Help with ENTER / Mature Age Entry

[Illiden]

Good morning! A merry christmas as well 

Not sure if this is the right section to post this in - was directed here from someone at Boredofstudies (delicious pun  :smitten:), so I shall just copy my thread over to here...

Hello there,

I stumbled across this forum; and I hope you're all able to assist me with regards to my issue here.

Some basic background information first;

Finished VCE back in 04, very poor ENTER (66.3), did OK in most of my subjects though, mostly As, & Bs - I'm sure the exams, coupled with the lack of extra subjects / scaling of scores let me down. (English, Health, Psychology, Multimedia, & IT).

I only selected HECS based courses for my preferences, and only got accepted to a TAFE course that I totally ignored.

I never continued education, or got a job (I never once claimed unemployment, though - so please don't guilt me  :angel:. Until recently though; I did get a part time job in hopes of saving up for an education or the likes. But, I sincerely doubt that's going to help my education / entry in any sense - fast food! But, through investments & the likes have saved up in excess of 20k.

I've recently been diagnosed with a few mental health issues, which may also explain my lack of direction over the past few years, & lack of motivation.

Alright, here are my questions;

Is my ENTER score still valid? As I am once again feeling hopeful, as I look at many courses that allow for 50-60s.

If it is valid, do you know for how long?

Is there anyway I can go to TAFE, or somewhere else & retry my VCE/ENTER? Not afraid of hard work 

Do mental health issues qualify for any sort of leniency?

Do I still apply through VTAC; Will my ENTER score still be there? (My Pin/App number doesn't seem to work anymore)

Is there any Bachelor of Arts course that would be suitable for my ENTER? (That's, if it's still valid) This course appeals to me, as it would offer me a wide range of subjects that might allow for me to select a career.
~ Or, is Mature Aged entry / alternative pathways my only option here?

Oh, and I'm 21 years old.

[Odette]

Well I'm not sure of how long your ENTER will be valid for; or even if it's still valid, but if you're considering repeating year 12, you could do it at either RMIT or VUT (not sure if other tafes offer VCE), or through distance education =)...if you do repeat year 12 you will get special consideration (or something like that) due to your health issues.

As for the Bachelor of Arts, if your ENTER is still valid you could get into Arts at VU (not sure how great the course is though) as the ENTER for that is about 60-61.

Hope that helps =)
Good luck 

[Mao]

As for the Bachelor of Arts, if your ENTER is still valid you could get into Arts at VU (not sure how great the course is though) as the ENTER for that is about 60-61.

LOL VU was voted best teaching-student experience, probably on the basis of such a relaxed atmosphere

firstly, Illiden, welcome to FSN!!!

Depending on which side of the city u r on, La trobe, Deakin and VU are your best bets
If you are looking on repeating yr 12, most TAFE offer mature-age VCE courses

If you dont want to re-do VCE, then i would advise doing a Diploma in arts at one of the abovementioned univerisities, and then transfer into second year
dunno how that fit in with HECS, but it's a very popular pathway at VU
but from your savings, it dont look like u'll have too much problem paying for yourself :p maybe it's time for u to get umemployment/youth allowance? squeeze out everything the govt can give u, LOLz (from some part of my memory, you can even be back-payed for the years u were eligible for allowance but didnt recieve any payments, not entirely sure tho, but definitely worth talking to centerlink about :p)

hope that helps hehe, and best of luck for the future

[Eriny]

You should be able to get into the Bachelor of Arts at VU, you may also be able to apply to Arts at other places with special consideration (from memory, Arts at LaTrobe and Deakin are in the 70's, but both places have access schemes). Your ENTER will still be valid (I'm pretty sure) but because you classify as a mature age student, they will take other things into account with your application. According to the VTAC guide, many courses will require you to fill out a "Pi Form" (with additional information such as work experience) and if you apply for Arts at VU you may be interviewed as well.

Have you thought about speaking to a careers advisor?

[Illiden]

You should be able to get into the Bachelor of Arts at VU, you may also be able to apply to Arts at other places with special consideration (from memory, Arts at LaTrobe and Deakin are in the 70's, but both places have access schemes). Your ENTER will still be valid (I'm pretty sure) but because you classify as a mature age student, they will take other things into account with your application. According to the VTAC guide, many courses will require you to fill out a "Pi Form" (with additional information such as work experience) and if you apply for Arts at VU you may be interviewed as well.

Have you thought about speaking to a careers advisor?

Thank you very much for the help guys:)

Where would I find a careers advisor though? Perhaps at the Uni's?

hehe, I feel too guilty about taking money for doing nothing, I believe that develops a bad ethic.
You can really re-do VCE? That's very interesting. Ideally if I could do the Bach of arts without that, would be the best option, but giving VCE another go might be a better idea.

Well, would Bi-Polar/Anxiety/Depression qualify for any benefits though? It's not like I really have any learning disorders.

Thanks a lot guys, I already feel welcome!

[Eriny]

The problems you describe definitely qualify as a legitamate reason to get special consideration through VTAC. They'll probably want further information though. I'm not exactly sure how that works.

As for careers advisors, there could be people available at the universities that you're interested in, or you could go back to your old high school to talk to the people there, or you could possibly access those services through your local Council. I think there are private organisations that also do careers advice.

[Illiden]

Great, I will try your suggestions

Can anyone give me a definitive answer though with regards to the validity of my ENTER?

Oh, and would I still go through VTAC - as my Pin etc don't work, would I just re-register? Student number still valid perhaps?

Regards,
Illiden