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INDEPENDENCE, a lifestyle change and more opportunities are the reasons these high school graduates are leaving the Border after receiving university offers yesterday.
The eight Catholic College Wodonga students have set their sights on a new place to start their next chapter.
“It’s part of growing up, you’ve got to leave,” Aaron McShae, 18, said.
“It gives you independence and allows you to struggle.”
Two of the students plan to defer and move away, two hope to accept a one-year university placement on the Border as a prerequisite for study further afield next year and four will accept university offers in different states and cities.
Elizabeth Allen’s decision to move to Canberra for a double science and arts course was a no-brainer for her.
“I want to study language and history in a place with culture, with museums, libraries and more people,” she said.
“I just don’t think those options are here.”
Another reason for moving is the courses the students want simply are not available on the Border, including law, arts courses, business information systems, global studies and interior design.
Although many students have decided to leave the Border, Catholic College Wodonga career development leader Sandie McKoy said many planned to stay here and study.
Most would take on courses in allied health sciences, education, psychology, social work, business and accounting at CSU and La Trobe.
Yesterday was the main round of offers for both UAC and VTAC but another two rounds of offers will be made through admissions centres in the next few weeks.
CSU’s Albury-Wodonga campus has so far made almost 900 offers.
But students administration director Geoff Honey said those who didn’t have a first-round offer should not be concerned.
“Those who haven’t had an offer as first preference, they can just call us because there are more rounds of offers,” he said.
“Our staff can talk them through their options, pathways to university they may not have considered.
“There’s all sorts of different pathways we can talk to them about rather than them trying to do that by themselves.”