In focus: Early Entry Programs

Early Entry Programs (EEP)

General information on Early Entry Programs is available in the attachments below.

A number of Year 12 students have already applied and been successful in securing an early entry offer. Congratulations and sincere thanks to the following students who have taken the time to provide a summary of their reasons and tips relating to EEP in the hope that other Year 12s and future Year 12s might consider this entry option. Students were asked to respond to the following questions:

• Student name:
• Post-school area of interest:
• Inspiration/Reason for applying for Early Entry Program/s:
• Which EEP/s you have applied for and course/s you have received an offer for (would be helpful if you clarified if this was unconditional or any applicable conditions). Some might need to put Outcome Not Yet Known in this response:
• Tips for other students:
• Resources you found useful:

Isabelle Jones

• Psychology/Neuropsychology
• Having a safety net in place in the case that I don’t meet the requirements for my dream course.
• I applied for Latrobe University’s Aspire Year 11 Early Entry program, which offers conditional placements on the basis of year 11 results. I was offered a conditional offer for their Bachelor of Psychological Science. The conditions of my offer are that I complete VCE, meet the course requirements, and list this degree in my preference list in VTAC at the end of the year. I am not required to achieve a scored ATAR. 
• My biggest tip for students hoping to apply for early entry is to do your research. Research which universities offer early entry, what courses they offer it for, the conditions of entry, and the reasons for offers being given. Be aware that your dream course might not be an option for early entry. Don’t feel like you shouldn’t apply just because you don’t get the best grades in your class; universities offer early entry for a wide range of reasons, so don’t count yourself out. 
• Speak with the careers team and spend time on University websites. This is not only helpful for early entry applications but also for understanding your options for degrees, scholarships and more at university
• Latrobe University Bachelor of Biomedicine Bundoora campus – conditions: complete year 12
• Latrobe University (Community contribution) Bachelor of Biomedical Science (medical) Bendigo campus – Outcome Not Yet Known
• University of New England Bachelor of Biomedical Science Armidale NSW campus – Outcome Not Yet Known
• Charles Sturt University Bachelor of Health and Medical Science Orange NSW campus – Accept the offer and complete year 12
• Apply for early entry!!! Even if you think your grades aren’t the best you don’t lose anything by applying and you don’t have to apply with your year 11 results! LaTrobe University has an early entry program called community contribution where you apply with 2, 100 word statements about any type of volunteering work, this can be school leadership, helping out at your local sporting club and other types of volunteering. They have partner organisations, if you volunteer with any of these you are guaranteed to receive an early entry offer. It is 100% worth applying, no matter what my ATAR is I already have a place at university next year.

Alyssa Weir

• Biomedicine & Medicine
• I applied for early entry to help take the stress off myself when it comes to exam time and because one of my top preferences had an early entry option. One of the early entry programs I applied for was through community contribution (school leadership, volunteering etc.) if I am successful in receiving this offer it lowers the ATAR requirement for the course from 90 to 80 and guarantees an interview which is a significant difference for such a competitive course that has around 300 applicants and only 15 places. It makes it feel a lot more achievable for me. I also applied for other early entry programs with my year 11 results so I only need to complete year 12 (ATAR not required) in order to accept the offer. 
• Resources you found useful:

https://www.latrobe.edu.au/study/aspire

https://study.csu.edu.au/information-for/school-leavers/charles-sturt-advantage

https://www.une.edu.au/study/study-on-campus/early-entry

Katie Reeves

• Once I finish school I plan on going to University to study Paramedicine. 
• Honestly I kind of just applied because I could, I heard about them from Careers and I thought why not? I didn’t have any expectations on actually getting into the programs but I felt like I would regret it if I didn’t apply. 
• Advantage Early Entry Program at Charles Sturt University, for Paramedicine at the Port Macquarie Campus: I was accepted into a conditional position, which means I have a place in the course if I get a year 12 pass and get a study score of at least 25 in English.
• Aspire Advance Early Entry Program at LaTrobe University, for Criminology and Psychological Science at the Bundoora Campus: I was accepted into a conditional position that only requires a year 12 pass. 
• Guaranteed program at Victoria University, for Nursing, Midwifery, and Paramedicine. I was accepted into VU Guaranteed, which gives me a guaranteed place in my course as long as I meet the prerequisites (which for my desired course, Paramedicine, would be completion of year 12 with a study score of at least 25 in English). The program also gives me access to EdUnlimited study guides, bonus atar points (an extra 5 aggregate points), and automatic consideration for scholarships.
• I am also planning on applying for the Guarantee Program at Australian Catholic University when applications open
• Apply for everything!! I did these applications not really understanding what they were, and now I have university positions available for me before I have even finished year 12! It has taken so much stress out of my year and I feel so much more secure because I know I have something to fall back on if everything doesn’t go to plan. 
• Resources you found useful: 

https://study.csu.edu.au/information-for/school-leavers/charles-sturt-advantage

https://www.latrobe.edu.au/study/aspire  

https://study.vu.edu.au/vu-guaranteed-confirmation

https://www.acu.edu.au/study-at-acu/admission-pathways/acu-guarantee

Carys Gallagher

• Film and Television industry, pre and post production of media and screen.
• When I was looking at courses for different universities and I noticed that some of the courses I was interested in were eligible for the early entry program. This meant I could be offered a guaranteed entry into my preferred course without using my ATAR. It helps take the pressure off year twelve knowing I have something to look forward to without worrying about exams too much. 
• I applied at Swinburne University of Technology for a Bachelor of Screen Production. I have recently received an offer, with the only requirement that I meet the requirement of a 25 English study score. 
• If you know what area of interest you want to study, I would definitely recommend checking to see if there are any early entry program you can apply for.
• VTAC website, looking at different university websites, talking to Ms. Martin. 

VTACs Advice on Early Entry

As there have been a lot of questions about how early offers work, we are circulating some key information about the process. The main message is that all applicants will still need to apply for courses through VTAC, however they do not need to have their early offer listed as their top preference; it just needs to be in their preference list. If it is the highest offer available to them when offers are made, they will receive an offer if they have fulfilled all conditions for course entry.

We have created a post on our Facebook and Instagram pages to explain the early offer process for applicants. Please use these social media posts as a resource to assist your students with understanding how the process works in relation to their VTAC application.