What is Aspire?
At La Trobe, we know there’s more to being a good student than good marks.
Our Aspire program rewards you for your leadership, volunteering or community contributions. Have you been part of an award like the Duke of Edinburgh; volunteered with an organisation like Lifesaving Vic, Relay for Life or Salvation Army; been in a leadership role like a sports team captain; or helped out your community in another way?
Tell us about it and you could get an early offer to La Trobe University ahead of the general round offers. You could also win a scholarship, receive extra study support to ace your Year 12 exams and make like-minded friends ahead of your first class.
Aspire is open to aspiring Year 12 and non-Year 12 undergraduate students.
How many applicants will be chosen for the Aspire program? And when will I find out if I’m accepted?
It’s difficult to say exactly how many students will be admitted through the Aspire program.
The community engagement component makes up a large part of the selection criteria, and the number of students admitted through Aspire will depend entirely on the strength of their submissions.
This year, we’ll be telling students they’ve been successful every month. If you’ve applied for a non-capped course (i.e. a course that doesn’t have a limit on student numbers, like the Bachelor of Arts), you could hear pretty soon after submitting your application. Otherwise, you’ll find out in September if you’ve been accepted.
Does the course I’ve been offered need to be my first preference?
Not necessarily. A condition of your Aspire offer is that it must be your highest eligible preference through VTAC or UAC, which means that the course needs to be the highest one on your preference list for which you meet the requirements.
For example, if you’re made an Aspire offer for health sciences but would prefer to study physiotherapy, you should definitely place physiotherapy higher than health sciences on your preference list. You’ll receive an offer for physiotherapy if you meet the course requirements. If you don’t, you may still be eligible for health sciences through Aspire, since the course would be the highest one on your preference list for which you meet the requirements.
I just missed out on the minimum ATAR listed as a condition of my Aspire offer. Would it still be possible for me to receive an offer through VTAC?
If you don’t get the ATAR needed to meet the conditions of your Aspire offer, it’s still possible to receive an offer for the course through the regular selection process. The reason for this is because the Aspire minimum ATAR requirements refer to the ATAR before adjustments are applied (such as SEAS or subject adjustments).
For example, say you receive an Aspire offer for the Bachelor of Business and get an ATAR of 46. While you wouldn’t meet the conditions of your Aspire offer, if you’re eligible for adjustment factors (such as SEAS), you may still receive an offer for the course through the regular selection process.
What is second chance Aspire?
When you apply for Aspire, you’ll be asked to list your course preferences—just like when you apply through VTAC. But a lot can change in a few months.
If you need to change your Aspire offer because you didn’t meet the minimum Aspire ATAR or prerequisites, don’t worry. We’ll check-in with you via email to ask if you want to update your preferences.
This is your second chance to get the Aspire offer you want.
What’s changed with Covid-19?
This year is looking quite different to what we all expected, and there’s a lot of uncertainty about what comes next. At La Trobe, you don’t need to wait and see. Apply now and get into uni early.
We’ve always had the Aspire Early Admissions Program. Every year, we give out early conditional offers, an ‘Aspire ATAR’, scholarships, Year 12 revision help—so not much has needed to change there. You might not be able to travel immediately, but you can still use your travel funding later to study overseas. And we’ll keep adapting as the world shifts.
We won’t be visiting schools in the near future, but you can learn more by joining us for a webinar or signing up to get updates direct to your inbox.
What is I-Aspire?
If you’re an Indigenous student with a passion for giving back to your community and a desire to study at university, then I-Aspire is for you.
I-Aspire is your pathway towards an early offer to La Trobe. Then once you're here, you'll get access to a dynamic leadership program that'll set you up for the future. You’ll build on your skills and talents through a range of different activities, including academic boot camp, a Cultural Immersion Program, networking opportunities and more.
Learn more about I-Aspire
