The article highlights significant changes in minimum selection ranks for university courses in the 2024 VCE offers. For instance, Veterinary Nursing at La Trobe University saw a substantial increase from 68.6 to 95.9, while Creative Arts (Theatre major) at Deakin University decreased from 76.85 to 60.25.
Several courses remain consistently in high demand, including Arts at the University of Melbourne, Science at Monash University, and Nursing at Australian Catholic University's Melbourne campus. These courses receive numerous first-preference applications.
The article features Gisele Hennequin, a student who achieved a 98 ATAR, awaiting her university offers. Her top choice is Biomedicine at Melbourne, but she has backup options including Biomedicine at Monash, Science degrees at both Melbourne and Monash, and Nursing and Midwifery.
Despite the anxiety associated with receiving offers, Hennequin expresses a positive outlook, emphasizing that she is content with her range of options, and that not receiving her first preference would not be a significant setback.
Minimum selection requirements usually remain steady from year to year, but changes to a course’s popularity among prospective students can cause dramatic shifts.
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In 2024, the minimum selection rank for veterinary nursing at La Trobe University’s Melbourne campus was 68.6, but this year that rose to 95.9.
Conversely, last year’s minimum selection rank for a creative arts (theatre major) at Deakin University’s Melbourne campus was 76.85. This year it was 60.25.
Some courses, like arts at the University of Melbourne – which recorded a minimum selection rank of 87 this year – science at Monash University (82) and nursing at the Australian Catholic University’s Melbourne campus (65), are consistently in demand and regularly receive hundreds of first-preference applications.
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McKinnon Secondary College graduate Gisele Hennequin achieved an impressive ATAR of 98 from her VCE exams, so she knows she is off to uni next year, but she will not be sure until Monday morning of where she is going.
“My first preference is biomedicine at Melbourne,” she said.
A medical course is also on the shopping list for the 18-year-old, who has set her sights on a career in psychology, but she said there were many potential ways to get there.
“I’ve got biomedical studies at Monash as well, and then I’ve also got science degrees at both Melbourne and Monash and then, when I think further down the list, I have nursing and midwifery.”
Any nerves ahead of Monday morning’s big news were manageable, Hennequin said.
“I’m a little bit nervous, but I know that even if I don’t get my first preference, I’ve got a list of things that I would be happy doing,” she said.
“It’s not the be-all and end-all if I don’t get my first preference,” she said.
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