07 Oct 2016
Statistics
Domestic undergraduate applications at on-time closing 2016
The Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) processes domestic undergraduate applications for 33 institutions, mainly in NSW and the ACT. Applications for tertiary study in 2016–17 opened on 3 August 2016 and on-time applications closed at midnight on 30 September 2016. (Students can still apply after this date but they will have to pay a higher processing charge.)
UAC received 68,042 domestic applications for undergraduate study in the first two months of the 2016–17 admissions year, 2,447 (3.5%) fewer than in the same period last year.
Applications by applicant type
Applicants are divided into four types: NSW Year 12s, ACT Year 12s, interstate and International Baccalaureate Year 12s, and non-Year 12s. The recent downward trend in the number of non-Year 12 applicants continued this year, while the number of NSW Year 12 applicants decreased for the first time since 2013–14. ACT, interstate and International Baccalaureate Year 12 applicant numbers remained stable.
Gender analysis
The gender split of applicants was similar to the previous year: 56% of Year 12 applicants were female, while 60% of non-Year 12 applicants were female.
Age analysis
Almost all Year 12 applicants were 19 years old and under (99.6%). Over two-thirds of non-Year 12 applicants were 24 years old and under. The breakdown by age group for non-Year 12 applicants is shown in the following chart.
First preference analysis
Domestic undergraduate applicants can choose up to nine course preferences. Their first preference is the course they would most like to study.
First preference by field of study and applicant type
The top five fields of study listed as first preferences by NSW and ACT Year 12 applicants were identical. Both groups had most first preferences in Society & Culture, followed by Health.
For non-Year 12 and interstate and International Baccalaureate Year 12 applicants, most first preferences were in Health, followed by Society & Culture.
First preference by field of study and gender
While both females and males had most first preference courses in Health, the spread of first preference courses across fields of study was more even for males than for females.
Over half of female applicants listed their first preference course in either Health (31%) or Society & Culture (24%). In contrast, popular fields of study for males included Health (18%), Management and Commerce (18%), Society & Culture (16%), and Engineering and Related Technologies (14%).
Compared with males, a smaller proportion of females had first preference courses in Engineering and Related Technologies, Management and Commerce, and Information Technology.
