The Victorian selective entry exam is one exam, sat in Year 8, for entry into Year 9 at four government selective schools: Melbourne High School, Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, Nossal High School, and Suzanne Cory High School.
Places are allocated mostly on the exam: around 85% on results alone, with up to 10% held for equity considerations and up to 5% for principal's discretion. There is no school report, no interview, and where you live does not come into it.
It is competitive. The four schools take a set number of students each year and the exam is open right across the state, so no amount of preparation makes an offer a given.
The current format
The exam has five sections, sat in one sitting.
| Section | Questions | Time | Per question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 35 questions | 30 minutes | 51 seconds |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 35 questions | 30 minutes | 51 seconds |
| Reading and Verbal Reasoning | 75 questions | 55 minutes | 44 seconds |
| Creative Writing | 1 task | 20 minutes | N/A |
| Persuasive Writing | 1 task | 20 minutes | N/A |
In total, that is 145 multiple choice questions plus two writing tasks, across 155 minutes.
Every multiple choice question has four options, A to D. There is no penalty for a wrong answer.