I remember the day when I found my UAI. My mum woke me up really early and stood behind me as I tried to log into the website. When finally my UAI came up – everyone else seemed happy except for me! I did really well, but when your UAI goal is the cut off for Combined Law at USYD (99.55 last year!) you can imagine my disappointment when I got close, yet not close enough.
HSC time is a stressful time for many. The worry is always: “what will my marks look like at the end?” “What will that dreaded UAI be?” Whether it’s Law or any degree, missing the cut off for your course can be devastating. From someone who originally missed out on my “dream course”, here are some reasons why the best thing you can do is just do your best and leave the rest to the universe:
1. Transferring. Most degrees allow you to apply again in future years after some university study in another degree. This is called “transferring” and works best when the degree you want to transfer into is similar to the one you are transferring out of. This is because the year of study you’ve already done may be credited towards the new degree. This is also a great way to get into combined courses which have a UAI that is higher than either of the separate degrees. For example, you could start with an Arts degree and then transfer into Arts/Law after one year. Transferring is definitely an option – but be warned, it’s not an easy option. It requires you to achieve well enough in your time at uni as to be able to compete with the next cohort of bright year 12s who are also vying for places in your degree.
Want to know more about transferring? You need to speak to the faculty which runs your degree to discuss transferring options. You can find the faculty contacts here.
2. Graduate Options. Lots of great degrees now require you to do another degree first. Graduate options exist in Law, Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing and Education among others. Graduate options can be competitive to get into and require special requirements, but they also give you time to improve your skills and hone in during your first degree on what exactly it is you want to do with your life. They are also liberating in that they allow you to choose whatever degree you want first and then move into one that focuses you more specifically towards an occupation (not that other degrees can’t do that!).
3. Flexible Entry Schemes. A wide range of degrees allow you to apply for flexible entry, where you can be given a place in the course by demonstrating special skills/experience or aptitude in that area of study. Say for example you want to study Arts, but you bum out in Maths which brings your UAI down slightly below the Arts cut off. Meanwhile, you absolutely aced your humanities subjects. This where flexible entry might be useful.
You should contact the faculty of the degree you want to do and ask them about flexible entry as soon as possible as there may be an application process.
4. Broadway Scheme and other Special Entry Schemes. The Broadway Scheme allows people who have suffered serious educational disadvantage during their HSC to get a “top up” on their UAI, which may help to get you over the cut off for a course. The Broadway Scheme needs a special application and it has to be done early (by the September cut-off for UAC preferences).
Are you an indigenous student, an elite athlete, a rural student or a student from a culturally or linguistically diverse background who wants to do Health Science? There are just some of the categories that have other special entry schemes.
Click here for more information on the Broadway Scheme and other Special Entry Schemes.
5. Mature-aged Entry. If you get a UAI that misses out on reaching the cut off for tertiary study, you can also think about Mature Age entry. This has a very specialist entry procedure and you should read the website carefully.
Ok, so now I’ve outlined the options. Remember how I told you I missed the cut off for Combined Law at USYD? Guess what I’m studying today: Combined Law at USYD! I managed to do really well in my first year in Arts and successfully applied for a transfer.
What I found was that missing out on my cut off was actually a hidden blessing. Because I didn’t have to do law subjects, I could choose more Arts subjects in my first year that I really loved, such as Music in Western Culture (probably one of the best courses I’ve ever done at uni). Missing the cut off allowed me to really open my eyes and decide what I want to do without the pressure of the HSC over my shoulders. With more experience, more maturity and more information about university generally, I think moving away from the HSC mark mentality actually made me a better student when I finally got into my “dream course”.
So remember those words your mum used to tell you when you were younger, because we don’t hear them enough these days! Just do your best and you never know what can happen over that HSC rainbow.
Comments
A very wise message. All the best of luck to you HSCers out there! :)
Posted by: Sikeli | October 29, 2006 11:38 PM
you're a fantastic writer, and this has been successful in making me feel more inspired of what lies ahead of me :)
Posted by: lisa | December 26, 2006 06:09 PM
Thanks Lisa! I'm glad I could help :-)
Posted by: Ghassan | December 26, 2006 08:47 PM
Why do elite athletes get special consideration? Surely thats unfair. Why do some people have their cake and then eat it too?
Posted by: Me | March 13, 2007 07:51 AM
This scheme isn't just for elite athletes, it is for elite athletes and performers so that means it is also for debaters, dancers and actors etc. In order to be considered, these students must be performing at an elite level such as representing Australia. If they are competing at that sort of level usually that means their studies have suffered because of training, rehearsals or attending debating championships or comps. They don't get to participate in this scheme because they are really good at something. They get to participate because that pressure often means they have not been able to study or have missed exams. It is similar to the Broadway Scheme except that scheme is for people who's studies have been affected by hardship of some kind. Both of these schemes mean that students may be considered for a course that has a UAI cut-off up to 5 points above what they received. They won't automatically get in and it is determined on a case by case basis. We also have flexible entry. Flexible entry means that students who missed out on a participating course (this is not available for all courses) by up to five UAI points may be considered if they can prove they have a particular passion or gift for the relevant subject matter. Sometimes the faculty will just look at how the student went in individual subjects and sometimes they will interview students or ask them to submit a letter or portfolio.
I know at first the Elite Athletes and Performers Scheme may look unfair, but actually it is meant to make things fairer. Uni entry is competitive and unfortunately, so much of it has become about whatever UAI you receive. But students are so much more than just their UAI and that is what these schemes try to remedy.
I should say, I am not a student. I am a staff member at the Uni but I feel pretty passionately that these schemes make a big difference to a wide range of students.
Posted by: Jo | March 13, 2007 02:56 PM
thank you so very much! your advice has really opened my eyes. i was really fretting about not being able to get into the medicine course i wanted which subsequently made me give up all hope for the hsc. it has certainly encourged me now becuase the thought of studying an arts degree in order to then gain entry into the graduate scheme fits perfectly! i am interested in science as well as art although it saddens me that studying science would probably be more logical in terms of my career options. can we choose ANY arts degree or does it have to contribute to the medicine degree? i love the idea of being able to hone my skills in the first year before beginning my studies.
Posted by: christine | April 29, 2007 10:21 PM