Colleges like St Mark’s are residential academic communities, which provide a safe and supportive environment where students can live and learn together, and receive the best possible all-round educational experience during their university studies.

St Mark’s accepts students studying full-time, Bachelor level or higher, on-campus degrees at Adelaide University (known as the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia in 2025) or Flinders University.

Academic excellence

• Students achieve their best with academic support from our Director of Learning, Senior Academic Tutor, six Academic Coordinators, and 50+ academic tutors. On average, students at St Mark’s achieve High Distinctions or Distinctions in over approximately 50% of subjects.
• Living in a supportive academic community helps students focus on their studies.
• Students get a head start in their careers through leadership roles, training opportunities, guest speakers, mentoring and advice from industry leaders, and a global alumni network.

Wellbeing Support

• The health, safety and wellbeing of our students is paramount. Students receive onsite support from our wellbeing team. Our Director of Wellbeing has worked as a Social Worker for 20 years, and our Dean is a registered psychologist. The wellbeing team also includes two Assistant Deans, nine Residential Advisors, six Academic Coordinators, two Indigenous Student Advisors, and a team of student leaders.
• Our extensive training programs educate students on the importance of physical and mental health, responsible approaches to alcohol, respectful relationships, consent, and what it means to be an ethical bystander.
• Sporting, cultural, creative arts, service, social and community events make it easy to make friends.
• The College actively promotes positive student wellbeing, including the development of resilience and character.

St Mark's College has a beautiful parkland campus within easy walking distance of Adelaide University, the Adelaide CBD, the Flinders City Campus, and the Flinders University train line.

Enjoy the comfort and convenience of College life, with private, secure, and furnished rooms for the full 40-week academic year (no need to move out mid-year!). You also get full catering with 3 nutritious meals a day, 7 days a week.

Beyond accommodation, our Academic Centre and Learning Commons provide comfortable, modern spaces for private and group study and tutorials, as well as printing, College-wide Wi-Fi, and a first-rate library collection. Our recreation facilities include a fully equipped modern gym, grass tennis courts, dining hall, chapel, music room (including sound equipment and grand piano) and plenty of green outdoor space.

A secure, multistorey car park with 150 parking spaces is also onsite. Spaces are allocated based on need.

Our application process is straightforward:

1. Complete the online application form via our website.
2. Arrange for two referees (e.g. a teacher) to provide references (one academic, one character).
3. Submit your academic transcripts.
4. Those shortlisted will be asked to attend a 40-minute interview, in person or via Teams.

Applications for places at St Mark’s are highly competitive and merit based. Aspiring students must demonstrate the capability and commitment to succeed at university, be of good character and committed to upholding the values of the College, and have the potential to contribute to College life.

We are also committed to ensuring that St Mark’s is a diverse and balanced community, and in making offers we take into account the overall composition of our community.

In a typical year, we would expect to receive three applications per place.

It is strongly recommended that applicants apply by August for the following academic year. This way, you can reduce the possibility of disappointment or being placed on a waitlist.

In order to manage the large number of applications we receive, we operate an Admissions Rounds model.

There are five main Admissions Rounds each year (in May, July, August, September, and November), and we release a fixed number of places in each of these five rounds.

Applicants need to complete and submit their application in good time to be considered for each round. As well as completing the application form, this includes submitting your academic transcripts and arranging for two referees to send us references. It is your responsibility to ensure that we receive the necessary information to enable us to review your application.

Once we have reviewed each completed application we will invite those shortlisted to attend a 40-minute interview, in person or via Teams.

All applicants who have been interviewed, and for whom we have received all necessary material (including the two references), will be considered at the next Admissions Round meeting.

At each Admissions Round meeting, the Admissions Committee reviews, as a gathered field, all completed applications from those applicants who have been shortlisted and interviewed, and decides who to offer places to. There is a fixed number of places available at each Round.

You can expect to receive an email informing you of the outcome of your application shortly after that Admissions Round meeting.

Because of the high demand for places at St Mark’s (in recent years we have received c.3 applications per place available), unfortunately not all applications will be successful.

In each Admissions Round we expect to offer a small number of unsuccessful applicants a place on our waiting list, and all of those applications will be reviewed again if any places become available later in the academic year. This may not be before December or January in a given year, but we would of course let you know if the situation changed and a place became available earlier than that. In recent years we have been able to offer places to c.15 of the students on our waiting list.

Yes! St Mark’s offers the largest financial assistance program of all the residential colleges in Adelaide, providing over $500,000 in scholarships, prizes, bursaries and other financial assistance to its students each year. Around 50% of St Mark’s students receive some form of financial assistance.

Scholarship applications for new students open in October and close in January. Information can be found here.

A small number of places are held aside for Study Abroad students and international students as they are generally unable to compete their applications until later in the academic year. Similarly, we keep a small number of places in reserve for successful applicants to some key St Mark’s scholarships, and to the C.A.S Hawker Scholarship.  Please contact us if you have any questions about this.

There are many ways to get to know St Mark's College better:

1. Visit us at our Open House in May, our Open Days weekend in August, or book in for a private tour all year round. Please note that by the time of the August Open Days many of our places for the following year are likely already to have been allocated, so we would encourage you to attend the May Open House if you are interested in applying for 2026.
2. Check out our Virtual Tours.
3. Call our Admissions Team on +61 8 8334 5600 or email stmarks@stmarkscollege.com.au.