Melbourne students reveal how they won places at world’s top unis

When Anna Wang arrived in Melbourne in 2016 as a nine-year-old, she only knew a few words of English. A decade on, the star student has her sights set on attending one of the world’s top universities to study literature.

Scoring a coveted scholarship at Methodist Ladies’ College in year 9, Wang quickly flourished in creative writing, and by the time she was in her final year of high school, she won the school’s literature prize.

She writes about her personal experience of immigration, as well as character studies and poetry. “I’m always trying to explore new writing styles, and recently, I’ve been drawn to surrealism. I’ve just started experimenting with it,” she said.

The 18-year-old has also built up an international profile as a runner-up at University College London’s classics essay competition and finishing in the top 10 in the H.G. Wells short story awards.

Now, Wang has her sights set on Oxford or Yale, and believes studying overseas will help her reach new heights with her writing.

If accepted, she’d like to study literature and English language in the UK, or literature and psychology in the United States.

“I was really nervous about my exams and my interviews with the universities, so I’ve been focused on that,” she said. Despite her nerves, she managed to score a perfect 45 for her International Baccalaureate.

With some of the state’s best and brightest eager to attend the world’s most prestigious universities, Wang is not alone in her ambition to study abroad.

More than 115,000 residents returned to Australia after travelling overseas for education purposes last year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. That is a 24 per cent rise from 90,710 in 2023. However, the numbers don’t specify what type of study was undertaken or the students’ ages.

For former Caulfield Grammar head boy Daniel Gao, studying overseas was a goal since he was 13, when he attended a summer course in the UK.

“I was terrified,” he said of the experience. “Living in a foreign country surrounded by strangers for two weeks felt like the opposite of a relaxing school holiday, but it became one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”

Now at the celebrated Wharton School in the US, studying a bachelor of science, he said he couldn’t believe the offer when it arrived.

“When I saw the acceptance letter, I literally fell out of my chair,” he said.

Gao said the “brain drain” of talent loss from Australia was a complex challenge.

“This small group consists of some of the brightest and most ambitious students in the country,” he said of those heading overseas to study.

Gao said tall poppy syndrome also played a factor because it created an “invisible ceiling” for ambition.

“Many do … thrive domestically, but others feel encouraged to look abroad for environments where aiming high feels more socially accepted,” Gao said.

Geelong Grammar graduate Tom Pirenc said he was drawn to the US because of its combination of academics and sport, as well as the flexibility of its tertiary system.

Now a student at Princeton, both the 20-year-old rower and Gao used a consultancy service to help with their applications.

Will Yaxley, a consultant who works for the Australian arm of Crimson Education, said there had been an increase in the number of students eager to head overseas since COVID-19, particularly among athletes because of scholarship opportunities.

The number of Australian athletes attending US universities has doubled in the past three years, said Yaxley, who pointed to Melbourne-born Archie Wilson, who was recruited to play American football for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln after graduating from Haileybury, as an inspiration for many.

Another drawcard is the post-graduation career opportunities tied to international universities.

“Beyond rankings and prestige, the biggest drawcards I see are the initial salary opportunities in certain roles. If you look at tech, the top nine tech companies, the starting salary in America is over $US250,000 ($352,000),” Yaxley said.

Despite fears around international study costs for families, Yaxley said more than a quarter of Crimson Education’s applicants received a scholarship, on an average amount of $US67,000 ($94,000).

The most popular degrees students apply for in the UK are science and technology-based, as well as economics, politics and philosophy.

In the US, most students are drawn to business and computer science, but there is also a focus on performing arts, because of the country’s bigger creative networks.

Education expert Dr Kellie McGlynn, of Deakin University, said young people were making decisions based on a strategy, and were keen for a distinct study experience.

“I do think the risk is that it’s more tailored to students, you know, with those aspirations that are predominantly from backgrounds that enable that,” she said.

McGlynn said in industries such as IT, students were more likely to get employed overseas and on higher salaries, which made it more alluring for Australians to stay overseas.

“We need to look at how we renumerate them in our own country, and provide incentives to ensure they do come back and bring this expertise with them and those cultural experiences,” she said.

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