prioritise places for regional/remote students and less than 10 places are available
You are eligible if you are completing an Australia Year 12 qualification in the year of application and either:
· attend a Gateway School OR
· live in a low-socioeconomic (low-SES) area* (home address is in the lowest 25% of areas for socio-economic advantage)
*Low-SES is based on Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) criteria. SEIFA ranks areas in Australia according to relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage based to the Index of Education and Occupation and Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage and Disadvantage. If you’re unsure whether you meet these criteria, email us at unswgateway@unsw.edu.au
No, unfortunately only domestic students can be considered through the Gateway Admission Pathway.
Gateway schools are identified by taking the three-year average of Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) for schools across NSW or the three-year average of the proportion of students in the bottom SEA quartile. The ICSEA and proportion of students in the bottom SEA quartile of a school can be found on the My School website.
No, there is a separate entry scheme for elite athletes (see here). You cannot combine schemes.
You will need to upload a personal statement answering the following three questions. If you have chosen two degrees to be considered for in your application, you only need to address the degree you have listed as your first preference.
- Why are you interested in the course you are applying for? Tell us how this degree relates to your passions and goals.
- What are your learning strengths? How have you applied them to overcome challenges in school or other aspects of your life?
- Thinking about your future self at university, what do you identify as the key challenges for you and how do you plan to manage these?
Upload your personal statement when asked for institution specific documents in the UAC Schools Recommendation Scheme portal.
We will also consider your schools ratings of your aptitudes and of your performance in relevant areas of study, but UAC will ask your school directly for these so you won't need to upload them yourself.
.
You can choose up to two UNSW degrees to be assessed on. However, only preference two degrees if you would be happy to receive an early conditional offer for either of those degrees. When writing your personal statement, you should reference the degree you have listed as your first preference.
Please note whilst you can preference up to two degrees, you can only receive one early conditional offer to UNSW.
If you are successful in receiving an early conditional offer you will be notified on the 11 November.
Then, if you meet the ATAR condition of your offer, you will receive notification of a firm offer on 22 December.
Remember, to receive a firm offer you need to preference your UNSW early conditional offer degree as your highest eligible preference.
Your personal statement is a very important part of how we assess your application. Here are the key qualities we are looking for in your personal statement:
- A high degree of clarity
- Address all aspects of the questions
- Reference relevant concrete examples to illustrate sophisticated links between personal interests and chosen discipline
- Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of your chosen degree and its requirements
- Extensive and detailed evidence of reflective thinking and analysis of own learning strengths
- Thoughtfully describe potential challenges and solutions for your projected future self
- A well-integrated, complex and thoughtfully structured paragraph
- Sophisticated use of persuasive written language
We have plenty of resources available to help you write a great personal statement! Make sure you check out the Go Write Ahead session during the Gateway Winter Program (Tuesday 21 June and our web app Nail It! designed specifically to help you write your personal statement
Yes, you can resubmit your personal statement if necessary. However, we strongly encourage you to finalise your documents before submitting and avoid submitting multiple if possible.
No, we won’t have access to information about special provisions and won’t consider it as part of the application process.
ATAR adjustments consider additional factors when assessing a students’ capability to succeed at university. As part of UNSW’s Gateway Admission Pathway, we consider the academic course requirements and the demonstrated academic standard of applicants through the assessment of a student's personal statement, their schools' ratings of their aptitudes and performance in relevant subjects. We then consider the Lowest Selection Rank and determine a reasonable adjustment for each degree. See our list of Gateway adjusted ATARs.
Through the Gateway Admission Pathway, there are several degrees that have an adjusted ATAR of 65. See here for a list of all adjusted ATARs.
There are no implications. Your ATAR is only one indicator of your capacity to succeed at university, which is why we are considering other factors when assessing your application. You won’t be at a disadvantage compared to your peers
If you do not meet the ATAR requirement for your chosen degree, your early conditional offer through the Gateway Admission Pathway will not be converted into a firm offer. You could consider one of the following:
- You could change your UAC preferences in order to be considered for a degree with a lower Lowest Selection Rank here
- You could apply for the UNSW Preparation Program (UNSW Prep 17-19). Please see for more information and for eligibility criteria.
No. Whilst you can preference up to two degrees, you can only receive one early conditional offer to UNSW.
Most degrees offered through the Gateway Admission Pathway have no caps on the number of places available. It is a competitive process, but we want as many students as possible to succeed in getting an early conditional offer!
The exceptions are:
- Bachelor of Vision Science/Master of Clinical Optometry: Fewer than 10 places are available and students from regional and remote areas will be prioritised for these places
- Bachelor of Medical Studies/Doctor of Medicine: Up to 10 places are made.
Yes. If you receive the adjusted ATAR requirement for your Gateway early conditional offer and convert this to a firm offer in December, you will be able to defer your studies.
Yes.
Your highest UNSW preference on your UAC application will be the degree we will consider you for through the Gateway Admission Pathway. If you are successful in receiving an early conditional offer and you would like to receive a firm offer from us once your ATAR is released, then make sure that degree is your highest eligible UAC preference.
Yes, you can transfer in the same way as any student at UNSW can transfer degrees. Make sure you read all the information here to ensure you will be eligible to transfer.
If you are eligible to apply through the Gateway Admission Pathway, you are not required to sit the Law Admission Test (LAT). LAT results will not be used to assess your Gateway Admission Pathway application. However, you can still register for and sit the LAT if you would like to retain the option of entry to the Bachelor of Laws through the LAT admission process.
No, the UCAT is not required for admission to the Bachelor of Medical Science. However, it is required for admission to the Bachelor of Medical Studies/Doctor of Medicine (and you will need to apply through a different portal and note differing eligibility criteria – for more information see here).
The Bachelor of Medical Studies/Doctor of Medicine (often referred to simply as ‘Medicine’) is run through the Faculty of Medicine and Health as has an adjusted ATAR of 91 as well as additional selection and eligibility criteria and a different application process (see here for details). Access to this degree is very competitive and up to 10 places will be offered through the Gateway pathway.
The Bachelor of Medical Science is run through the Faculty of Science and has an adjusted ATAR of 78 through the Gateway Admission Pathway.
As a Co-op scholar you are provided with up to 18 months of relevant industry experience, leadership and professional development training, mentoring and support, career planning and events to help you create professional and social networks. There are various programs available in Business, Science and Engineering streams.
For entry in 2023, we are guaranteeing up to four Co-op scholarships (from any Co-op stream), with a minimum ATAR (including EAS) of 90 for Gateway students.
The application process for Co-op is separate to the Gateway Admission Pathway, you will need to submit your application online before 30 September, nominate your Careers Advisor to complete your Schools Assessment Page and complete a video snapshot. For more information about the programs, application process and eligible, see here.
Don’t sweat. There are a number of entry schemes and alternate pathways you may be eligible for to study your dream degree at UNSW, for more information see here.
If you are eligible you may also be able to apply for the Educational Access Scheme (EAS), which aims to help students who have experienced educational disadvantage receive an offer to university. EAS is administered through UAC, if you are eligible you can apply when you submit your undergraduate application, for more information see here.
As of 2023, the Gateway Admission Pathway will consist of two offer rounds. An unconditional offer in the first half of the year and a conditional offer in the second half of the year. These changes will begin to impact students who enrol at UNSW in 2024. Further information on these updates will be provided in the coming weeks.