The complete guide to UNSW early offers

Everything you need to know about UNSW early offers, how they work and how to secure your spot early at one of Australia's leading universities.

Everything you need to know about accepting early offers from UNSW.

Wondering how you can secure your place at UNSW before completing your final exams?

This guide walks you through everything you need to know about UNSW early offers. From what early offers are to our admission pathways, we'll explain the process and help you understand your options when it comes to accepting an early offer from UNSW.

What is an early offer?

Early offers are exactly that – a chance to secure your place at UNSW before the main round of university offers. Each university has its own early offer process. At UNSW, an early offer means that as long as you sit your exams and receive an ATAR, you’ll be guaranteed a place in your chosen degree – no matter your final score.

What is an early conditional offer?

At UNSW, early conditional offers are offers with an adjusted ATAR requirement. We set a reduced ATAR for specific degrees, and a student must meet or go above that ATAR to receive a firm offer to that degree.

How can I get an early offer or early conditional offer from UNSW?

At UNSW, there are two schemes that you could apply to:

1. UNSW Gateway Admission Pathway

Our Gateway Admission Pathway is available for most undergraduate degrees, allowing successful applicants to receive either an early offer or early conditional offer. Check the eligibility criteria and learn more about Gateway.

2. UNSW Portfolio Entry Early Conditional Offer Scheme

Our Portfolio Entry scheme provides early conditional offers for a select degrees within UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture and UNSW Engineering. You can apply for Portfolio Entry by submitting a portfolio for your chosen degree.

Do I have to accept an early offer or early conditional offer?

If you receive an early offer from UNSW, we strongly encourage you to accept it.

We have a quota system for early offers, which makes sure every student receives the highest quality teaching and learning experience at UNSW. The quota may be reached before the deadline – especially in high-demand degrees such as Commerce. If you don’t accept your early offer, it may mean you miss out on a place in your preferred degree.

But no matter which degree you’ve applied to study, we recommend you accept your UNSW offer as early as possible – rather than waiting for the acceptance deadline – so you can secure your place.

If I accept an offer from another university first, can I accept one from UNSW later?

Yes! If you’ve received an early offer from another university first but are still hoping to receive one from UNSW, hold tight! You could still get one from us in another offer round.

When you receive your offer from UNSW, just remove the degree you’ve already accepted from your UAC preferences.

When does UNSW make early offers and early conditional offers?

The Gateway Admission Pathway and the Portfolio Early Conditional Offer Scheme make their offers at different times:

Round 1 Opens: Thursday, 10 April 2025
Round 1 Closes: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Round 1 Offer release: Thursday, 4 September 2025

Round 2 Opens: Thursday, 4 September 2025
Round 2 Closes: Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Round 2 Offer release: Friday, 5 December 2025

Firm offers for NSW students will be released on Thursday, 18 December 2025.
Submissions open: Monday, 5 May 2025
Submissions close: Monday, 21 July 2025 at 12pm
Early conditional offers released: Friday, 5 September 2025

Submissions open: Saturday, 6 September 2025
Submissions close: Monday, 17 November 2025 at 12pm
Early conditional offers released: Friday, 5 December 2025

Firm offer dates align with UAC offer rounds. If you achieve the minimum ATAR, you will receive a firm offer to your highest eligible preference via UAC on Tuesday, 23 December 2025.

^{*Offers may be made in subsequent UAC offer rounds rounds, subject to available places.}

When do other universities make early offers?

Some universities begin making early offers from September, ahead of the main offer rounds in December and January. They consider factors like your Year 11 results, any school recommendations and achievements outside of school. They might ask you to do a test, interview or audition, depending on the degree you want to study. They may also consider your socio-economic status.

If you want to be considered for an early offer at another university as a back-up option, make sure you know when its UAC application deadline is.

How does this compare to UNSW’s standard offer rounds?

Our main offer round for students in Year 12 is UAC December Round 2, with offers released on Tuesday, 23 December 2025.

You can change your preferences for December Round 2 until 11:59pm on Thursday, 18 December 2025. If you don’t receive an offer in the first round, you can still try our second offer round in UAC January Round 1.

If you’re an interstate applicant, your main offer round will be after your ATAR is available in January Round 1, with offers released on Thursday, 8 January 2026. Change of preferences closes for January Round 1 at 11:59pm on Tuesday, 30 December 2025.