Year 12 student Joanna Carey is hoping to study law at Sydney University or ANU.Credit:Nikki Short
The state’s universities have made 34,517 offers for undergraduate study for 2023,falling from about 35,800 offers made for the previous year. The steady decline in first-round offers over the past five years is largely due to the explosion in early entry places,with universities racing to lock in enrolments by offering students places before sitting final exams.
Kim Paino,the general manager of marketing and engagement at the Universities Admissions Centre,said:“There are still those high-demand courses that rely on of ATAR and some particular universities,but for many students they will be perfectly satisfied with the early offer they’ve received.”
Universities have released the lowest selection rank – or cut-off – for entry into each course,which comprises the ATAR plus any bonus points the student may have received due to other factors such as hardship.
At Sydney University,the ATAR for the prestigious combined bachelor of laws remains at 99.50,while physiotherapy requires a sky-high ATAR of 99.55.
However,the selection rank required for commerce dropped slightly from 95 to 94.05 and the minimum ATAR needed for the university’s architecture and environment degree fell from 85 last year to 80.05.
At UNSW,a bachelor of arts required an ATAR of 80,only marginally down on last year’s mark. Commerce remained the same at 93,while the selection rank required to get into economics remained at 91.