Just to put the lid on this religious bias thing once and for all, here is the same scheme for a non-Catholic University.

http://sydney.edu.au/future-students/domestic/undergraduate/access-sydney/flexible-entry.shtml?utm_source=future-students&utm_medium=tile&utm_campaign=access-sydney

"The Flexible Entry Scheme means that you may still receive an offer for a course if you achieve an ATAR that falls up to 5 points below the published ATAR."

So it's goodnight from him...

"University access determined by religion? A bad precedent for Australia."

And it's goodnight from me.

[No correspondence will be entered into regarding that sign-off]

There is/was Headmaster's Recommendation which my youngest daughter got to get her into UNE some years ago, she attended a Public School.

Dear WmTrevor and OTB,

Thank you for the links.

I thought I would look at a regional Catholic university and so chose Ballarat.

http://www.acu.edu.au/study_at_acu/alternate_entry/accessacu/ballarat_relationships

Without doing exhaustive research I make it 39 religious/private schools to 14 state schools are part of the ANU Ballarat relationship group.

I would say that an over 3:1 ratio is a religious bias, given independent and Catholic school students make up approximately a third of the student population of Victoria.

SteeleRedux,

There may be an innocent explanation.

However even if true the system is to an extent self-correcting. Private companies are quick to respond to any unevenness in the quality of graduates.

I abhor favouritism.

We should be shocked that universities are funded by our tax money.

The rest of the details are peanuts!

SteeleRedux,
What are you coaching the boy for? Is it sport, music or academic subjects? Do you not think if it is academic that he has matured and now wants to achieve? A sign of a good student.