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VCE - The Victorian Certificate of Education

The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is one of the qualifications you can get if you finish Year 11 and 12 at high school in Victoria. After completing the VCE students get an ATAR score to use to apply for university or TAFE.

Choosing your VCE subjects

There are more than 90 VCE subjects (also called 'studies' or 'units'). VCE students usually do 20 to 24 subjects over two years from Year 11 to Year 12. Year 11 is often called Unit 1/2 of the VCE, while Year 12 is called Unit 3/4.

When picking subjects for VCE, think about:

what interests you

what you're good at

if the subject leads to a job you are interested in

if the subject prepares you for training or tertiary courses you want to do.

The best way to pick subjects is to work backwards.

Think about a job you'd like to do, then find out what skills or qualifications you need. Start your research with our Career profiles.

High VCE scores

Because the ATAR is a ranking out of 100 and not a score, it doesn't mean much to talk about 'high' ATARs. The idea of an 'average' or 'top' VCE result also doesn't mean much.

If you want something to compare your ATAR to, you could look at:

the 'clearly-in' score – this score is included with most course descriptions in VTAC's list of courses, showing the ATAR last year's applicants needed to be offered a place in that course

the '% below' score – this score is sometimes included with course descriptions, showing what percentage of applicants were offered a place in that course even though their ATAR was under the 'clearly-in' score.

Not all course descriptions include 'clearly-in' or '% below' scores. Selection for some courses is based on other requirements as well (for example, auditions, interviews, application forms or folios).

You can search for courses and course descriptions to find if a 'clearly-in' score has been provided using VTAC's CourseSearch tool.

VCE Assessment – SATs, SACs, exams and the GAT

When you do VCE you're assessed:

internally by your school (using SACs and SATs)

externally through the VCAA (using exams).

In Year 11 all assessment is internal. In Year 12 assessment is internal and external.

What happens if you don’t pass VCE?

Technically you can’t 'fail' VCE. The two things people usually mean when they talk about failing VCE are:

not completing enough subjects to get an ATAR

ending up with an ATAR lower than you hoped.

There are ways to deal with each of these situations.

1. If you didn’t complete enough VCE subjects

To complete VCE you need to complete a minimum of 16 subjects (units) across year 11 and 12. It doesn’t matter what your results are – as long as you complete all of your subjects, you'll get your VCE.

If you don’t complete enough subjects to finish VCE, you’ll be sent a letter saying so. You also won’t get an ATAR.

If this happens to you, you can always finish VCE – and get an ATAR – by going back to school to do more subjects. Whether you do this at your existing school, or enrol in a new school, is up to you.

For more information about completing enough subjects, talk to your school careers advisor or call the VCAA on 1800 134 197.

2. If you didn’t get the ATAR you needed

If you don’t get an ATAR high enough to get into the course you wanted, you can always get advice from your school.

On the day VCE results come out, most schools provide an opportunity to discuss your options. This might include a review of your course preferences.

Switching between VCE and VCAL

The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is an option for year 11 and 12 students who aren’t planning on doing tertiary study. It gives you practical training and the skills to go on to further training.

If you want to, you can change from doing VCE to doing VCAL, or from doing VCAL to doing VCE.

If you've started VCE and you want to change to VCAL, any VCE or VET subjects you've passed will count towards your VCAL.

If you've started VCAL and want to switch to VCE, any VCE subjects you've passed as part of your VCAL will count towards your VCE.

For more information about switching between VCE and VCAL, talk to your school career counsellor.

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