mmg.com.au

With university offers coming out last week, Rochester Secondary College reported 95 per cent of the students who applied were offered a place.

Principal Bernie Altmann said many chose La Trobe University in Bendigo as it was more affordable to commute daily rather than moving to Melbourne and paying rent.

‘‘Fifty per cent got their first round offer,’’ he said.

He said students were encouraged to aim high.

Some of the many courses chosen by Rochester Secondary College students were engineering, information technology and osteopathy.

Mr Altmann said this year would see the re-introduction of the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning at the college as students were keen to take up the subject.

Rochester Secondary College students and best mates Jacqui Atley, Tori Collins and Monica Murray were excited to continue their education and friendship in Melbourne.

Ms Collins will study nursing at Deakin University.

‘‘I like to feel I’m being helpful,’’ she said.

Ms Murray said she always thought about studying medicine but changed it to physiotherapy.

Despite an early offer to study physiotherapy in Albury, she took up her first choice at La Trobe in Frankston.

She said it was important to have a life as well as career and believed physiotherapy would allow her to juggle family and career more easily.

Ms Atley plans to study primary school teaching in Melbourne, following in the footsteps of her parents.

She said she would enjoy the freedom of a teaching career which would allow her to move to different places.

Ms Atley said sport was a big part of her life and looked forward to continuing to play netball while teaching.

After finishing university, she plans to travel to England and work there for a year.