Aspiring dentists accepted into one of the country’s most prestigious universities have been unexpectedly barred from starting their postgraduate degree this year after the university accepted more enrolments than it had capacity for.
Some students who were due to start the dental surgery degree at the University of Melbourne this month have been told they will have to wait until 2026. Among them is a student relocating to Melbourne from Perth, who quit their job and rejected another university offer.
The University of Melbourne said there had been an unprecedented demand for places on the dental course.Credit: Simon Schluter
A University of Melbourne spokeswoman said some applicants who were offered places in 2025 had their admission deferred to 2026.
“We have apologised to the affected students for the disappointment and inconvenience this has caused, and have been meeting with these students to provide support and discuss their options,” she said.
The university refused to disclose exactly how many admission offers it had sent out. But it said it normally makes more offers than it has capacity for because not all students accept. This year, however, many more than usual did.
According to its website, the degree accepts only 98 students, a figure based on the availability of dental chairs at the Royal Dental Hospital and Melbourne Dental Clinic.
In a statement, a university spokeswoman said there was an unprecedented demand for places in the program this year.
“The number of offers we made was based on historical acceptance data to ensure the course is filled to capacity, in order to make full use of the teaching resources available,” the spokeswoman said.
“For 2025, our acceptance rate was more than double what it had been in recent years, with acceptances coming through in a very short period compared to recent years, which resulted in the program unexpectedly exceeding its enrolment capacity.”
It’s one of the most competitive courses for students, and requires them to sit the GAMSAT, a test for graduate candidates who are applying for medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy and veterinary science.
The students who have been deferred found out about the decision in December, after many had already accepted first-round offers in October.
Some aspiring University of Melbourne dental students have taken to social media to complain about their admissions being deferred.Credit: Simon Schluter
One such student, who didn’t want to be named, said he was delighted when he received the admission offer.
“It was just a regular day at work when I saw the letter,” he said. “I was shaking, I was shocked and felt the biggest weight being lifted off my shoulders as I have been applying and sitting the GAMSAT for many years.”
The student, from Perth, said he was proud and excited about the future when he was accepted into the competitive course.
“I ran out of work to surprise-call my family, and we celebrated together that week,” he said.
But in December, the student realised there was an issue when he checked the online portal.
“I was locked out of enrolment, and saw my previous admission status of ‘offer accepted, successful’ became ‘offer accepted – admission pending’,” he said.
The student emailed the admissions department and called the university assistance line, but never received a response.
The university didn’t email him until December 18 to tell him he had been deferred until 2026, he said.
“My family and I were distraught,” he said. “It was shocking to even imagine something like this happening from a university that claims to be a top dental school.”
He had planned to move interstate for the degree, quitting his job and rejecting an offer from the University of Queensland to begin his studies in Melbourne. He lost money on flights and accommodation.
He has contacted student advocacy groups and is consulting other students about his next steps.
“I haven’t appealed or sought legal advice yet, but I am considering it, as I wish to exhaust all internal processes first,” he said.
Other aspiring Melbourne University dental students have taken to social media to complain about their admissions being deferred.
In posts on Reddit, one student said they felt “wronged, distraught, stressed and helpless”; another, from New Zealand, said they felt helpless.
Melbourne University student union president Joshua Stagg said students had suffered as a result of the “significant miscalculation” made by the university.
“Many of these students made far-reaching changes to their lives and have taken on significant financial burdens to accept their place in the course, and now are left in the lurch with little support and a lack of communication beyond hollow and strategically worded emails and a hole in their lives that they would not have suffered were it not for the university’s terrible miscalculation,” he said.
Stagg said the university had failed to communicate with students before the Christmas and new year period, when most administrators were on leave.
“This is a failure entirely at the hands of the University of Melbourne,” Stagg said. “The university has been careless in accepting a number of students beyond their capacity to teach effectively.”
The university did not respond to questions about whether any impacted students were from overseas, had Commonwealth-supported places or were full-fee paying.
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