By Jamie Salter
VCE students and their parents are being reassured there are many pathways into university other than having a good Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) score.
While many students thrived in a wholly online environment due to the coronavirus pandemic, others struggled to get through the year, resulting in a broader range of ATAR scores.
Federation University Australia education expert associate professor Kurt Seemann said students who did not get the ATAR they wanted would still be able to find a pathway to university.
“Take a deep breath and regroup, there are lots of ways in,” Mr Seemann said.
He said some students may have received an early offer, with Federation providing conditional offers for programs at Berwick to 190 applicants.
Students can also do a Certificate III or higher in a relevant study area from Federation TAFE or another Victorian TAFE, which will give them the entry requirements (and credit) into a degree.
“They might not get into their preferred course but they can explore another program and once they’re in and coping well with studies, they can transfer to a different program,”Mr Seemann said.
“It shows commitment to the direction the student wants to explore which universities really value.”
Another pathway includes Federation University’s six-month Foundation Access Studies (FAST) program, which guarantees students an offer of a place in a Federation degree.
Year 12 students who are willing to travel to rural and regional campuses to study will have even further opportunities and some students even decide to defer for a couple of years to travel or work before enrolling into university as a mature-aged student.
Mr Seemann said ATAR scores were not the be-all and end-all.
“We understand it’s been tough in the past two years and that an ATAR score is only one ingredient in a complex recipe,” he said.
“It’s a measure of a moment that is not likely to be a perfect measure of the qualities a student will bring to university.”
More than $5 million in scholarships are also available to help prospective students realise their dreams.
The range of scholarships include support for high performing students and those relocating to regional Victoria, as well as women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and students studying in growth industries.
Those doing it tough will also be supported to continue their studies through the university’s FedSuccess grant.
