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Special Consideration for Admission Scheme

If you have a record of tertiary study and your secondary or tertiary studies were impacted by circumstances outside your control you can apply for special consideration.

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Benefits

This scheme allows students whose Year 12 results or tertiary academic qualification are close to but below the entry requirements to apply for entry through special consideration.

Applicants provide details of the circumstances that contributed to their secondary or tertiary studies being negatively impacted and provide a statement explaining why they will succeed at university.

Eligibility

Requirements

To be eligible to apply for this scheme, you must:

  • be a domestic student with a record of any tertiary study
  • have experienced disruption during your secondary or tertiary studies
  • have an ATAR (or equivalent) that is close to the entry requirement of your preferred course
  • be applying for undergraduate study commencing in Semester 1.

Record of tertiary study

Having a record of tertiary study is defined as having attempted study (at least one unit of study) in:

  • a diploma or advanced diploma, including vocational education and training (VET) qualifications at that level if it was accredited by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) or an overseas equivalent
  • a bachelor's degree or equivalent or higher, at a recognised university or non-university higher education provider.

If you do not have a record of tertiary study and experienced disruption to your secondary studies, you can apply for our Educational Access Scheme.

Excluded students

This scheme is also available for applicants who have been excluded from a course at a tertiary institution and wish to provide a statement about the reasons for the exclusion. These applicants must have completed one semester of study at another recognised tertiary institution since their exclusion to be eligible to apply.

Further information on recognised qualifications for admission.

How to apply

1. Apply for admission

Before applying for the scheme, you must first apply for admission.

2. Apply for special consideration

To apply, you will need to submit the application form (pdf, 1MB), personal statements and supporting documentation to admissions.office@sydney.edu.au before the deadline.

Important dates

Applications open 1 August 2025
Applications close 5 pm (AEDT), 15 December 2025
Offers made 8 January 2026 onwards

Your personal statement should tell us how you have been disadvantaged and explain how this has affected your performance in your studies.

Please make your statement as clear and concise as possible and no longer than two pages.

Your supporting documents should provide evidence to support the claims you are making about your disadvantages, where possible. 

You do not need to provide documents about your school or university results, as we have access to these through UAC or your current student application.

If you have questions about your application, please email the Admissions Office at  admissions.office@sydney.edu.au.