VTAC Applications Guide for Medical and Dental Entry (2027 Domestic Entry)

Last updated: 10 August 2026. Several Victorian universities, including the University of Melbourne and La Trobe, are expected to update their 2027 entry information between August and September 2026. We review this guide after each update. Always confirm course codes, dates and entry conditions on the official university and VTAC pages before you submit.

Overview

TL;DR

• VTAC is the only way into every Victorian medical and dental course; you cannot apply to the universities directly.
• You get eight VTAC preferences, and six of them are enough to cover every medicine and dentistry course in Victoria.
• Monash is the only Victorian course that uses the UCAT, and it weights ATAR, UCAT and interview equally.
• Melbourne and La Trobe run on guaranteed pathways and rural entry, where the UCAT is not required.
• Medicine and dentistry offers are released in the January rounds, not the December round.
• Written for domestic students aiming for medicine or dentistry at universities in Victoria.

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This article reads according to the steps you would take to work through your application: what VTAC does, which courses run through it, how each university selects, the timeline, how to set up and order your preferences, the VTAC equity schemes and scholarships application, and what happens once offers start.

We also provide information for every medical and dental course in Victoria, so if you want specific information on the universities you're already interested in, you can jump straight to those relevant sections.

Your ATAR and UCAT take years of work. Applications and preferencing seem quick and easy by comparison, but this is the step where avoidable mistakes cost students offers.

The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) gives you eight preference slots, where many of these could be filled by medical or dentistry options. For medicine, there are three different streams at Monash, two guarantee pathways at Melbourne and a pathway for rural students at La Trobe. Meanwhile for dentistry, there are three guarantee pathways at Melbourne and one undergraduate course at La Trobe. Most students never see the full list of options, let alone work out how to stand out across them.

This guide delves into every Victorian medical and dental course and provides information on how each university selects, when key application deadlines are, and how to order your preferences so a lower-than-hoped result still leaves you in the running. By the end you should be able to build a VTAC preference list with a clear reason behind every decision.

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Who this applies to

• Year 12 students in Victoria or interstate applying for medicine or dentistry in Victoria; all the information provided will be applicable to you.
• Gap year applicants: the same VTAC process applies to you, just with a few differences in change of preference deadlines. You would preference the same course codes as Year 12 students.
• Year 11 students planning ahead: all of this article still applies. Treat the timeline as a preview of your next year and think about how you can maximise your ATAR and UCAT score to increase your competitiveness.
• Rural applicants: Monash and La Trobe both have rural entry options; the relevant rule is flagged under each university.
• International applicants: this article mainly covers information for domestic applicants. The international section explains how your process differs; you apply directly to each university, not through VTAC.

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What is VTAC, and why it matters for medicine and dentistry

The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) is the centralised body that processes applications to tertiary courses in Victoria. Anyone who wants to start an undergraduate course in Victoria applies through VTAC, whether they are a Victorian or interstate Year 12 student, a gap year student, a current university student, or already in the workforce. Universities you reach through VTAC include Monash University, the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, Deakin University, and many more.

For aspiring medical and dental students, it is impossible to gain 2027 entry into any medical or dental course in Victoria without submitting a VTAC application by 28 September. It does not matter whether you are aiming for Monash's direct entry medicine or the University of Melbourne's guarantee pathways; the application has to go through VTAC first.

Every Victorian university course has a ten-digit code you can preference. You can list up to eight courses across all Victorian universities, ranked in your order of preference. Besides this, VTAC is also used for equity schemes and scholarship applications. This means every university you apply for receives your full application from a single source.

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Course by Course Guide

Which medical and dental courses can you apply to through VTAC?

Monash University

Monash runs a five-year undergraduate medical course at its Clayton campus, graduating with a Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine (MD). It is the only Victorian medical course you enter straight from school, and the shortest pathway to becoming a doctor in Victoria. There are three different streams to Monash Direct Entry Medicine, so there are three separate course codes you can preference:

• CSP School Leaver Entry (Code: 2800311231). No mandatory rural placement during the course and no requirement to work rurally after graduation.
• CSP Extended Rural Cohort School Leaver Entry (ERC) (Code: 2800311261). Students complete rural placements during years 3, 4, and half of year 5. There is no requirement to work rurally after graduating.
• CSP Bonded School Leaver Entry (Code: 2800311251). No rural placement during the course, but students must complete three years of work in a rural area (MM2–MM7) within 18 years of graduating (Return of Service Obligation).

Applicants are assessed on their ATAR and UCAT, and complete a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI), for a total of around 234 places. All three components are weighted equally in the final offer, so a strong ATAR alone does not secure a place. Rural students apply to the Dean's Rural List and compete for a reserved sub-quota, but they still preference the same three course codes on their VTAC application.

Should I preference all three streams of Monash Medicine, and what order should I do this?

We definitely encourage preferencing all three streams of medicine, because that will maximise your chances of getting an offer into Monash Undergraduate Medicine as a whole.

Students sometimes worry about learning or working in a rural location. Whilst it is valid that you might face difficulties living away from family or friends through the ERC and Bonded streams, there are also benefits to them, such as being able to personally experience rural medicine, and having more hands-on learning opportunities.

Most students will preference in the order of CSP School Leaver Entry, ERC and Bonded. However, the final decision is ultimately up to each individual student based on when in their lifetime they would prefer to go rural.

This is Contour's perspective based on our experience with past applicants. You are free to build your preference list however you choose.

University of Melbourne

There is no direct undergraduate route into medicine at the University of Melbourne, because it offers medicine only as a postgraduate degree. Instead, three pathways let school leavers lock in a place in the Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Dental Surgery at the start of an undergraduate degree without sitting the UCAT or GAMSAT. You then proceed into the postgraduate degree if you meet the conditions during your undergraduate years.

Melbourne Chancellor's Scholarship (Medicine and Dentistry)

The first pathway is the scholarship route, which requires an ATAR of 99.90+. You begin any University of Melbourne undergraduate course (i.e. preference any Melbourne undergraduate code on VTAC). The scholarship guarantees you the right to enter a postgraduate course after your undergraduate degree, so for example Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Dental Surgery. You are guaranteed a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) for Doctor of Medicine provided you maintain a weighted average mark (WAM) of 75% or higher and pass a hurdle MMI interview in the final year of your undergraduate degree. For Doctor of Dental Surgery, there is no minimum WAM requirement, but you must pass the prerequisite subjects in Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology (second-year level or equivalent) on the first attempt.

The scholarship also covers your undergraduate degree in full and pays a stipend of $5,000 per year for Victorian students, or $10,000 per year for interstate students.

Melbourne’s Australian Full Fee Priority pathway (Medicine)

The second pathway is the 99+ Guarantee. Students who achieve an ATAR above 99 can begin any University of Melbourne undergraduate course (preference any Melbourne code on VTAC). All students who meet the 99+ requirement will be invited to an MMI interview, whereby this interview performance will be the 100% determinant for a full-fee place offer in the Doctor of Medicine, which costs in the region of $440,000 across the degree. An offer will only be secured if you rank high enough in the interview, and achieve a WAM of at least 75%.

This is sometimes a less desirable option than a Commonwealth Supported Place, because of the full-fee cost for the graduate degree, but many students who plan to sit the GAMSAT enrol in it as a backup. It keeps a guaranteed medicine place open while they pursue a subsidised graduate-entry route elsewhere.

Melbourne Guaranteed Pathway (Dentistry)

A similar guarantee pathway is also offered for Dentistry, whereby students who achieve a 99+ ATAR are guaranteed a full fee place in the Doctor of Dental Surgery. There is no specific undergraduate course that you must enrol in, but you will need to maintain a WAM of at least 75% and pass the prerequisite subjects in Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology at a second year level. Thus, to ensure that these requirements are met, it is recommended to enrol in either Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Biomedicine. 

Given that the full-fee cost for the Doctor of Dental Surgery can be around $420,000 for the entire degree, many students still choose to sit the GAMSAT in the attempt to secure a Commonwealth Supported Place.

Melbourne Graduate Degree Package (Dentistry)

The third pathway is the Graduate Degree Package with the achievement of a 99.85+ ATAR. Students have a choice of two packages: Bachelor of Science + Doctor of Dental Surgery (Code: 3800510251), or Bachelor of Biomedicine + Doctor of Dental Surgery (Code: 3800510311). An offer to either of these packages guarantees entry into the Doctor of Dental Surgery with a Commonwealth Supported Place, given that you maintain a WAM of at least 80% and pass all prerequisite subjects on your first attempt. Receiving this graduate degree package means you will not need to sit the GAMSAT to get into dentistry.

La Trobe University (Medicine)

La Trobe offers a provisional medical degree for rural applicants only, with the following course codes:

• For general entry: 2100113501 for Albury-Wodonga Campus; 2100213501 for Bendigo Campus.
• For First Nations Australian Entry: 2100113571 for Albury-Wodonga Campus; 2100213571 for Bendigo Campus.

Alongside an ATAR of at least 80, you submit a rural endorsement form confirming MM2–MM7 status, and you do not sit the UCAT. The course runs for seven years: a three-year undergraduate degree followed by a four-year postgraduate medical degree delivered with the University of Melbourne at the Shepparton campus.

Want to confirm if you are eligible for rural considerations? Check your rural status →

La Trobe University (Dentistry)

La Trobe has the Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours), which is the only undergraduate dentistry course in Victoria. It is a five-year degree based in Bendigo and is selected on ATAR alone, which is why for 2026 entry, the ATAR cut-off was 99.95 for non-regional applicants and 99.05 for regional applicants (after adjustment factors). Given how competitive La Trobe Dentistry can be, applying to the Aspire Program is recommended, as a successful application can lower the ATAR requirement to 95 (80 for regional students).

The course codes for La Trobe Dentistry are 2100211491 for general domestic entry, 2100211501 for regional entry, 2100213601 for First Nations Australian entry.

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International applicants

International applicants follow a separate process. Rather than applying through VTAC, you apply directly to each university, and you should contact them about special consideration programs. Many international students nominate an education agent to lodge applications on their behalf and keep details accurate and on time. Entry requirements differ too: universities may consider the ISAT (International Student Admissions Test) instead of the UCAT, there are usually reserved international places, and an ATAR equivalent plus an English proficiency certificate is generally required. Confirm the specific requirements with each university's international admissions team before applying.

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VTAC Codes

When preferencing on VTAC, it is vital to understand that there are multiple types of places that you can receive. Some of these are for the exact same degree and will require you to use a separate VTAC code. 

Place type: CSP vs BMP vs FFP vs ERC

• CSP (Commonwealth Supported Place) is the standard government-subsidised place. You pay the normal student contribution through HECS-HELP, with no obligations attached once you graduate.
• BMP (Bonded Medical Place) is the same degree, taught alongside CSP students, but you sign a Deed of Agreement committing to a Return of Service Obligation, working in a regional or rural area of workforce shortage for three years within 18 years post-graduation. Because fewer applicants want that obligation, BMP places sometimes have a slightly lower admission threshold than CSP.
• FFP stands for Full Fee Paying. It can apply to an entire degree from year one, where the course was never government-subsidised to begin with, or it can apply partway through a degree, where an earlier CSP component transitions into a full-fee component once you progress into a later, more specialised stage. Either way, FFP cost cannot be deferred through HECS-HELP, and there is no Return of Service Obligation attached, since the higher fee replaces the bonding arrangement rather than sitting alongside it.
• ERC (extended rural cohort) is a Monash-specific admission pathway. Students hold a standard CSP place and pay through HECS-HELP like everyone else. The difference is in your placement location. After your two pre-clinical years on the main campus, you spend most of your three clinical years at rural and regional placement sites. Unlike BMP there's no Return of Service Obligation.

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University-specific data matrix

A side-by-side view of how each Victorian course selects.

_{International courses are omitted; international applicants apply directly to each university (see above).}

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Timeline & Applying

The critical VTAC timeline for 2027 entry

It is key to note that most students will receive their first university offers in the December offer round, but Monash medicine and La Trobe medicine only start being released in the January rounds.

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Step-by-step: setting up your VTAC application

The process is quite straightforward, but it is important to match your details to what your school holds. If you don't have a Unique Student Identifier (USI) yet to complete your VTAC application, you can get one here.

1. Create your VTAC account. Set up an account using an email and a chosen password. Make sure to set up your account using your personal email, as you may lose access to any school emails in the future. Enter your name exactly as your school records it, or VTAC may not align with the data your school sends. Once you create an account, you will need to set up Multi-Factor Authentication and verify your email.
2. Complete your profile. Sign into your VTAC account and go to "Complete your profile". Fill in your personal details, including your education status, citizenship or visa details, Unique Student Identifier (USI) and address.
3. Add your education history. Enter your education history, including your VCE student number or IB candidate number. Once this is completed and saved, then add your UCAT candidate details under the "English language and admissions tests" category.
4. Start your course application and add your preferences. Use VTAC Course Search to find the codes of your desired courses, then search the code in your Course Application page and add it to your preference list. For example, to add Monash School Leaver Entry, search 2800311231 and add it to your preferences. Course names will also appear if you search the relevant key terms (e.g. medicine). Each preference in your list has up and down arrows to move it, and a cross to remove it. Save your preferences and exit, or submit and pay. You can still add, change or remove your preferences after you submit and pay, given that it is before your relevant change of preferences deadlines.
5. Submit and pay. Pay the application fee of $83 (Year 12 students) or $104 (all other students) and submit by 28 September. Be careful not to delete any preferences for Medicine, as these ones cannot be added into your list after 5pm 28 September.

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Preferencing & Equity

Preferencing strategy

This is the part that most students tend to misunderstand, which becomes something that can cost them an offer. VTAC lets you list eight preferences, and you will usually need six or seven to cover every medical and dental course in Victoria: three for Monash, two for Melbourne, and one or two for La Trobe if you are rural or interested in dentistry. That leaves one or two slots for backups, whether that is a Bachelor of Biomedicine, a science or allied health degree, or something else. It is always advised to add at least one non-medical or non-dental back up option if you want to study at university in Victoria.

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How VTAC turns preferences into an offer

Most students assume that preferencing a specific course higher on VTAC increases your chances of getting the offer compared to someone who preferenced it lower. This is a misconception, because this is how offers are actually made:

• At each offer round, every university tells VTAC whether you met the requirements it set that year.
• VTAC then gives you one offer based on the highest course on your list that you qualified for.
• Universities cannot see where you ranked them, so your preference order never affects your competitiveness. Please note, however, that if you apply to La Trobe Dental Science and become successful for the Aspire Program, you need to ensure that Dental Science is your top eligible preference in the December Round. ("Eligible" means you know you will not be receiving any offers for any preferences that are listed above La Trobe Dental Science.)
• Preferencing also has no impact on the interview offers you receive. Universities will send them out regardless of where their course sits on your list.

For example:

Suppose a student lists Monash Medicine School Leaver Entry first and Monash Medicine Bonded Medical Place second. If their scores fall short for School Leaver but are enough for Bonded, VTAC offers Bonded. If they qualify for both, VTAC offers only the higher one, School Leaver. The key idea is to preference based on what you genuinely want to get into. Even if you think your UCAT, ATAR, or interview was not competitive enough, a second or third round offer is still possible, but only if the course sits high on your list. If you place it low, you might never find out whether you were competitive enough for an offer.

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Interstate strategy

Similar processes apply in other states. Apply to medical schools in other states because it does not reduce your chances in Victoria. State admissions centres operate independently, so a VTAC list sits alongside a UAC (NSW), QTAC (QLD), or SATAC (SA) list without interference. Many strong applicants end up choosing between several offers around the country.

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VTAC equity schemes and scholarships (formerly known as SEAS)

What this does

VTAC equity schemes are for students who have faced hardship or difficult circumstances that may have affected their ATAR. It lets a university assess you closer to your full potential by taking those circumstances into account.

Equity schemes do not change your ATAR, but will increase your "selection rank". This is important because universities evaluate your selection rank, not your raw ATAR. An equity schemes application can grant you some additional adjustment points to your aggregate score, which is then expressed as a number of 0–99.95 using an ATAR conversion table. This new number is your selection rank.

Each institution manages equity schemes in its own way, so your selection rank at Monash might be different to your selection rank at the University of Melbourne. Monash publishes an equity schemes calculator you can use to estimate your adjustment. The University of Melbourne runs a similar system with its own estimator, and lodging an Equity Schemes application also puts you in automatic consideration for equity-based scholarships.

While equity schemes can boost your selection rank, it is difficult to guarantee the exact number of points a university will add onto your ATAR, so this is not something to excessively rely on. Think of an equity schemes application as a bonus, rather than something that you need to meet ATAR thresholds.

Since an equity schemes application only has the capacity to change your selection rank, it does not exempt you from a course's minimum ATAR requirements or other eligibility criteria. For example, Monash medicine's 90 ATAR minimum stands regardless of any equity schemes adjustment. It should be noted though that a competitive ATAR for Monash medicine is usually higher than 90 regardless of equity schemes.

The four categories

VTAC groups equity schemes into four categories, each with its own evidence requirements:

• Personal information and location. No further documentation required; rurality and low socioeconomic status are determined by your address.
• Financial hardship. Centrelink statements, Family Tax Benefit records, or a Statement of Support, depending on circumstances.
• Disability or medical condition. A description of circumstances, an impact statement, and a statement of support from a health practitioner.
• Difficult family and life circumstances. A description of circumstances, an impact statement, and a statement of support from a responsible person.

Some situations, such as the death of a family member or other high-impact circumstances, call for additional evidence. Check VTAC's documentation list for the specifics that apply to you.

The impact statement

The equity schemes application also involves an impact statement, which outlines how you have been affected by your individual circumstances. Make sure to write it in your own words and perspective, avoid just listing events, and make sure to explain how each circumstance impacted your education and daily life. You want the reader to finish the statement understanding not just what happened, but how it cost you academically. The connection between your circumstances and its academic impact is what allows an assessor to adjust fairly.

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After the application: change of preference

Medicine and dentistry are unusual: you cannot add a new medical or dental course to your list after 28 September, so ensure not to accidentally delete it from your list after the final deadline. However, during the periods when change of preferences is open, you can rearrange your existing preferences or add non-medical and non-dental backup options. If you want to do this, make sure to check the backup options' application deadlines, since some competitive courses outside of medicine or dentistry close early too.

If you ordered your preferences initially based on how much you wanted each course, most preferences usually would not move. If you ranked them by how competitive you felt at the time (which is discouraged), revisit the order once results are out, especially if you scored well above or well below expectation. The golden rule holds throughout: never remove your dream course from the top spot unless you genuinely no longer want it.

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Offers and enrolment

VTAC offers you the highest preference you qualify for, and because there is more than one round, a first-round result is not your last chance. Each offer gives you three options:

• Accept. Always accept a first-round offer, even one you do not ultimately want, so you are guaranteed a course. Accepting the offer does not commit you to the course fees; you can unenrol from the course without needing to pay up until the census date, which is usually late March. Even if you are awaiting an offer from another state, accept your offer for the time being.
• Defer. Holding a place for a year is possible, but medical and dental schools are stricter about deferrals given how competitive they are. Monash and Melbourne, for instance, allow it only in exceptional circumstances. Confirm the policy before relying on it.
• Reject. You can let an offer lapse, meaning you can choose not to respond to it and let the offer expire. This, however, is the riskiest choice, because you cannot undo a rejection. If no later offer arrives, you will not have a backup option to rely on.

Offer rounds are also where you maximise your chances. If you were to receive an offer to, say, your second preference, the smart move is to accept it for the time being, then move that course to the bottom of your list, so you stay eligible for your higher preferences in later rounds. Many top-band applicants will apply across the country, receive multiple offers, decide where they want to go, and eventually unenrol from all but their final choice. When students reject an offer or unenrol from a course before the census date, it frees a place for a student waiting on a later round. Make sure to enrol with the university directly before the enrolment deadline, which will be set by the university within your offer, as accepting it through VTAC only is not sufficient.

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How to stand out

Insider angle: what most applicants get wrong about Victorian medical and dental applications

The most common mistake when it comes to medical and dental applications in Victoria is thinking only the ATAR matters. That's not always the case. Based on the university you apply to, other factors may be considered, which can give you a significant advantage if you are well-researched and well-prepared.

Monash is the only Victorian course that uses the UCAT, and it weights ATAR, UCAT, and interview equally, so a high ATAR only will not necessarily carry you. The University of Melbourne pathways do the opposite: they are ATAR-only guarantees with no UCAT requirement, however involve hurdles you must pass later (a 75% WAM and a final-year interview). La Trobe medicine is rural-only and runs on ATAR plus a rural endorsement, again with no UCAT, while La Trobe dentistry is decided on ATAR alone.

As such, if your dream course is Monash medicine, being well-rounded with competitive results across the UCAT and ATAR is very important. That being said, even if your UCAT doesn't make the competitive cut offs, you could still have a chance of getting a guaranteed pathway into medicine with a high ATAR (e.g. 99+). However, it is worth noting that Monash is the only undergraduate 5-year medicine program in Victoria, which is why for most aspiring medical students, the UCAT is crucial.

Insider data: Contour student offers, Victoria, 2026 cycle

Across Contour students in the 2026 cycle, Victorian offers included 101 Monash medicine offers and 32 La Trobe medicine and dentistry offers.

Nationally, Contour students received 867 medicine and dentistry offers across more than 500 students, and around one in three Monash medicine offers in the 2026 cycle went to Contour students.

These are offer counts to Contour students, not predictions for any individual applicant.

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Case study: the importance of preferencing

Mia is an illustrative composite, not a real student. Her scores and decisions reflect patterns we see across many Victorian applicants.

Archetype: Victorian, direct-entry, very high ATAR, seemingly uncompetitive UCAT

Decision point: How to arrange her preferences for Monash and Melbourne to get into medicine

Outcome: Received a late round Monash offer

Key lesson: Match your preference order to what you actually want to get into

Mia finished Year 12 in Melbourne with a predicted ATAR around 99.90 and an 87th percentile UCAT score. Her dream course was always Monash medicine because it was the shortest pathway to becoming a doctor in Victoria, so she put all three streams of Monash Medicine in her top three courses.

When Mia was creating her course preference list on VTAC, she recognised that her ATAR would be the strongest part of her profile. Her 87th percentile UCAT score made her less confident for Monash medicine, since all her friends at school said the 90th percentile was what she needed for a second round interview offer to even make it to the offer stage.

As a result, she was tempted to put a course at Melbourne as her top preference, because she knew she would be most competitive for a Melbourne Chancellor's Scholarship with her 99.90 predicted ATAR. However, she wasn't sure where to put Monash medicine, or if it was even worth it to put Monash Medicine into her list, because she thought she had already lost all chances with the lower UCAT score.

After getting more information from her career's counsellor and previous Year 12 graduates who have gone through the process, she learnt a few things:

• To preference courses based on what she actually wanted to get into, and to leave courses on her list even if she doesn't think she is competitive.
• Even though her UCAT score seems to be not enough for an interview, she should still put Monash medicine on her list, just in case a high ATAR could make her more competitive for a second round interview.
• Melbourne makes their offers in the December round, but Monash only gives out Medicine offers from the first January Round with no one being eligible in the December round. This meant that putting Monash's three streams on top of everything else would not affect her chances at getting her 4th-8th preferences in the December round.

Using this logic, she ended up putting her preferences in the following order by prioritising medicine and putting dentistry and other bachelor degrees as back ups:

1. Monash Medicine School Leaver Entry
2. Monash Medicine School Leaver Entry Extended Rural Cohort
3. Monash Medicine Bonded School Leaver Entry
4. Melbourne University, Bachelor of Biomedicine
5. Melbourne University, Graduate Degree Package – Bachelor of Biomedicine + Doctor of Dental Surgery
6. La Trobe University, Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours)
7. Monash University, Bachelor of Biomedical Science
8. Melbourne University, Bachelor of Science

When her ATAR came in at 99.90, she met the scholarship threshold and secured a guaranteed CSP pathway into the Doctor of Medicine; she then got the Bachelor of Biomedicine offer at Melbourne in the December round and enrolled into it for the time being.

To Mia's shock, in late December, she received a second round interview for Monash Medicine, likely because of her exceptional ATAR. Knowing that she had to perform well in the interview to boost her application that was currently being held back by her UCAT score, she worked very hard to prepare and completed it in early January.

When the first January offer round came around, Mia unfortunately missed out on an offer for Monash Medicine. Despite this, she still left Monash Medicine in her top three, just in case. Throughout the January rounds, she still did not hear back from Monash, and was prepared to just go to Melbourne. However, in February, Mia unexpectedly had a Bonded Monash Medicine offer, thanks to her leaving it in the top three despite losing almost all hope. Mia then enrolled into Monash for medicine, and unenrolled from Melbourne's Bachelor of Biomedicine.

The key lesson here is to not preference based on competitiveness, but based on your genuine desire for each course. Had Mia not left Monash Medicine high up in her preferences, she might not have gotten an offer at all.

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The details most applicants miss

The headline rules are easy to find. These are the smaller points that decide outcomes for Victorian applicants every year.

• Preference based on genuine desire for the course. If your dream course is Monash medicine, avoid not preferencing Monash medicine highly just because your UCAT score seems to not meet past cut-offs.
• Monash medicine involves three preferences, not one. School Leaver, Extended Rural, and Bonded are separate codes. It is recommended to list all three to maximise chances of a place in Monash medicine.
• The Melbourne guarantees are conditional. A Chancellor's Scholarship or guaranteed pathway can be secured straight after high school, but keeping your spot in the graduate degree depends on achieving a specific WAM and passing a hurdle interview in your final undergraduate year, alongside meeting some pre-requisite subjects if you are choosing to continue into the Doctor of Dental Surgery.
• La Trobe medicine is rural-only. Without an MM2–MM7 rural endorsement you cannot use it, so it is not a general backup. La Trobe dentistry, by contrast, is open to all on ATAR, with Aspire lowering the bar to 95.
• You cannot add medicine or dentistry after 28 September. You can rearrange existing preferences until 7 December (post-school applicants), 12 December (current VCE students) or 18 December (current IB students), but a medicine or dentistry course not on your list by 28 September cannot be added back.
• Accepting on VTAC is only step one. A VTAC acceptance secures the offer, but you still have to enrol with the university directly to be in the course.
• Equity schemes adjust your selection rank, not your UCAT or your ATAR. An equity scheme application can lift your selection rank, but it does nothing for a UCAT result, which still has to be competitive on its own. Special considerations may also not lower any minimum ATAR requirements, unless directly specified by the university.

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Frequently asked questions

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Conclusion and next steps

Victoria rewards applicants who understand that it is not one race but several. Get the selection logic right and the preferencing puzzle becomes manageable.

• Every Victorian medicine and dentistry course runs through VTAC; you cannot apply to the universities directly.
• Monash is the only course that uses the UCAT and weights ATAR, UCAT, and interview equally; Melbourne and La Trobe run on ATAR-based guarantees and rural entry.
• With eight slots for around six courses, order by genuine preference and keep your dream course first.

Action points:

• Map your profile: decide whether your ATAR or your UCAT is the stronger half, and which courses that favours.
• Build your preference list before 28 September, listing all three Monash codes and keeping medicine and dentistry above any backups.
• If you have faced hardship, lodge the VTAC equity schemes and scholarships application by 9 October and write the impact statement in your own words, linking each circumstance to its academic effect.
• Verify every course code, fee, and date in VTAC Course Search and on VTAC's key dates page before you submit.