THE Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) released offers last month for courses at universities, TAFE institutes, and independent tertiary colleges commencing in 2023, with many local students getting accepted.

2022 Year 12 Hamilton and Alexandra College student, Eliza Sobey, was accepted into a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne after a hard year of study.

“Studying Arts is a steppingstone for getting into my preferred course which is Law,” she said.

“I have always wanted to do Law and it is something that I have always seen myself doing.

“When I had completed my exams it was a very nervous time waiting to receive my ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) but once I received my ATAR I was confident that I would get excepted into Arts because I got above the ATAR needed for the course.

“I am interested in Law, because I am extremely passionate about Law and I want to be a voice for people, and am extremely passionate about social justice which is a big driving factor for doing a course in Law and hopefully I will be able to help people within the future.”

There is an increase in total domestic higher education offers of 23 per cent compared to last year, with all Victorian universities making more higher education offers to domestic students this year.

2022 Year 12 Monivae College School Captain, McKeely Hol, was accepted into a Bachelor of Laws at Deakin University, which she was thrilled about.

“I have always seen myself doing this course especially over the last two years during VCE where I completed two units of a higher accelerate Law course and doing this course really confirmed that I really enjoyed learning about Law,” she said.

“I worked really hard because I needed an ATAR of above 90 to get into Law and it was a very anxious wait because it’s a tough course to get into.

I was worried it wasn’t enough to get over the line, but when I got accepted into the course it was pure relief that the last two years had led up to this moment.

“I got confidence from the Deakin course I completed last year after I received an award, and it gave me a good indication on how the Uni process works, which has given me confidence going into this year,” Ms Hol said.

With 21.1 per cent of offers made to date being for health courses, this remains the most popular sector, followed by 19.5 per cent for society and culture courses and 14.7 per cent for natural and physical sciences.

2022 Year 12 Monivae College vice-captain, Bella Nicholls, has been accepted into Speech Pathology at the Australian Catholic University; this was a dream come true for Bella as it has always been something that she has been highly intrigued in.

“This has always been something that I have been very interested in, as I completed work experience in this field in Year 10,” she said

“Being granted early access due to previous grades, community service and leadership really took the pressure off about worrying about being accepted into the course and allowed me to relax about being accepted into the course.

“I am really looking forward learn about information that I will be able to utilise for the rest of my life and after university I would love to utilise these skills I attained and work for the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) as a speech pathologist.

“I recommend going for early entries as it is the best thing I have ever done as I was accepted into my course before I even sat one exam.”

VTAC chief executive, 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,” she said.

2022 Year 12 Monivae College student, Holly Cooling, was accepted into a Bachelor of Medical Imaging at Deakin University and has already started her studies.

“I have always had a strong interest in working in healthcare and all of my university preferences related to this field. However, medical imaging really stood out for me as it combined my love for science with my passion for wanting to help others,” she said.

“I am going to Deakin this year; I’ve been doing my course for about two weeks now and I am living on Res (Residential living).

“(It was) definitely scary, I had a few doubts every now and then, but I knew that I worked hard and received all the requirements for the course which will hopefully lead to a job in the long run.

“Ultimately I would love to further my studies after I finish and specialise in something. I’m looking forward to going on clinical placement in a few weeks and having the opportunity to work in real hospitals and gain practical, hands on skills.”