More choice for school leavers as second round uni and TAFE offers released
About 17,000 Victorian school leavers have been given second-round offers to start university and TAFE courses. See every name in our searchable database.
Education
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Victorian school leavers have more choice than ever with a record number of students receiving offers for university and TAFE courses this year.
Almost 17,000 second-round offers were made to graduates on Friday, bringing the total number to more than 61,000.
This is nearly a quarter more compared to 2022.
Health remains the most popular course, comprising 21 per cent of offers, followed by society and culture courses (19.5 per cent) and natural and physical sciences (14 per cent). Engineering, IT and health courses all increased their share of offers.
Find your second round offer in our searchable database
With an increase in offers, school leavers are now in the driving seat in choosing where they want to study.
The lowest selection rank range is 37.20 for Business (UniLink) at Swinburne University of Technology, up to 99.90 for the Chancellor’s Scholars programs in Arts, Biomedicine, Commerce and Science at the University of Melbourne.
However, there can be 20 to 30 points difference between highest and lowest selection ranks for each course between applicants.
La Trobe University has made offers to an additional 1600 students during the January offer round.
With 6471 students in total receiving offers to study across the university’s Melbourne (Bundoora), Albury-Wodonga and Bendigo campuses this year, La Trobe has reported a 20 per cent boost on 2022 enrolments.
Nursing was the most popular area of study for potential students, followed by health sciences, business, arts, biomedicine and science disciplines.
Demand for courses in information technology has risen as computer science and cybersecurity become increasingly popular among La Trobe’s student cohort.
Vice chancellor John Dewar said every prospective student braved difficult circumstances to complete their studies before receiving an offer.
“The final years of secondary school are always challenging, but this year’s cohort have had to contend with extra complications due to the pandemic, including adapting to online learning,” Professor Dewar said.
“They have shown great resilience and flexibility in achieving their results, which is a tribute to them and their families and supporters.”
La Trobe is also slated to host international students in numbers similar to pre-pandemic levels, thanks to growing interest from overseas students in studying in regional areas.
Regional vice chancellor Melanie Bish said: “We are delighted to see strong interest from rural and regional students who want to study locally, as we know many of these skilled graduates will stay in the regions and contribute to local communities in areas such as health and education”.
Australian Catholic University (ACU) is expecting a boost on last year’s enrolment numbers.
Nursing and paramedicine are the top choices for students at ACU’s Ballarat campus, while more students opted to study nursing, occupational therapy and speech pathology at its Melbourne campus.
Demand has also increased for courses in psychological science and law.
Provost Meg Stuart said students’ interest in further study was growing across all areas of study in 2023.
“The January offers provide students with certainty and excitement for the year ahead. We wish our incoming students all the best as they join the ACU community,” she said.
Overall, 23 per cent more offers were made for 2023 compared to the previous year, ranging from Monash University which issued 37 per cent more offers to ten per cent more at Federation University.
VTAC CEO Teresa Tjia congratulated all those receiving an offer: “Your new year is off to a great start with an offer to study at one of Victoria’s world-class universities, TAFE institutes, or independent tertiary colleges.
“VTAC’s preference system allows prospective students to maximise their chance of finding the right course by applying for many study options in one place. 91.2% of our applicants have received at least one offer, with four offer rounds still to come — a great outcome for both applicants and tertiary institutions,” she said.
Ms Tjia said students who had not received an offer could make an application by January 17 and had until January 19 to change their preferences.
VTAC will release the next round of offers on Wednesday, February 1, 2023.
Students from Methodist Ladies’ College are among those receiving university offers for 2023, including Clare Beaton-Wells, Sophie Yang, Violet Zheng and Natalya Kay.
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