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Victorian uni and TAFE offers for 2021 have finally been released. Search here to see where you and your classmates will be studying this year.

Thousands of Year 12 students will find out today if they received a first preference offer from one of 33 different higher education providers. Generic picture

Thousands of Year 12 students have found out today if they received a first preference offer from one of 33 different higher education providers.

A total of 48,676 tertiary offers were made by universities, TAFEs and independent colleges, including to Year 12s rocked by a year of lockdowns, home schooling and COVID-19 restrictions.

Monash University received the highest number of first preference applications (14,713) from prospective students.

This was followed by the University of Melbourne, which received 10,873 applications and RMIT at 8375 applications.

Below is a searchable database of first round offers released by the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre at 2pm on Thursday.

VTAC staff worked through the new year holiday period to ensure offers were released at the same time as last year despite delays to the VCE exam timetable caused by the coronavirus.

Students offered a spot in a course but who missed out on their first preference are encouraged to accept the offer and wait until February when second round offers are made.

Four offer rounds will be made next month starting from February 1.

Course applicants who want to change their preferences prior to second round offers being released can do so until 12pm, January 21.

Australian Centre for Career Education chief executive Bernadette Gigliotti said students who didn’t get into their preferred course after all the offer rounds should call their university or TAFE.

The pandemic and international travel restrictions meant locals had less competition from foreign students and she said it opened up opportunities for domestic students to find a way into their course.

Applications for courses by foreign Year 12 students dropped 6.63 per cent compared to last year according to VTAC figures.

“It’s a little bit different this year because of the situation with COVID,” Ms Gigliotti said.

“I think they should really do their research and approach institutions they want to go to directly.”

For those who wanted to take a year off of studying she said the labour market was tough but there were work opportunities interstate in agriculture and related industries.

Those who didn’t get a high enough ATAR for university should also consider undertaking a diploma or advanced diploma at TAFE, she said, which could give them a back entry into their course down the track and even credit towards its completion.

A record number of special consideration applications were made prior to the release of first round offers.

All up, VTAC processed 42,091 applications last year via the Special Entry Access Scheme, a rise of 7.7 per cent on previous years.

VTAC director Catherine Wills said last year’s Year 12 cohort had dealt “admirably” with what was a very challenging year.

ACCEPTING, DECLINING OR RECEIVING AN OFFER

Accepting: Receiving an offer does not confirm your enrolment in the course.

To secure your place, you must follow the enrolment instructions sent to you by the institution making the offer. These instructions will arrive by email, separate from the VTAC notification of your offer. In some cases you may be required to attend enrolment in person on a specific date and time.

Accepting an offer does not stop the offer process and does not reduce your chances for future

offers.

Declining: You should only decline an offer if you are absolutely certain you wouldn’t take the course even if you don’t receive any other offers. To decline an offer, you don’t need to do anything.

If you do not enrol in the course on the date and time specified in your email, your offer will

automatically lapse. The place that was offered to you will become available to someone else in a future round.

Enrolment: Instructions on how to enrol will be sent to your email address by the institution making the offer.

You must follow the instructions to accept your offer. In some cases, you may be required to attend enrolment in person on a specific date and time. In most cases, you will need to supply photo ID to enrol.

If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, you must provide your tax file

number (TFN) to enrol. For information about getting a TFN, see the Australian Taxation Office website: ato.gov.au or call 13 28 61.

To find your specific enrolment deadline, follow the instructions emailed to you by the institution.

It’s important that you enrol on time, because in most cases the institution won’t hold the place for you beyond the set date and time.

Can I defer my place?: If you don’t want to start your course straight away, you might be able to defer your place until the next semester or the next year. Not all institutions allow deferment.

To find out if it is possible, and what you need to do to defer, you should check with the institution.

In most cases, to formally defer your place you will need to submit your request in writing and you may need to complete an official form. In some cases, you may even need to attend enrolment.

Don’t risk it!: VTAC advises all applicants to accept an offer they receive. Even if you are eligible, there are no guarantees that you’ll receive an offer in the next round.

If you receive an offer for a preference lower than number one, then you will automatically

be considered for any higher preferences in a future round.

If you have received your first preference as an offer, but have changed your mind, you can

still change your preferences.

Course authorities can only make offers in future rounds if there are places available. Your chances

of receiving an offer in the next round will vary for each course.

Accepting an offer does not affect your chance of receiving a higher preference course offer in the next round.