University

Careers @ McCarthy

All you need to know about university

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Here you will find information on applications, main dates, open days, scholarships, deferring, early entry schemes etc. Information on costs involved in going to university was given at the University Information Evening held on July 29th.

UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS CENTRE

If you are applying to university in NSW or the ACT, you will need to apply to UAC which handles all applications except for Notre Dame University. The UAC website has a lot of information about applying to university.

If you want to know what each university recommends, suggests or insists that you study for the HSC in order to get into their courses, check out the latest online University Entry Requirements booklet to get an idea here or see me for the most recently published booklet.

Each year UAC publishes a booklet for Year 12 students explaining the HSC results, UAI/ATARs, scaling etc. and sends it to students.

ATAR: With the UAI being replaced by the ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) the UAC 2009 books will be refer to ATARs and will contain a conversion table to assist students with university booklets which contain UAI cut-offs. Click here for more information about ATAR.

On-time applications for university must be made by September 30th.

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UNIVERSITIES IN NSW & ACT

You can click on all or any of these universities to visit their websites.

Australian Catholic University	University of New England
Australian National University	University of New South Wales
Charles Sturt University	University of Newcastle
La Trobe University	University of Sydney
Macquarie University	University of Technology, Sydney
Southern Cross University	University of Western Sydney
University of Canberra	University of Wollongong

QTAC

QTAC handles applications to all Queensland universities as well as Queensland TAFE courses and applications to University of New England and Southern Cross University as well.

Closing date is generally the same as UAC (end of September) but you can only have 6 preferences.

VTAC

VTAC handles applications to all Victorian universities. The VTAC book will be available in newsagencies from July as Victorian universities do not send many resources to the school.

UNIVERSITY OPEN DAYS

Dates of NSW & ACT university open days for this year are posted on the UAC website.

Dates of Queensland university open days for this year are posted on the QTAC website.

MAIN UNIVERSITY DATES FOR YEAR 12

Dates for these are available on the UAC website on the Important Dates page and include application dates, release of HSC Results, the UAI and university offers.

UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS

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Visit each university website and click on SCHOLARSHIPS to find out what is currently on offer.

Most university scholarships will be due in Term 3.

Some scholarships are for specific careers eg Engineering, Surveying, Teaching and so on.

Some are for academic ability, sporting prowess, rural origin, financial-disadvantage or for "all-rounders" (eg academic, sporting, cultural, community activities and leadership).

For all health and medical scholarships visit the NSW Rural Doctors Network website.

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DEFERRING UNIVERSITY

This is a good option for some students - for financial reasons and if they are still unsure about what to study.

However there are some drawbacks eg students may miss out on some scholarships for school-leavers and may find it hard to get back into "study mode". This will be discussed at the annual University Information Evening held in Week 2 of Term 3.

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HSC BONUS POINT SCHEMES

These schemes enable to students to gain bonus points to add to their ATAR if they achieve very good HSC results in certain subjects according to the courses they apply to do. The points do not change the ATAR but would improve the student's selection rank to get into a course ie

ATAR + Bonus Points

Schemes vary from university to university in regard to what courses, how they apply etc. The bonus points are added automatically and students do not have to apply, just like any Regional Bonus Points our students are eligible to receive.

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EARLY ENTRY SCHEMES

These schemes enable to students to gain early entry into certain courses at certain universities regardless of whether they received the required UAI on the basis of the school's recommendationand the university's evaluation of the student's application.

Students at McCarthy are eligible to apply to:

University of New England's SRAS scheme

Charles Sturt University's PREP scheme

Southern Cross University's STAR scheme

University of Wollongong's Early Entry Scheme for some courses.

Students may also be interested in schemes run by the Australian Catholic University and Notre Dame University but should check with Mrs. Barrett about these.

The closing date for applications to be handed to Mrs Barrett is in mid Term 3 on Wed 9th Sept. It will be after your Trials

	If you do not receive an offer through the schemes (universities often have quotas), you may still apply through the normal UAC channels relying on your UAI to get you into the course.
	In most cases, you can defer an offer made via these schemes, but you need to check with the university concerned or Mrs. Barrett.
	Don't assume you will be successful.
	You must include these coursesin your 9 preferences to UAC and/or QTAC. You can assist your chances for some uni's if you make these courses your top preferences (especially for CSU)!
	Choose your courses carefully to maximise your chances of getting in.
	Early Round offers: these are made in early December. Read acceptance details carefully!!!!! Most will appear in the Jan. Main Round offers.
	For applications requiring written submissions (eg for CSU and SCU), you MUST get them checked for spelling, grammar etc
	WORK CONSISTENTLY AND WELL THROUGH YEAR 11 AND 12 TO MAXIMISE YOUR CHANCES. Check out the evaluation criteria.

TRIAL HSC RESULTS MATTER A LOT!!!!

They are used to help the panel of staff evaluating your applications and

will be required to be attached to applications by some universities.

They will have to be attached to most scholarship applications.

Students are notified if they are successful before they receive their HSC results and UAI.

Some students apply for early entry uni courses because they are the courses they really wish to do and other see them as a "backup"plan. Some students in the past have needed this and without their early entry offer would not have been able to get into university after Year 12.

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The schemes are designed to assist students who have the ability to cope with tertiary studies in their chosen courses.

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NOT EVERYONE WHO APPLIES IS SUCCESSFUL

AND

NOT EVERYONE IS ACCEPTED INTO THEIR FIRST CHOICE.

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