Strategic Plan 2024-2029

Need-blind admission refers to an admissions policy that does not take into account an applicant’s financial status when deciding whether or not to accept them. This means that applicants are assessed strictly on their merit and potential, rather than on their ability to pay.

Applicants are still asked to provide the institution with information about their financial situation as part of a Major Scholarship application, but this is not seen by those staff making admissions decisions until after an admissions decision has been made. This approach typically results in a higher percentage of accepted students who require financial assistance and means that an institution will require a substantial endowment or other funding sources to support the policy. Institutions that are need-blind and meet full need for all accepted students tend to be highly selective due to the large number of high-quality applications they receive.

If an applicant to the College requires financial support to meet the cost of their residence fee, they will be invited to submit a Major Scholarship application, evidencing their financial circumstances including household or parental income, expected parental contributions, personal savings, income from part-time work, eligibility for Centrelink payments, and any other scholarships or bursaries awarded.

If they are offered a place, the College will then assess their Major Scholarship application, working out how much they can reasonably afford to pay towards their residence fee. The College commits to covering the ‘gap’ between what they can reasonably afford and the full cost of their residence fee.

For example, if a student can reasonably afford to pay $24,000 of their $35,842 residence fee (based on the 2024 fee) from a combination of parental contributions, Centrelink payments, and income from part-time work, the College commits to covering the remaining $11,842.