Hardest Aussie universities to earn a spot in?

G'day mates, I'm an Australian student currently in year 12. Just beginning the uni application process and wanted to gauge which Australian universities are considered the hardest to get into. Naturally, I'm expecting the Group of Eight (Go8) are up there, but are there others I should consider?

Hello there! The Group of Eight (Go8) universities in Australia are indeed notorious for being competitive, particularly in terms of the entry requirements for their courses. The Go8 includes the University of Melbourne, Australian National University, University of Sydney, University of Queensland, Monash University, University of Western Australia, University of Adelaide, and the University of New South Wales.

From this set, there's a common stand that the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University (ANU) are consistently ranked as two of the toughest universities to gain admittance to in Australia. The University of Melbourne, for instance, has the highest minimum ATAR score amongst Australian universities for many of its programs. Similarly, ANU is renowned for its rigorous academic standards and competitive selection process, particularly for discerning programs like Law and Medicine.

Some other universities outside the Go8 are also known for their competitive admission standards, such as Macquarie University and University of Technology Sydney, particularly for certain programs like Law or Business.

However, it's vital to remember that admission requirements can vary greatly based on the specific course you're interested in. Thus, while a university might have a reputation for being particularly competitive overall, some individual courses may be more or less difficult to get into than others. My best advice would be to research the specific courses you're interested in at various universities to get an understanding of the entry requirements and competitiveness.