19 Mar 2025
Statistics
Domestic undergraduate applications and offers at semester 1 closing 2025
The Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) processed domestic undergraduate applications for 31 institutions in 2024–25, mainly in NSW and the ACT. Applications for tertiary study opened on Wednesday 3 April 2024 and semester 1 applications closed at midnight on Friday 7 February 2025. Final semester 1 offers were released on Thursday 6 March 2025.
UAC received 74,5931 domestic applications for undergraduate study in the 2024–25 admissions year, 2,149 (3.0%) more than the same time the previous year.
A total of 102,753 offers were made to these applicants.2
Many students have also applied directly to individual universities for study next year to maximise their chances of receiving an offer. UAC has processed another 130,0003 of these applications on behalf of individual universities4.
As applications made directly to institutions have grown, applications through UAC have decreased.
1 Applicants can only apply once through UAC, so this figure is unique applicants.
2 There are more offers made than there are applicants because, even though applicants can only receive one offer in each offer round, they can receive an offer in more than one round. Read more about how uni offers are made.
3 Applicants may apply directly to several universities, so this figure is not the count of unique applicants, but the number of applications received.
4 UAC processes direct applications on behalf of Australian Catholic University, Australian College of Physical Education, Australian National University, CQUniversity, Macquarie University, University of New England, University of Newcastle, University of Tasmania, University of Technology Sydney, University of Wollongong, UNSW Sydney and Western Sydney University.
Applications and offers by applicant type
Applicants are divided into four types: NSW Year 12, ACT Year 12, interstate and International Baccalaureate Year 12, and non-Year 12.
The number of Year 12 applicants increased compared with last year. NSW Year 12s increased by 1,304 and Interstate and IB Year 12s increased by 788, although ACT Year 12s dropped by 246.
The following charts show total applications and total offers by applicant type up for the last 10 admissions periods.
Applications by applicant type
Offers by applicant type
Gender analysis
The gender split of applicants was similar to the previous year: 55 per cent of Year 12 applicants were female, while 56 per cent of non-Year 12 applicants were female.
Age analysis
Almost all Year 12 applicants in 2024–25 were 19 years old and under (99.8%). Around 82 per cent 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 five 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 the same. Both groups had most first preferences in Society & Culture and Health. However, the top two fields were reversed: NSW Year 12 students favoured Society & Culture courses while ACT Year 12 students favoured Health courses.
For non-Year 12 and interstate and International Baccalaureate Year 12 applicants, most first preferences were in Health, followed by Society & Culture.
Overall, Health has once again taken the top spot as the favoured field of study, with 25 per cent of UAC’s 2024–25 applicants listing it as their first preference. Society & Culture received 20 per cent of first preferences across all applicant types.
Applications by field of study
Offers by field of study
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 greater for males than for females.
Over half of female applicants listed their first preference course in either Health (31%) or Society & Culture (23%). In contrast, popular fields of study for males included Health (18%), Society & Culture (16%), Management & Commerce (17%), and Engineering & Related Technologies (17%).
Compared with males, a smaller proportion of females had first preference courses in Engineering & Related Technologies (4%), Management & Commerce (10%) and Information Technology (2%). In contrast, a smaller proportion of males than females had first preference in Health (18%), Society & Culture (16%) and Education (3%).
Visit UAC’s statistics pages for more application and offer data.