They are among more than 2600 students, including 800 ACT students, to receive early offers to study at The Australian National University in 2017.

Dickson College student Katrina Gibbins has been accepted a Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) Science, a research intensive degree and one of the hardest undergraduate courses to get into as it requires an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 99.

The gifted student was familiar with the campus after taking part in the ANU secondary school extension programs during Year 11 and 12, and said she was thrilled to receive the offer confirming it would be her academic home for the next four years.

"It was such a relief to get the offer," she said. "I'm really interested in maths and psychology, so I am hoping to do those two, but the Bachelor of Philosophy allows you to do quite a range and also do research."

Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt said early offers were extended this year to "one of the most diverse, interesting student cohorts ever."

The most popular courses were aligned with the institution's strengths in Arts, Social Science, Business and Science degrees.

However, it was clear students were seeking both breadth and depth of skill from their tertiary studies with more than 1000 offers so far for Flexible Double Degrees.

"If you think about what the jobs of the future look like, they are not simple straight things that people have been doing forever, so this is really about creating a degree that is going to work for you," Professor Schmidt said.

"We can put together more than 600 combinations here. The fact we have so many people doing it is no surprise to me. It is certainly what I'd be doing if I were doing an undergraduate degree right now."

For students still weighing up their options Professor Schmidt said it was not too late to apply for a place at ANU.

"Students who want to change their preferences should get onto it straight away as they only have until midnight on Friday [January 6] to be included in the UAC main round," he said.

Melba Copland Secondary School student Joshua Guest said a double degree in International Relations and Languages would help him advance his pursuit of becoming a diplomat.

"For me it was looking at ways I can get ahead of other people in terms of what I want to study," he said. "I do Japanese, and did Japanese extension courses here at ANU. I want to continue on with that and maybe pick up French too."

Merici College graduate Georgia Larsen said receiving her offer to start a Bachelor of Design degree was a big weight off her shoulders.

"It is nice to know and not worry about where I was going and what I was doing this year," she said. "Now I know it is sorted I feel I can have a proper break."