On Wednesday this week we attended the really useful VTAC webinar about recent updates to VTAC and SEAS. Here are some of the key takeaways:
Key Dates for 2022/2023 Applications:
Course, SEAS and Scholarship Applications OPEN on 1 August 2022
On time Course Applications CLOSE 29 September
SEAS and Scholarship Applications CLOSE 17 October
Late Course Applications CLOSE 4 November
Very late Course Applications CLOSE 2 December
2021/2022 Offer Cycle:
Most encouragingly 95% of Year 12’s who applied to study in 2022 received an offer.
The ATAR release went well and 46,323 domestic Year 12 students applied through VTAC (down 2.5% from the previous year).
There was a significant jump in the number of offers issued / received in February this year, most likely an effect of the delay in results release in NSW and the ACT.
SEAS (Special Entry Access Scheme)
SEAS is the system that allow students who have been disadvantaged during their senior school years to receive additional consideration and let institutions get an idea of their true potential.
A successful SEAS application could mean an upward adjustment to student’s selection ranks for one or more courses.
SEAS Eligibility:
Applicants must be:
Australian or New Zealand citizens
a permanent Australian resident, or
have an eligible Temporary, Bridging or Safe Haven Enterprise visa
be an Australian Year 12 applicant, and
need to have applied for a course through VTAC (and met the course and institutional requirements)
SEAS Categories:
Category 1: Personal information and location includes: age, living or school location, under-representation of a gender in a course or field of study, recognition as an Indigenous Australian, recognition for being from a non-English speaking background and recognition for being the first in your family to attend tertiary study.
Category 2: Disadvantaged financial background
Category 3: Disability or medical condition
Category 4: Difficult circumstances
VTAC received 40,757 applications for SEAS in the 2021/22 applications.
The Category 4 Difficult Circumstances includes disruption of studies due to CoVid and in the 2020/21 this category had an increase of applications up 222%. The high level of applications was seen again in the 2021/22 cycle with 30,316 applying for consideration for CoVid remote learning impacts.
SEAS top tips:
Make sure that students who may want or need to apply for SEAS are prepared well in advance and have collected all the necessary documentation they’ll need
Teachers and Leadership Teams may need to provide supporting documentation so students who are applying for SEAS need to communicate with school staff to ensure this part of the application can be completed
Supporting evidence for each category varies, please check with VTAC if you’re unsure what is needed for each specific case.
More information:
VTAC offer a number of ways for Careers Advisors to get up to date information for their students.
Call 03 9926 1020 (option 2)
Contact SchoolsLiaison@vtac.edu.au
https://careersblog.vtac.edu.au/