Ask The University of Melbourne

[ChickenCh0wM1en]

what sort of atar would get a student into commerce last year with the SEAS categories of underrepresented school, medical condition, and living in an under-represented area(not rural, and not sure if melb uni recognises this)?
thanks

"Guaranteed entry to Melbourne
The University guarantees admission to eligible applicants in these Access Melbourne categories:

Disadvantaged financial background
Applicants from rural or isolated areas
You need to meet prerequisites and achieve the following ATARs:
— 78.00: Arts, Environments, Science
— 88.00: Commerce
— 95.00: Biomedicine
Some conditions apply"

Source - http://futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/admissions/access_melbourne_and_equity_programs/access-melbourne
I think this would be the bare minimum 88.00. Regardless of whether you have one of those categories or all three of them, the lowest score you could get in with is  an 88.00 ATAR.

[spectroscopy]

"Guaranteed entry to Melbourne
The University guarantees admission to eligible applicants in these Access Melbourne categories:

Disadvantaged financial background
Applicants from rural or isolated areas
You need to meet prerequisites and achieve the following ATARs:
— 78.00: Arts, Environments, Science
— 88.00: Commerce
— 95.00: Biomedicine
Some conditions apply"

Source - http://futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/admissions/access_melbourne_and_equity_programs/access-melbourne
I think this would be the bare minimum 88.00. Regardless of whether you have one of those categories or all three of them, the lowest score you could get in with is  an 88.00 ATAR.

i appreciate the effort, but that information applys to rural students and disadvantaged financial students. from talking to careers counsellors and stuff, the three categories im asking about dont give you as much of a boost as those ones that guarantee you entry with an 88, so it definitely will be an atar higher than 88 required to get in, which is why i am asking the question specifically as there is very little information on how much the other seas categories can help you (most of the information is focused on the two you mention in your answer). im curious about whether with the combination of those categories youll get leeway of maybe 1 or 2 atar, or maybe even 3 or perhaps <1

[BLACKCATT]

Hi Uom!

I'm going to be overseas from december~1st of March. I know i can accept offers online but, will there be any issues/anything that i need to do/know beforehand? I just want to make sure. Thanks in advance

[hang__10]

Just a follow up question about residence: I've heard that if you don't get accepted into your first preference that there's a verryyyy little chance of getting into another college - I'm assuming because the colleges only want those who pick them first. Can you confirm this or no?

Also if I live in a rural area but have not finished my last 2 years of high school at a rural location, does that I mean I can't use my rural background to help me out??

Thanks

[LiquidPaperz]

Hey unimelb, i was interested in doing a bachelor of commerce, and after my three year course i would be interested in doing my post graduate overseas, possibly the likes of Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard or Stanford and so on.... My question is, are you aware of the necessary steps to take to get into their post graduate course? is their a certain GPA we must hold etc?

Thanks

[mark_alec]

It really depends on the type of program you want to apply to. For a PhD program, grades are important, but research experience/potential and letters of recommendation tend to be much more heavily weighed.

[unimelb]

Update at 2.00pm, 8/10/2014
Hi spectroscopy and hang__10, we have your answers for you. We're sorry for the delay! -Bronwyn & Miriam

what sort of atar would get a student into commerce last year with the SEAS categories of underrepresented school, medical condition, and living in an under-represented area(not rural, and not sure if melb uni recognises this)?

Hi spectroscopy,

Thanks for your patience, here's some advice straight from our Admissions experts for you:

The University of Melbourne cannot provide a definitive answer to this question as eligibility for different SEAS categories impacts upon an applicant’s ATAR by varying amounts when we are selecting students for our undergraduate courses. The only SEAS ATARs that the University of Melbourne can publish in advance are those that are guaranteed for eligible SEAS applicants who are from a Rural or isolated area or have a Disadvantaged financial background. A student who is eligible under either of these SEAS categories will be guaranteed a place in Commerce in 2015 if they achieve an ATAR of at least 88.00 – this is significantly lower than the minimum ATAR required for entry to this course for students who aren’t eligible for SEAS (some conditions do apply for this Access Melbourne guarantee, please refer to the link below for detailed information).

Applicants eligible for other SEAS categories will be assessed on an individual basis and it is not possible to predict in advance the difference their SEAS application will make. While a student who is eligible under the Disability or medical condition category and/or the Under-represented school category is not guaranteed to receive an offer for Commerce with an ATAR of 88.00 in 2015 (as our Access Melbourne guarantee does not apply to these categories), if it is considered that their circumstances have had a significant impact upon their final ATAR they may still receive an offer for this course. It is impossible for us to predict the likely outcome of an application under the Disability or medical condition category in particular, as we know that applications under this category can vary from something fairly minor (for example, a broken toe) to something very severe (for example, a cancer diagnosis).

Please be assured that each SEAS application is considered individually by the University, and students who are eligible under multiple SEAS categories are assessed for each category before then receiving a final “compound” amount of extra consideration. For these reasons the level of adjustment that takes place once an eligible SEAS application is received by the University of Melbourne cannot be predicted in advance (with the exception of the guaranteed categories), and this is particularly so for applicants who are eligible under multiple categories.

Finally, could you define what you mean by under-represented area? If this relates to the area of your school’s postcode and your home address postcode then you may actually be eligible for the Access Melbourne guarantee that we have mentioned above.

- Bronwyn & Miriam

Also if I live in a rural area but have not finished my last 2 years of high school at a rural location, does that I mean I can't use my rural background to help me out??

Hi hang__10,

From the requirements listed on the Future Students website, in order to be eligible for the Rural SEAS category, you need to have completed your last two years of high school at a rural or regional secondary school. If you're unsure about eligibility, you can always contact 13 MELB to discuss your circumstances in greater detail.

- Bronwyn & Miriam

Update at 4.30pm, 7/10/2014
Hi spectroscopy and hang__10, don't worry we haven't forgotten about you! We're still waiting to hear back from the Admissions team experts and will respond to your very good questions as soon as we have answers for you. We hope you all have a great week! - Bronwyn

Original post at 10.00am, 7/10/2014
Hi all, Miriam, Bronwyn and Carol here today to provide some answers. spectroscopy and hang__10 (second question)- we're getting some expert advice from our Admissions team and will respond to your queries asap.

Hi Uom!

I'm going to be overseas from december~1st of March. I know i can accept offers online but, will there be any issues/anything that i need to do/know beforehand? I just want to make sure. Thanks in advance

Hi BLACKCATT,

While classes commence on Monday 2 March, there are some key events such as Orientation Week from Tuesday 24 February – Friday 27 February and Academic Advice Day (AAD) on Friday 23 January (which is strongly recommended for choosing your subjects and planning your course). Some courses may offer an online webinar as an alternative (for instance, this year Bachelor of Arts students could view their info sessions online) however details for AAD 2015 are still being finalised. The best thing to do is watch this space for more information about AAD and other orientation information: https://aad.unimelb.edu.au/

If you are successful in receiving an offer at the University of Melbourne, you will need to contact your Student Centre about your late arrival as there may be additional steps you need to take before commencing your classes.

When you receive your offer, you will be invited to enrol in your course, which can be done online. It’s important to note that if you plan on deferring your course fees through HECS-HELP, eligible students must provide a Tax File Number which can be difficult to organise if you are overseas.

- Bronwyn

Just a follow up question about residence: I've heard that if you don't get accepted into your first preference that there's a verryyyy little chance of getting into another college - I'm assuming because the colleges only want those who pick them first. Can you confirm this or no?

Also if I live in a rural area but have not finished my last 2 years of high school at a rural location, does that I mean I can't use my rural background to help me out??

Thanks

Hi hang__10,

The Intercollegiate team have advised that the majority of colleges fill their places after the First Preference round. While there is a chance that places may be offered once the First Preference round has been completed, they recommend that you consider other options as a back up. You can find more information on housing options here or if you’d like further advice on the college application process, you can contact the Intercollegiate team directly.

-Bronwyn

Hey unimelb, i was interested in doing a bachelor of commerce, and after my three year course i would be interested in doing my post graduate overseas, possibly the likes of Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard or Stanford and so on.... My question is, are you aware of the necessary steps to take to get into their post graduate course? is their a certain GPA we must hold etc?

Thanks

Hi LiquidPaperz,

mark_alec is spot on, as it really does depend on the type of program you are interested in studying. A great place to start is by checking the admissions websites for each University. For instance, there are specific admissions websites for Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, the list goes on! As there are many graduate study possibilities at each of these institutions, the only way to be sure that you’d be on track to submitting a competitive application, is to check the selection criteria for courses that may interest you. I hope this helps!

- Bronwyn

[silverpixeli]

Hey guys,

First year science student here.

A few weeks ago I found out about concurrent diplomas and considered adding a diploma in mathematics to my computing and software systems major. After more research I'm now looking at doing a major in mathematical physics + a concurrent diploma in informatics, so I can do more physics subjects.
I see from the handbook that both diplomas offer cross-crediting of up to 50 points, I'm interested to know if the informatics diploma offers the same fee exemption for the final 50 points as the maths and languages diplomas offer.

(If anyone else can clear this up before unimelb gets back next tuesday, thanks a billion too!)

[LiquidPaperz]

Hi I'm not sure if this is a stupid question. But my and my friend were interested in doing commerce in 2016 at unimelb, and were wondering if we are allowed to come to one of the lectures and just sit at the back and listen even though we aren't uni students? Under any circumstances is this allowed and does this happen often?

What happens if we are caught without it being allowed (say I didn't ask on AN and went in etc)

Thanns

[simpak]

Literally nobody will know you're not a student.
Literally nobody.

[LiquidPaperz]

would we get in trouble at all?

[allstar]

hi unimelb,

I'm interested in sonography and I was wondering is there a course avaliable at melb uni? If so which undergraduate and graduate courses do i have to look at?

thank you!

[notveryasian]

would we get in trouble at all?

Getting caught would be nigh impossible, since the university has no way of controlling who goes into which lectures, but in the extremely slight chance that you somehow manage to get caught, then yes, you would get in trouble.

I don't think that going to a single lecture would be particularly useful or interesting if you are still in high school, things would only make sense if you attended all lectures for an introductory subject from the very start of semester.

[mahler004]

Getting caught would be nigh impossible, since the university has no way of controlling who goes into which lectures, but in the extremely slight chance that you somehow manage to get caught, then yes, you would get in trouble.

I don't think that going to a single lecture would be particularly useful or interesting if you are still in high school, things would only make sense if you attended all lectures for an introductory subject from the very start of semester.

To be honest, I can't see lecturers caring, even if they knew random high school students were in their lectures.

[notveryasian]

To be honest, I can't see lecturers caring, even if they knew random high school students were in their lectures.

Yes I doubt many lecturers would care but the university would have something to say about people getting essentially "free" education.