THE proportion of domestic students listing the University of Newcastle as their first preference for tertiary study is at a three year high.
The latest publicly available Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) data, collected on November 30, shows that 7710 students - or 11.14 per cent of students hoping to study in NSW or ACT - listed a UON degree as their first preference for 2020, making it the strongest NSW or ACT university outside Sydney.
This is up from 6679, or 10.26 per cent, on the same date in 2018 and 6604 or 9.81 per cent in 2017.
UAC data provided exclusively to the Newcastle Herald shows the number of students putting UON first grew after they received their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) on December 17.
UAC said on December 17 it expected around 20,000 students to change preferences before midnight on December 19, the deadline to be considered for the December 23 round, when the bulk of school leavers receive their offers.
UAC data from December 19 shows 7969 students - or 11.24 per cent of applicants - listed a UON degree as their first preference.
A total of 27,533, or 9.68 per cent, included a UON degree in their allowed five preferences.
This was up from 26,645 or 9.64 per cent from a fortnight earlier on November 30 last year, 25,080 or 9.35 per cent on November 30 2018, and 24,911 or 8.96 per cent in 2017.
UON Pro Vice Chancellor of Learning and Teaching, Professor Liz Burd, said the increase was largely driven by an almost 50 per cent increase in first preferences for the Bachelor of Medical Science, from around 860 for 2019 study to around 1200 this year.
"We're very pleased with the high level interest in our degrees again in 2020, reflecting the fine work of our teaching staff across the university," Professor Burd said.
"In particular, we've seen strong interest in our Bachelor of Medical Science and our Bachelor of Nursing programs.
"With an almost 50 per increase in first preferences for medicine, we know our program is held in high esteem.
"People know that we produce doctors of the highest quality."
A UON spokesperson said medical science received the largest number of first preferences across all its degrees.
It expects around 110 domestic students to start in semester one this year.
Nursing has about 1165 applications, including 800 UAC applicants, plus transferring UON students.
UON made its largest number of offers - 840 - in nursing. It expects around 600 domestic students to start semester one.
It made just three offers to its new Bachelor of Mathematics (Advanced).
The UAC data doesn't include offers universities make directly to students, in some cases before they receive their ATARs.
A UON spokesperson said it had made around 12,600 offers to domestic students for 2020 across enabling and undergraduate programs including honours programs, including about 5000 to current school leavers.
It said it made - before the release of ATARs - around 2500 offers through the Schools Recommendation Scheme and six through the Indigenous Law Early Entry Program.
UON said it would make another 900 offers on January 10 and participate in three of the four further UAC rounds.
