Thank you for the reply, appreciate it @AngelWings.
(b) feel OK with risking it slightly, then a 90+ ATAR (unadjusted) will be alright (allowing for more demand/ less available places).
Ugh such a risk, not sure how the adjustments at Deakin work. Since UNSW both a Bachelor of VisSc or a Bachelor of VisSc/Masters in Optom do not offer any adjustments.
Note that there may be more adjustments made since you’re from NSW (I assume) and did the HSC.
I'm from NSW you assumed correct. I do hope I can get in and if they consider me being from NSW, I screwed up my atar (maths), I had completed accelerated HSC Biology last year and gotten a b6 (90) whilst doing the rest of my subjects this year (chemistry - predicted b5, business studies - predicted b6, english advanced - predicted b6 and advanced maths - a possible b5 but maths really screwed my internal ranks up).
A friend of mine graduated from the same school with a 91 and got into Deakin Optom but this was in 2015, so the atar cut-off has increased since then.
If you plan to apply via VTAC and haven’t done so already, then you really ought to apply soon. Otherwise, you have until Feb 23, 2020 to apply to Deakin directly.
Yeah, I've applied via VTAC.