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Victoria has four selective entry high schools, with about 1,000 Year 9 places a year. To get one, students sit a single entrance exam in June of Year 8. ACER runs the applications, the exam and the offers for the Victorian Department of Education.
For Year 9 entry in 2028, applications are expected to open in March 2027, with the exam in June 2027.
The four schools
| School | Suburb | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Melbourne High School | South Yarra | Boys |
| The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School | Melbourne | Girls |
| Nossal High School | Berwick | Co-ed |
| Suzanne Cory High School | Werribee | Co-ed |
All four are government schools for Years 9 to 12. None is zoned, so students can apply from anywhere in Victoria. Compare them in Victoria's 4 Selective Entry High Schools Compared.
Who can sit the exam?
- Students in Year 8 in the year of the exam, who have not sat the Year 9 entry exam before.
- Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens living in Australia, or students with a visa or ImmiCard that exempts them from international student fees.
- Students from government, Catholic and independent schools, and registered home-school students. Interstate and overseas students can apply.
Fee-paying international students enrolled in Victorian schools are not eligible.
What is in the exam?
The exam runs in one morning. Testing time is 2 hours and 35 minutes, and the whole visit takes about 4 hours.
| Component | Time | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning | 60 minutes | Multiple choice |
| Break | 20 minutes | |
| Reading and Verbal Reasoning | 55 minutes | Multiple choice |
| Short break | 5 minutes | |
| Writing | 40 minutes | Two written tasks |
Answers go in a paper answer booklet, with multiple-choice answers shaded for scanning. Calculators are not allowed.
ACER describes the five areas this way:
- Mathematics: applying Year 8 maths knowledge and reasoning to real-world problems.
- Quantitative Reasoning: reasoning with numbers, patterns and shapes.
- Reading: finding information in texts, then interpreting, evaluating and reflecting on it.
- Verbal Reasoning: reasoning with words, concepts and logic.
- Writing: getting ideas across clearly and coherently in precise language.
Content never goes beyond the Year 8 curriculum. The exam is still hard on purpose: ACER says many candidates answer only about half the questions correctly, and not finishing is normal.
From Jon: These logic skills show up in other high-stakes tests too, like ADF aptitude tests and the reasoning tests big accounting and finance firms give job candidates. They measure how well someone can reason, spot patterns and draw conclusions from the information in front of them. If schools taught it, students would do much better, but most Australian schools don't teach logic directly because it isn't a subject in the Australian Curriculum.
How are places offered?
| Category | Share of places | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Standard merit | 85% | Ranked on exam performance |
| Equity consideration | Up to 10% | Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card holders, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students |
| Principal discretion | Up to 5% | Students with strong results invited by a principal to apply |
Two rules shape the results:
- The 4% cap. No more than 4% of one Year 8 school's students can receive standard or principal discretion offers (10% for Prep to Year 9 schools). Equity offers are not capped.
- Preferences. Families list up to three schools in order. A student receives only the highest preference they qualify for, and offers cannot be transferred between schools.
Fees
- Application fee: $175.
- Free for families with a Commonwealth Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, and for First Nations families. A hardship reduction is also available.
- Remote sitting (interstate or overseas): $215 on top of the application fee.
When are results released?
For the last cycle, results and Round 1 offers came out on Monday 3 August 2026, with Round 2 on 13 August and Round 3 on 20 August. About 90% of places are filled in Round 1. Full timeline: Victorian Selective Entry Exam Dates and Registration.
How to prepare
ACER publishes a free set of sample questions to show the style of the exam, though it says these may not match the real difficulty. There are no public past papers.
- Baseline first. One timed attempt at each section to find the weakest area.
- Untimed skill-building. Fix the weakest area before adding time pressure.
- Timed mocks. Full papers in the real order and timing in the last two months.
From Jon: It isn't strictly baseline, then skills, then mocks. It's baseline, untimed skills, a timed mock, then back to skills and another mock, going backwards and forwards to see what's improving and what still needs work.
For the writing section, see Victorian Selective Entry Writing Test.
Frequently asked questions
What year do students sit the Victorian selective entry exam? Year 8, for entry to Year 9 the following year.
Who runs the exam? ACER (the Australian Council for Educational Research), on behalf of the Victorian Department of Education. Year 10 and 11 entry is separate and uses an EduTest exam run for the schools.
How many questions are in the exam? ACER does not publish question counts. It publishes the timing of each section and a sample question pack.
Can my child use a calculator? No. Calculators, phones, smart watches and dictionaries are not allowed in the exam room.
How many students get a place? About 1,000 places are offered each year across the four schools.
Can my child sit the exam again? No. Students can sit the Year 9 entry exam only once. Later entry at Year 10 or 11 is through a separate exam.
Sources
- Selective entry high schools, Victorian Government
- ACER: Apply
- ACER: Prepare
- ACER: Exam day
- ACER: Results and selection
- Melbourne High School: Enrol
Facts checked against official sources on 31 October 2026. Dates for 2028 entry will be updated once published.