Year 12s told: Don’t be slack

Warnings that early offers to uni could be rescinded

COMPLACENT HSC students with early entry offers for university next year have been warned they still need to study hard or they could lose their guaranteed spot.

University Admission Centre marketing manager Kim Paino confirmed students should keep studying because some early offers came with strings attached.

“I’m sure it’s tempting to relax a bit now, but many of these offers are conditional on finishing your HSC and some even have a minimum ATAR requirement,” she said. “But what I would say to those students is to keep studying and do their best in their HSC exams.”

St Andrew’s Cathedral School’s Year 12 careers adviser Des Sinovich told students a loophole meant if they failed their exams, universities could rescind their offer.

“I am becoming concerned by reports from some teachers that some Year 12 students have adopted this attitude of complacency and decreasing engagement,” he wrote in the Sydney school’s newsletter.

“If you have received an Early Offer and now believe that you can slacken off and not work to full capacity and the expectations of all your teachers — you are living dangerously.”

The teacher at the $34,000a-year school said the early offer schemes were “essentially marketing exercises to attract students to institutions” and students would still need to perform well in their exams.

“Institutions are competing for students. Even with this, no institution will risk enrolling a student who has not met the entry requirements. Their reputation and funding are at risk.”

The number of Year 12 students applying for early entry schemes has jumped by a huge 45 per cent compared to the same time last year, data released yesterday reveals.

So far 23,000 students have applied for special early entry programs to shore up a university spot before they start their HSC exams in October, while a total of 60,000 have applied for tertiary study next year.