I got a good atar but bad English result

[5ACH1KO]

My friend just achieved a pretty good ATAR(89.6) but he also depressed for a half month since he only got 24 on English Language. He want go to Unimelb but usually Unimelb need English Language at least 25 and now he think his life just ended here.
Any help for this poor guy to achieve his dream? Thanks!

[AngelWings]

There’s always an alternative pathway.

1. In some super, super rare cases, if your friend has a lot of special consideration going for them, UoM have let people through despite just missing out on the English subject 25 raw. If your friend has a lot of SEAS going for them, I’d give it a shot but don’t hold your breath.
2. (Most likely what will happen) Take a very similar course at another uni that doesn’t have the 25+ raw SS English subject prereq e.g. BSci at Deakin and transfer into BSci at UoM after a semester or two via external transfer. You will, however, likely need to make a certain Uni mark in order to transfer (I’ve heard around 70-75 WAM for Monash and wouldn’t be surprised if UoM asks for something similar or even higher depending on the competition you have)
3. Your friend takes a bridging course - at UoM, I believe it’s usually UniLearn. A bridging course will usually run through basics like English and then allow you to take the course after. (But check with UoM how it works first, as I know little about this. IIRC, bridging courses start very early, so your friend might need to be quick to figure out if this pathway can work.)
4. If it’s a course that has a postgrad option, study an undergrad course that allows entry into the postgraduate course. This is a longer option but will mean they have a higher qualification (which is pretty normal for a lot of UoM students due to the Melbourne model). For example, if your mate was interested in engineering originally, you’d have to do a Masters of engineering anyway at UoM, which requires that you’ve done some sort of Bachelor beforehand (and this often isn’t Uni-restricted e.g. you can do a BSci at Deakin then a MEng at UoM if you make the entry requirements).

In my opinion, if I were your friend, I’d be going for a combination of 1 and 2. I’d put my intended UoM course in first preference on the VTAC website, but put 1-2 courses where they meet the English prereq in lower positions to ensure they get an offer they don’t mind studying for a little while and aim to do well there, so they can transfer into UoM after.

P.S. I have had a number of friends who didn’t get what they were hoping for re: English and Methods, including someone who missed the 25 raw SS for English and had initially wanted to study at Monash. They eventually transferred a year in from Deakin to Monash.

It might take a while to get where your friend wants, but with some fierce determination and good old elbow grease, he’ll be able to get there. Hang in there and good luck!

(Also, out of curiosity, what was your friend hoping to get into in the first place?)