Excitement as La Trobe Bendigo releases first-round offers

BENDIGO Senior Secondary College graduate Lea Bursac was in a state of blissful surprise hours after learning she’d been accepted into La Trobe University Bendigo’s Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medical) degree.

She was one of only 15 applicants out of 520 to gain entry to the much sought-after course.

Criteria included an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank score of more than 80 plus an extensive interview process.

Her acceptance guarantees that when she completes her three-year undergraduate degree in Bendigo she can then progress to the University of Melbourne’s Doctor of Medicine postgraduate program in Shepparton.

After obtaining an ATAR score of 96, Ms Bursac said she was very happy to be accepted, although it was “a bit of a shock.”

“I’m still shaking, I can barely talk,” she said.

Ms Bursac said the course was her first preference for two reasons – she’s always wanted to be a doctor and she’d like to work in regional areas after graduating.

“(From) what I’ve seen in my regional community and the slight disadvantage we have over Melbourne, for example, I really wanted to contribute to that and make it better for everyone,” she said.

More than 1400 prospective students have received offers from La Trobe as part of the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre’s January first-round offers, bringing the total number of offers from the University, including November and December rounds, to 6683.

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Regional) Associate Professor Melanie Bish said dental science, nursing, biomedical science, pharmacy and the rural health diploma have all contributed to the result.

“We’re pleased to see strong interest from rural and regional students who want to study locally, as we know many of our skilled graduates will stay and contribute to local communities in areas such as health and education,” she said.