Analysis of UAC data indicates there is little evidence to suggest that Year 12 students slack off after locking in early offers to uni.
Early Offers have been closely regulated, particularly in NSW, following concerns that the proliferation of early offers was harming Year 12 performance – the theory being that students stopped trying after securing a place in their desired course.
A study of 1,500 students conducted by UAC and NSW found little evidence that ATARs were affected by early offer applications – and in fact those that received an early offer felt that they were freed to perform better in their final Year 12 exams, according to UNSW Professor Andrew Martin.
The study compared the results of students who had applied for and received an early offer, those that applied for and didn’t receive an early offer and those who did not apply.
More than 500 of the students were surveyed in term 2 and 4 of their Year 12 studies – finding that early offers had no impact on motivation, effort, burnout or mental health.
“We did find one statistically significant effect. Those receiving an early offer scored about 10% higher in academic buoyancy than the other two groups,” Professor Martin said.
“Our study suggests receiving an early offer for university does not make much of a difference to final outcomes.”
