Concerning Careers

Year 12 Tertiary applications

Applications for university entry in most States of Australia open on Monday August 2 and close on Thursday 30 September. All Year 12 boys will be provided with resources to support their applications and the Careers Counsellor will be conducting sessions with all the Year 12s commencing in late Week 2 to explain the application processes and to provide advice as needed. Any boys wishing to discuss their plans for 2022 and beyond or need any assistance with their applications can arrange to meet with the Careers Counsellor.

Uni SA Guaranteed Entry

The University is now offering two forms of guaranteed entry. One is by the applicant achieving a pre-determined selection rank (ATAR), an arrangement that has been in place for several years. For 2022 entry, the University will be offering guaranteed entry into courses based on the results of the best three Stage 2 SACE (and IB equivalent) subjects. No additional application requirements are necessary for students to gain entry by this arrangement, it is managed as a part of the normal SATAC application process. To be considered for this arrangement, applicants must list a Uni SA course as their first preference. For more details, including access to a guaranteed calculator, please go to Uni SA guaranteed.

Flinders University Year 11 Grades Pathway

Flinders University has recently decided to resume the Year 11 Grades Admission Pathway for 2022 entry which will enable students to apply for an eligible Flinders course based on their Year 11

grades. This pathway will allow current Year 12 students to gain entry to Flinders based on their Year 11 grades and gain an early conditional offer to start their studies. Students will need to successfully complete the SACE or equivalent to confirm the admission. Please note: A minimum ATAR of 70 will be required for all Education/Teaching courses. To participate in the pathway, students must register with Flinders University at Yr 11 grades pathway and have listed an eligible Flinders University as their 1^st preference in their SATAC application by 30 September. The Year 11 Grades Pathway brochure lists the courses available and the Year 11 grades required for entry. The best 50 credits at Stage 1 are considered for this pathway.

University of Sydney Open Day

Sydney’s Open Day will be an online event on 28 August. For details of events and to register, please go to Sydney Open Day.

UNSW Open Day

UNSW is conducting an online Open Day on Saturday 4 September. For program details and registration, please go to UNSW Open Day.

University of Melbourne Residential Colleges Virtual Open Day

The residential colleges are running a virtual open day on 29 August but still hope to be able to conduct personal tours in September. For details and registration, please go to Colleges Open Day.

IB Recognition Scheme at the University of Adelaide

This scheme will recognise the academic achievements of IB graduates by granting credit or exemptions for some first year courses based on curriculum equivalency and academic performance in the IB subject. This program is available for most degrees, but not all. Credit and/or exemption will be offered as part of the scheme. Exemptions recognise that certain IB subjects and their related University course are substantially similar, and allow students to commence their studies at the appropriate learning level. Exemptions do not reduce the number of units required to complete a student’s program, but allows the IB subject to be recognised as a substitute for a course or courses listed in the program requirements. More details can be found at IB recognition.

UniTEST – Flinders University 

uniTEST is an aptitude test that has been designed by ACER to assess the kinds of generic reasoning and thinking skills that are needed for students to achieve success in tertiary education. uniTEST assesses this reasoning and thinking across the broad domains of mathematics, science, humanities and social sciences. At Flinders, uniTEST is available for school leavers and has the potential to effectively improve an applicant’s selection rank as the uniTEST result is weighted at 40% and considered alongside the applicant’s ATAR (weighted at 60%) during the selection processes for Flinders Uni courses. For details about the test, go to uniTEST.

Bond University – early applications

Bond is now accepting Year 12 applications via an early application process. Students can start their Bond application now and finalise it once they have received their semester 1 results from year 12. Bond will then release conditional offers for these students should they be on-track to meet entry requirements for their chosen program. Applications can be commenced here.

 Australian Defence Force Academy – ADFA 

Year 12 students considering applying for ADFA are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible to ensure sufficient time for the application process. Year 11 students can also apply now. ADFA develops and educates the future leaders of the Navy, Army and Air Force. The program at ADFA combines military and leadership training with a recognised degree from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). There are a range of degrees available at ADFA: Arts, Business, Engineering, Information Technology, Science and Technology. For more information, go to ADFA

Agricultural Careers Expo

Urrbrae Agricultural High School is hosting an expo to highlight the careers and employment opportunities that exist in Agriculture and related Industries. This is an event which is open to anyone interested in finding out more about Careers in Agriculture. It is being held on Tuesday 21^st September from 2 to 7pm.

Studying in the UK

Applications for most UK universities can be commenced now and submitted from the beginning of September 2021. Applications for Oxford, Cambridge and for courses in Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Science close on the 15 October. Other key dates can be found at UCAS key dates. Students wishing to apply for a full-time undergraduate course at university or college must use the UCAS online service called ‘Apply’. Apply is a secure, web-based application system which is available 24 hours a day. The UCAS application process is outlined at UCAS applications. Students considering tertiary study in the UK will benefit from registering for the UCAS Hub, which will allow students to easily explore tertiary options, commence planning their Personal Statement and provides a ‘to – do’ list.

The School is a registered UCAS Centre. Consequently, the Careers Counsellor will need to guide the applicant for the initial set up of their UCAS application, which includes the issuing of a buzzword to the applicant. This buzzword will allow them to apply and link their applications to the Centre. While the deadline for most UCAS applications is in early January, to guarantee that the all the documentation can be submitted by the School, the UCAS application must be completed by the student by the last day of the school year – Friday 3 December 2021. The British Council provides information and advice on studying in the UK, go to Study UK for this information. There are also numerous resources available to prospective students and their parents on Keystone – learning resource ID of 8WPSZ9.

TAFE SA – pathway to Higher Education

TAFE SA is well known for its vocational education and training, but also offers a range of specialised higher education courses. Some of the higher education degrees are offered directly by TAFE SA and some are offered in partnership with universities. TAFE SA is a dual-sector VET/Higher Education provider, thereby offering benefits to higher education students. For more information, go to Higher Education

Western Sydney University (WSU)

WSU has introduced a ‘True Reward’ program. This program is a unique pathway that offers early entry to university by being judged on the subjects a student loves studying. Early offers are based on Year 11 or Year 12 results in the subjects that are relevant to their desired course. Students need to apply directly to WSU to be considered in this program. For more details and to apply, please go to Reward.

University of Tasmania – Schools Recommendation Program

Applications for the Schools Recommendation Program are now open. Applications via this pathway gives students early offers for the 2022 courses. Applications will be open until 31 October. For more details and to apply, please go to Schools recommendation.

Lincoln University – Christchurch NZ

The University offers a wide range of courses including agribusiness, landscape architecture, viticulture, oenology and tourism. Australian students studying at Lincoln pay the same low domestic fees as the New Zealand students do. For more information, go to Lincoln University.

Law Admission Test – Registrations now open

For students considering studying Law at UNSW will need to sit the Law Admission Test (LAT). LAT is a written test that is used to demonstrate a student’s aptitude and suitability for studying undergraduate Law at UNSW. A LAT score, in addition to academic results (e.g. ATAR + additional points) will be used in the selection process to allow us to better differentiate between the many high achieving applicants to Law. For more details, go to LAT at UNSW. Applications close on 13 August. The test will be held on Thursday 30 September. Applications are now open.

Space School – Year 10 students

The SA Space School Year 10 camp is planned for the 2021 October School holidays.  This low cost 4 day residential camp includes students being involved in microgravity and astronomy investigations, build & launch rockets at Hamilton Secondary College Space School, undertake a full day ‘Mission to Mars’ at the Hamilton Space Science Centre, tour the new Space Discovery Centre at Lot Fourteen as well as visit many other Space research and industry groups. Go to Space School Applications for more details and applications.

SA School Space Camp

Running for the first time in January 2022 and open to all 14 to 18 years old’s, the SA School Space Camp will be based at St Peter’s College, Adelaide with a NASA astronaut and a host of world renowned scientists. The camp has an overall mission of working in a team under the guidance of NASA astronauts and top scientists to design an experiment destined for the International Space Station (ISS), at the end of the week camp judges will pick the best experimental idea which will be built by King’s College London, launched to the ISS, and carried out in space by the astronauts aboard the station. For details and applications, go to Mission Discovery Adelaide.

Mark Colsey
Careers Counsellor