VTAC step-by-step guide

While VTAC will be new to some high school students, teachers and careers counselors will provide lots of information about the process when you reach year 12. Students set up an account and choose up to 8 preferences from different courses across different colleges and universities in Victoria. These institutions then assess each student's eligibility for their preferred courses and notify VTAC of their intention to offer a place to study with them. 

Yes. You can change your preferences as much as you like until your offer round. Preferences are locked several days before each offer round for VTAC can coordinate with all institutions to ensure each application receives the right offer.

For current year 12s, preferences are locked on the 14th of December for Victorian applicants or the 15th of December for interstate applicants. After this deadline, there are several short Change of Preference periods. Check the dates on the VTAC website here. 

Applications for VTAC’s main round offers usually open around the end of July/start of August each year. Applications open at 9 am on the 29th of July this year.

Timely applications close at 5pm on 30th September 2024.

Close of late applications at 5pm on 1st November 2024.

Close of very late applications at 5pm on 6th December 2024.

Yes. While you can set up an account without making a payment, you will only receive an offer through VTAC if you’ve paid their fee. We recommend making your payment before the timely application deadline, as the fees increase significantly. Read more about the fees and deadlines on the VTAC website here. 

Not if you’re currently completing year 12. While we love to hear from prospective students, we cannot offer any year 12 students a place based on a direct application through our website due to VTAC rules. Anyone who has previously completed year 12 can apply through our website but please be advised that if you do apply via VTAC, we must go through their process. We won’t be able to offer you place directly once a VTAC application has been made. 

Applicants to COLLARTS might have to attend an Admission interview. If you’re interested in multiple courses, we will help you find the perfect fit for your career goals. If you’re still unsure, we can ask questions relating to multiple programs and ensure you meet the entry requirements for all the courses on your preferences.

Some courses might have additional requirements such as auditions, written submissions and creative portfolios. We may ask you to meet one or all of these requirements, so you’re eligible for an offer regardless of how you order your preferences.

All interviews must be completed by 1st of December to be eligible for a December round offer. Auditions are run on set days and places are limited so we recommend booking your audition as soon as you can. Speak to a member of our Admissions team to find out when the next auditions are available and secure your place. Applicants to our Performing Arts courses (Acting, Stage Management, Writing & Directing) can find more information on the audition dates and process on our website. 

Read more about our entry requirements and admissions process here.

Almost! A conditional offer means you have met all the preselection requirements for that course but we need to wait for the VTAC offer rounds to give official offers. All conditional offers are subject to the successful completion of year 12 and we must be high enough in your VTAC preferences before we can offer you a place at COLLARTS. 

Once you have your conditional offer, you won’t need to do anything else until the VTAC offer rounds. During the offer rounds, you will receive 1 offer for the course that is highest on your preferences which you are eligible for. To ensure you’re eligible for the course you want, always keep your VTAC preferences in order with your 1st choice as number 1. If your course has an ATAR requirement, you will need to achieve this to be eligible for an offer, but we don’t take ATAR into consideration at COLLARTS.

For current year 12s, the first offer round is on the 23rd of December. Previous high school graduations have their first offer round on the 15th of November. 

During the offer rounds, you will receive a notification from VTAC, followed by call from Collarts. You will only receive 1 offer per round, so it’s important that your preference order reflects where you most wish to study.

After the offer round, you will have the choice to follow the institution's instructions to accept your offer or not.

You can wait for a later offer round to see what other offers you receive. Accepting an offer doesn’t automatically commit you to study that course, so you can move forward with an offer and still change your mind if you get a better offer in a later offer round. 

Yes, you can. At Collarts, you have the option to defer your enrolment for up to 1 year from the date it was offered. This means you could receive an offer to study with us in February 2025 and defer to February 2026 and your place will still be secure. As we have 3 intakes per year, you can also choose to start your course in May or September if February is the right time for you.