Angelique ‘hadn’t been able to breathe’ because of HSC stress. Then she got an email

For year 12 student Angelique Claudette Adams, the pressure of the HSC has been stifling, and her every waking moment was spent studying or worrying about schoolwork.

When friends and family invited her out, she declined. “I felt an obligation to study, I felt I couldn’t leave my desk. Even if I wasn’t being productive, I felt like I had to sit there.”

That all changed last week, when an email rolled into her inbox: she’d been given an unconditional offer at the University of NSW to study criminology and criminal justice and a double degree of social work, under the institution’s early offer scheme.

“From the moment I opened that email I just felt so relieved. I was in. Now I can focus on achieving that ATAR,” she said. “I can breathe. I felt like I haven’t been able to breathe in a while.

“I couldn’t stop smiling, I felt like I was floating on a cloud. It’s a huge relief … everything paid off.”

Last week, universities began sending out early offers, a safety net for thousands of students and a chance to secure a place at uni before exams take place.

Almost 28,000 students lodged an application with the University Admissions Centre (UAC) this year for the Schools Recommendation Scheme (SRS), a 3.3 per cent increase on last year’s record intake. Applications are assessed based on year 11 results, and a school’s assessment of student aptitude, rather than solely on their ATAR.

At least 22 Australian universities also have an internal early entry process. Some are based on year 11 results, others require a student statement, considering any challenges they have overcome.

Some offers are conditional, meaning students must obtain a certain ATAR for their offer to be honoured.

Unlike SRS, these applications are run privately, with no obligation to report numbers to UAC, and students can receive more than one offer.

More than 8400 students applied for an early offer at Australian National University, with 6515 receiving an offer. The University of Newcastle received more than 7000 applications this year, but did not reveal how many offers it has made.

The University of Wollongong has made 7800 offers, while Charles Sturt received 4300 applications, offering 3000 places, with more expected.

The University of Sydney said it anticipated early offers would make up “less than 2 per cent” of their 2026 cohort, and are “largely based on additional criteria beyond academic results – such as creative skills and equity”.

The University of NSW received close to 4000 applications for its first round of early offers, while Australian Catholic University received 4433 early offer applications.

UTS, Macquarie and Western Sydney University declined to provide numbers, while the University of Canberra did not respond to a request for comment.

University of Newcastle academic Dr Sally Patfield said there was a perception that once students were accepted into university, the pressure is off, and work ethic diminishes. The reality, she said, is quite different.

“We often hear about stories how young people receive an early entry offer, and they’re slacking off and they’re not trying hard in their final exams,” she said.

However, her research found schemes “open up pathways for young people”.

A 2024 study tracked 1500 NSW year 12 students who sought admission to university through various means, including early offers and other processes. The study reported no negative impact on student motivation, findings that mirror Patfield’s research.

“They still wanted to try hard, often due to imposter syndrome. They still wanted to do well in the HSC, they wanted to try hard to prove themselves,” Patfield said. “The students I interviewed were adamant they hadn’t slacked off, they still wanted to try hard in their exams.”

However, she said the sector needs more transparency. Universities have no obligation to report on the number of students who have received an early offer, as well as the number who have actually accepted the offer.

Critics argue there is little public information on how the spots are allocated and to whom, and say the system lacks the transparency of the ATAR.

For the past two years, universities have been prevented from handing out early offers until September. In 2023, more than 43,000 early offers had been made nationwide before students sat their final exams.

Higher education policy researcher Professor Andrew Norton said universities were incentivised to make early offers to lock in students in a competitive market.

“The trouble is once one university starts to offer it, their competitors feel like they have to follow, otherwise they might miss out,” he said.

“Once this is entrenched in expectations of students and an entrenched behaviour of universities, I think it’s going to be very, very difficult to stop it, because the first university to stop will probably lose students.”

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