Most Saints students will apply for courses in Queensland through QTAC - in this case, each applicant gets six preferences. You simply list six courses that you'd like to study, in the order of preference. Sounds simple enough, but it's anything but - there have been cases of students who received an OP1 not getting a single offer from a university! Hopefully this tells you that ordering preferences is something that you should do very, very carefully. Here's QTAC's advice on getting the best out of your preferences.
1. Follow the 2 'Want'-2 'Realistic'-2 'Pathway' Rule
The following example will illustrate this most simply.
Tom is a Year 12 student who manages to stay out of Doro's way most of the time, but it's Term 4 and he hasn't bothered seeing the Careers Advisor; he doesn't like wasting his lunchtimes on useless stuff. Tom doesn't qualify for any bonus rank schemes and he reckons he might get an OP of between 6 and 10. He's got his heart set on studying Engineering at UQ, but reckons QUT might be okay as a second choice.
He looks at the OP cut-offs for January 2016 and finds out that Engineering at UQ has a cut-off of OP6, and at QUT it's OP9. Sweet, he thinks to himself, and just applies for the two he wants. To pad out his preferences, he puts another couple of random things down - as long as it's at UQ or QUT he's not that fussed.
Disaster strikes mid-December - Tom gets an OP12 and wishes he'd taken Doro's advice to write his homework down each week. He frantically tries to call the Careers Advisor but she is being difficult by being on holiday exactly when he needs her. He realises that an OP 12 will not get him into any of the courses on his list.
Had Tom listened during the 'Applying through QTAC' presentation, he would have received the following suggestion on how to order his 6 preferences: Top 2 preferences are desired: the courses you really want todoat the universities you really want to go to 717001 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) - full-time or part-time (6,89) UQ 412502 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) - full-time (9,81) QUT Middle 2 preferences are realistic courses - same course at a regional uni, or different course in the same general industry 324021 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) - full-time or part-time (12,74) JCU Cairns 234621 Bachelor of Engineering with Honours - full-time or part time (12,74) Griffith Bottom 2 preferences are pathway courses - designed to get you into the course you want a bit later, through a different pathway 326271 Bachelor of Planning - full-time or part-time (17,63) JCU Cairns 821389 Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Specialisation) - flexible delivery (17,63) CQU
Why does Tom need the bottom two if he knows he can get into JCU? He doesn't, after he knows both his OP and the cut-off, but he will only know the cut-off when the offers are made - a bit late for planning. He needs them just in case he's done something silly like fail a semester of one of the prerequisites (for JCU these are English and Maths B), in which case even with an OP1 he won't be accepted - but young Tom was very afraid of his Maths and English teachers (both of whom answer to the moniker Dark Lord) and scraped through. Well done, Tom!
He also needs them to plan for a worst-case scenario in which his OP is substantially different from what he expected. This doesn't matter so much for Tom, who can study Engineering with an OP17, but may matter very much to someone who was hoping for an OP2, wants to study Physiotherapy, and ends up with an OP4. The 'pathway' courses (if they are the only ones you're accepted into) will get you a foot in the door at uni, where the idea is that you will work hard and transfer into the course you originally wanted in your second year. Be aware, though, that really competitive courses will probably have specific pathways that they accept, so check the uni websites very carefully. 2. Re-examine your preferences once you know your OP
If you get your OP and know that your first preference is a bust, change it! In Tom's case, he should probably leave the QUT course in as preference one, if that's where he really wants to go, since cut-offs can sometimes change dramatically. In your case, you might not change it, but if you're one of those modest people who underestimated your OP and didn't put in your real 'wants', you should make use of your preference-change options (three free changes; after that you pay) and re-order things.
3. Respond to your offer ASAP
The QTAC computer can only make one offer at a time, and it will scroll through your preferences and make you an offer on the highest possible option. If you let your offer lapse (you only get about a week), you may miss out on getting an offer at all.
4. Make sure to give your private email address and a current mobile number
QTAC can't offer you anything if it can't contact you, and your school email address will be offline by the time you get an offer. So make sure you're contactable!