Adjustment factors

The Notre Dame Difference

Notre Dame’s pastoral care has always been a hallmark of the University’s commitment to its students. Admission to Notre Dame is based on the whole person, and applicants are considered for more than their academic record alone. Additional factors that are taken into account include an applicant’s service or volunteering activities, leadership experience, participation in sport or creative fields, work experience, and community involvement.

Our adjustment factors seek to address adversity faced by students, reward exceptional performance and recognise extracurricular activity. They are designed to ensure every student has the opportunity to achieve their goal of gaining entry to, or pursuing study at, Notre Dame.

We also offer a range of transition support opportunities for school leavers to assist with entry to Notre Dame and to ensure a smooth and enjoyable start to university life. Transition support options include undergraduate certificates, our Logos for Schools program, peer mentoring, Indigenous transition support and orientation, and on-campus immersion courses for Gifted and Talented students prior to the start of semester.

What are Adjustment Factors?

Adjustment factors (previously called ‘bonus points’) are additional points which are added to your ATAR to create your Selection Rank.

Notre Dame offers adjustment factors across a number of different categories, outlined below.

Applicants can receive up to 5 adjustment factors (points) from each of the below categories, to a maximum of 10 in total.

Notre Dame’s Adjustment Factors

• Individual Factor Adjustments (1 - 5 adjustment factor points)

  As part of an application to Notre Dame, you are invited to provide details of personal qualities, work and life experience, and contribution to community life which will be considered as part of the admissions process.

  Dependent on the level of your contributions, you can be awarded between 1 and 5 adjustment factor points.

  Refer to our Individual Factors webpage for further details and a copy of the form.

• Equity Adjustments (1 - 5 adjustment factor points)

  Students who have experienced significant educational or other disadvantage due to circumstances beyond their control may qualify for equity adjustments.

  You will need to complete an application and provide supporting documentation to be considered. You can be awarded between 1 and 5 adjustment factor points, depending on the level and/or severity of disadvantage experienced. See below for links to further details.

  If applying through UAC or TISC, refer to their EAS (Educational Access Scheme) webpages for further details:

  UAC - EAS

  TISC - EAS

  If applying directly to Notre Dame, you can either submit to us the documentation you have supplied to UAC or TISC, or you can complete our Special Consideration form.

• Elite Athletes & Artistic Performers (5 adjustment factor points)

  Athletes who compete at – and performers who have had success at – a state, national or international level may be eligible for 5 adjustment factor points.

  If you are an applicant who falls under this category, you must clearly indicate and provide evidence that you are an elite athlete or performer at the time of your application in order to have adjustment factor points applied.

• University Priority Groups (5 adjustment factor points)

  Notre Dame recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, along with Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel, as priority groups who may be eligible for 5 adjustment factor points as part of their application.

  Points will be applied automatically for applicants who indicate that they identify as part of these priority groups.

• Subject Performance (either 2, 3 or 5 adjustment factor points)

  Current and recent school leavers who achieve outstanding results in school subjects which are relevant to their chosen program at Notre Dame will receive either 2, 3 or 5 adjustment factor points, depending on the level of results achieved. These will be applied automatically.

  Please refer to the following for a list of the school subjects considered, along with the results and their respective adjustment factor points across different Notre Dame disciplines.

  Subject Performance Adjustments – NSW

  Subject Performance Adjustments - WA

  Subject adjustment factor information for interstate applicants:

  Please refer to the following page for a list of equivalent school subjects:  HSC board developed courses to be examined in 2022 (uac.edu.au)

  Please also refer to the following page for a list of equivalent results: https://www.uac.edu.au/future-applicants/admission-criteria/year-12-qualifications.

• Location (1 - 5 adjustment factor points)

  Current and recent school leavers who live, or have attended school, in designated areas may be eligible for location-based adjustment factors.

  Rural and Regional
  
  If you attended a school in an area which is classified as rural or regional, you will qualify for between 1 and 5 adjustment factor points. Eligibility will be assessed based on the details of the school you entered in your application and, if you qualify, points will be automatically applied. If you are applying through UAC, this will be administered through their Education Access Scheme (EAS).

  • For a list of schools in rural or regional areas, please refer to the UAC website.

  SEIFA
  
  If the area you live in is classified as being in the lowest 25% of socio-economic disadvantage in Australia you will qualify for between 3 and 5 adjustment factor points. Your eligibility will be assessed based on the residential address you enter in your application and, if you qualify, points will be automatically applied. This will be determined by the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). If you are applying through UAC, this will be administered through their Education Access Scheme (EAS).

  • To see the latest version of SEIFA, please refer to the ABS website.

  
  ICSEA

  If you attended a school with an Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) value of 1025 or lower, you will qualify for 5 adjustment factor points. Eligibility will be assessed based on the details of the school you entered in your application and, if you qualify, points will be automatically applied.

  • To find your school’s ICSEA value, refer to the My School website.

COVID Adjustment Factor

Entry Pathways to Notre Dame

At Notre Dame, we consider each student as a whole person, seeing beyond just academic scores. As a result, we offer a number of admission pathways to tertiary study at the University. Possible pathways take into consideration your work and life experience, recent secondary education, and other Higher Education or VET study.

We are also proud to offer our Tertiary Pathway Program (TPP), which provides an option for applicants who do not meet the minimum admission requirements for immediate entry into the undergraduate degree of their choice. The semester of study completed via our TPP equips students with the skills and knowledge to gain entry to, and succeed at, their desired undergraduate program at Notre Dame.

Contact us for more information, or apply direct.