Record Access Melbourne offers celebrate excellence from every background

The University of Melbourne has offered places to over 5400 students in the first Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) December offer round today, including a record number to undergraduate domestic students eligible for at least one of nine special entry categories through Access Melbourne, its Special Entry Access Scheme.

The increase in offers to Access Melbourne applicants is excellent news for students whose individual circumstances may mean their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) does not reflect their full academic potential.

University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic, Professor Gregor Kennedy, said the University is committed to welcoming and supporting excellent students from all backgrounds.

“Congratulations to all students who’ve received an offer today. We’re delighted to see a further increase in the number of students receiving an offer through Access Melbourne.

“We’re making good progress in supporting a more diverse student population from a variety of underrepresented backgrounds to study with us. We’re pleased to have been able to expand eligibility criteria in several Access Melbourne categories with the support of the Federal Government. This helps us take a more holistic approach to students’ individual circumstances.

“We are greatly looking forward to welcoming our new community of students in 2023, and we’re preparing to kick off the academic year with a vibrant program of events to bring our campuses alive, both inside and outside the classroom.”

The University’s long-running Access Melbourne scheme has been refreshed for the 2023 intake to widen eligibility criteria and help make entry requirements clearer, particularly through a new Access Melbourne calculator which helped domestic students and their families assess the likelihood of receiving an offer for their preferred course.

Eligible students who apply to the University of Melbourne are automatically considered for Melbourne Access Scholarships of up to $7500 a year for three years, to help with the cost of moving, accommodation and tuition.

According to VTAC data, the University of Melbourne’s Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts continued to be the most popular courses for domestic applicants by total preferences, with Arts, Science, Commerce and Biomedicine being four of the top five first preferences. 12 per cent of University of Melbourne offers were for Graduate Degree Packages, which offer students assured entry to a nominated graduate degree upon successful completion of their initial undergraduate program.

High demand for undergraduate courses and the increased number of eligible Access Melbourne special entry applicants means that the University of Melbourne’s 2023 lowest selection ranks for general entry domestic applicants in some disciplines will be higher than in 2022 (in some cases at level with the published guaranteed ATARs for domestic applicants).

In the December round, offers were made to eligible students who recently completed Year 12 in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Tasmania. Further offers will be released in subsequent VTAC offer rounds in January, including offers to eligible students who have completed other Australian Year 12 programs and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. For full details of key dates for different cohorts, visit study.unimelb.edu.au.