place due to the "5% rule", which prevents more than 5% of another school's cohort entering Melbourne High, are asked to participate in the Principal's Discretionary Category. Usually 180 students are eligible to apply in this category and compete for just 15 allocated places. Students choosing to participate follow a complete application process involving: The submission of a portfolio demonstrating academic and co-curricular achievements; The student's most recent school report; and, A personal statement on why the student wishes to attend Melbourne High School. A small number of students are then short-listed and interviewed. Places are also available in Year 10; in 2007, 28 students were accepted into Year 10; in 2008, 29 students were accepted after undergoing a similar process to the Principals Discretionary Category. Fewer places again are available at Year 11, these places being given based on an interview and application form. No further enrolment is available in Year 12. The rules for entry are equal for all students during "examination entry" into the school. Students who live in the nearby area are not treated any differently from those from outer suburbs or regional areas. The school also offers places via an arts and humanities intake, where students who can demonstrate an active interest in the arts and humanities can apply for entry at Year 11. Applicants are shortlisted then follow an interview process where they present their portfolio of work and present a statement on why they wish to attend Melbourne High School. Academic results Past students have achieved very strong results in the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) examinations, and the median ENTER for Melbourne High School in 2009 was 95.85, the highest ever and the highest median ENTER by any school in Victoria barring its sister school, Mac.Robertson Girls' High School. Over 99% of students pursue a tertiary education, and the school has the largest intake into Monash University and the University of Melbourne out of all schools. Melbourne High School was ranked first out of all state secondary schools in Victoria based on VCE results in 2018. In 2009, it ended its 7-year drought by achieving higher average VCE results than Mac.Robertson Girls'. A summary of the school's academic results up until 2009, a year which former principal Jeremy Ludowyke termed as "far and away the best VCE result MHS has ever achieved", through the major academic indicators used in Victoria is presented