How I got into the University of Melbourne

I think it’s always worthwhile hearing how other people did things so that you can learn from their mistakes or use their success story, and I am hoping that by hearing my journey you will have some ideas on what you can do before applying for UniMelb! (On a side note: my biggest pet peeve so far is when people say Melbourne University. That is wrong.)

Anyway!

JDS Program
Back in 2009, I was selected to train in the JDS (Junior Development Squad) program after having a high achievement in Athletics. This holiday program was hosted at Ormond College and over a hundred high school students got to stay in the rooms there and train on the UniMelb athletics track. We also got to go to Crown Casino (to play laser tag – gosh, what do you take me for?) and have parties, karaoke and a dress up competition. This was my first glimpse at College and University life and I absolutely loved it! I desperately wanted to live at Ormond and study at Melbourne…

Harry Potter
In Year 9 I started reading Harry Potter. I come from a very strict Christian family and while I am still a Christian, I wanted to read Harry Potter despite my parent’s wishes. Obviously, being British and having an obsession with complex plot lines, I loved Harry Potter. Therefore, I loved UniMelb. There was no way my parents could afford to send me to a British boarding school (yes, I asked) and so I knew I was going to have to attend Melbourne if I wanted to pretend I was at Hogwarts.

Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program
The following year, my teacher asked our class if any of us were interested in doing the Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program. They briefly outlined how helpful it was for prospective UniMelb students and I was sold. In a year level of fourteen, only three applied. Thankfully (I assume based on sporting merit) I was accepted into the program and I would highly recommend it to anyone hoping to study at Melbourne! From Year 10 through til Year 12 you do many activities and programs, have access to the libraries, VCE seminars and exam workshops, etc. It was extremely helpful and I met so many lovely people, started an unsuccessful glee club (Kwong GLEE Dow Young Scholars – so original!) and had endless Facebook and Skype conversations with my fellow scholars! It was also extremely important in granting me a position to UniMelb, but more on that later…

ATAR and subjects
When VCE began, I knew I needed a hella big ATAR. The Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne required a 94 ATAR in 2013 (from memory) and I was terrified. I began VCE studying English, 3/4 Literature (having never studied Literature before and studying it via Distance Education as my school did not offer it), Chemistry and Biology at another school (again, these subjects were not offered at my college and I had to take the bus to another school in order to study them), Methods, and German (also via Distance Education). In case you missed that, I was studying English and Methods at my school, Chem and Bio at another school, and German and 3/4 Lit via Distance Education. Yes. BIG mistake.

Stress
In the future I may do a post about stress, because I can assure you I have had to learn to deal with it since Year 11. Mid year exams rolled around and the night before Chem, I became extremely stressed, had a stress induced migraine (I had had many previously) but this time, I experienced some blindness. I know this may sound absolutely ridiculous, but it was terrifying and I couldn’t read my notes to study. Needless to say, I dropped Chem and Bio (my teacher’s weren’t very nice anyway) and picked up History Revolutions so that I was still doing five subjects. In Year 12, I picked up 3/4 Psychology to gain that oh-so-important sixth subject.

Resolving issues
In my final year of high school, I learnt my lesson. I quit my Friday night job and used the time to go to a youth group and hang out with friends. I also found out about a German Saturday class and started attending that instead (which was actually $400 cheaper than Distance Ed?! IF YOU ARE STUDYING A LANGUAGE VIA DISTANCE, STOP. GO FIND A SATURDAY CLASS.) Having that extra time out and not teaching myself a language did wonders for my stress levels! However, I had murdered my chances of doing well in Methods and I knew very little of the coursework when heading into Year 12.

Underrepresented
But there was hope – I realised in Year 12 that my school was ‘underrepresented’. Every University has a list of schools which are classified as ‘underrepresented’, basically meaning that you don’t have an equal opportunity as a big school (like John Monash or PLC) to get into the Uni of your choice. This meant that instead of needing an ATAR of 94, I only needed to get above 85. Phew!

Exam period
Leading up to my exams, I was very calm (?!?!). I was actually not very stressed at all and I felt very confident for most of my subjects (obviously not Methods. I had accepted my fate there…). I had possibly the worst exam period possible, but I took my exams, finished top in English and History, and got an ATAR of 86.55. **insert claps here**

Then I had to wait.

Getting in
There was now a chance that I could make it into the University of Melbourne, but getting below 94 guaranteed nothing. The day that my results came out, I was so excited to find out I had been successful! However, I know that being a Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholar had a lot to do with it. A friend in my German class (obviously from another school) had an ATAR of 94.something-or-other (great score!) and she did not get into UniMelb. The required ATAR had bumped up to 96. “But she still got above 85!” you say, well, this is true. But being a Kwong Lee Down Young Scholar, if you receive over 85, and they have places available after all of the Clearly In students have been accepted, you are given preference over all other applicants regardless of their ATAR (I would have had no chance without the KLDYS Program). While this sounds ridiculously unfair, this is actually a great way of ensuring that rural and underrepresented students have access to prestigious Universities and I was so grateful to have been part of this program, as I know I would not be at Melbourne without it.

Ormond
I deferred my position to the University and took a gap year, working full time in a school (as you all know!) and I also applied for Ormond within this time. I was extremely excited when I found out that I was accepted into the college with a scholarship and I knew that my dreams for University were all coming true! However, being the most expensive college, I soon realised that I could not afford to live there and I had to reject my offer.

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To summarise my advice, I would definitely recommend experiencing the University and visiting it prior to applying because it will really motivate you during school and there are many things you can be involved in! Furthermore, if you are eligible, you must apply for the Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars program! It is the best thing you can do for yourself if you intend to apply for UniMelb. Also, work hard, take breaks, be positive, and don’t be upset if it doesn’t work out! There are always other ways of achieving your dreams!

(Also, the ATAR for the BA was only 90.05 in 2015 so do not fret!)