More ACT students will realise their dream of studying at university this year as enrolments surge across the country.
The Federal Government decision to drop its cap on student enrolments has sparked nationwide growth in the tertiary sector and latest statistics suggest that trend is about to continue in the ACT.
The Universities Admissions Centre will issue 58,988 main-round offers from NSW and ACT institutions at 9pm tonight, an increase of 2per cent on last year's offers.
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The Australian National University has recorded an 8.2 per cent increase to 2851 offers, with 11 per cent more local students included in the mix.
And the University of Canberra claims to have increased its offers overall, despite marking a 13.2 per cent drop to 1650 main-round offers.
Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker said a larger percentage of his students were now being accepted through direct application and recommendation programs as school leavers shied away from the traditional UAC process.
''To be honest, the main round of UAC becomes less significant as each year goes by ... and I think some of that is recognition that Year 12 results aren't everything,'' he said.
''In the modern world, everyone knows that there are very talented students who do not necessarily perform well in Year 12 and all unis are trying to attract that talent.''
Professor Parker said his university was not looking to grow its cohort any more after reaching its target of 10,000 students in March last year - seven years earlier than expected.
The Federal Government has always dictated how many places universities could offer but with the cap lifted, institutions will now receive funding for as many students as they choose to enrol.
The decision has sparked major competition between universities as they are forced to fight for students and has resulted in many pushing down their cut-off scores to allow more to apply.
At the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology the cut-off for civil engineering fell from 78.55 to 62.35 while an applied science degree in psychology at Bundoora campus decreased from 81.35 to 68.
In the ACT, the opposite effect has been recorded. An ANU spokesman said the institution had raised its cut-off scores to 96 for law, 95 for actuarial studies and science (honours), 90 for advanced computing and 87 for engineering.
The spokesman said the institution would continue to demand high-quality applicants by refusing to accept any student with an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank score below 80. The UC has also increased its cut-off scores by 5 to 10 points in seven subjects.
The most popular courses at ANU were psychology and the combined degree of international relations-law. UC had recorded highest demand in architecture, education (primary teaching), nursing and psychology.
Professor Parker said students would find it harder to be accepted into UC again next year as it limited its growth to the current target.
ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Young was not available to comment.
The full list of ACT main-round offers will be available online at canberratimes.com.au from 9pm tonight.
This reporter is on Twitter: @breanna_tucker
This story originally reported the ANU had raised its cut-off scores to 86 for law. This figure is incorrect, and has been amended to 96.
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