first and second round offers through vtac

[hayley123]

hey everyone
i really want to get into bachelor of nutrition science or bachelor of nutrition and dietetics at monash, however they require a score of 30 for english and at least a 25 for chem.

problem is that I'm unsure about getting a 30 for english, and am pretty certain that i won't be getting a 25 for chem. that being said, I'm fairly sure i did pretty well in my other subjects, which means i should be able to get the atar requirement but possibly not these chem and english prerequisite scores.

if i don't get these scores, but still get a very high atar, is there a chance that i will still be offered one of the courses? like is it a possibility in second round offers that they give spots to people who have study scores lower than 30 for english and lower than 25 for chemistry? (who have a high enough atar)

thank you so much in advance

[Aaron]

No, universities take pre-requisites seriously regardless of ATAR. Pre-requisites essentially is required knowledge for your course.

If you don't achieve those scores, your best bet is to enrol in another course, do a bridging unit (a unit that's equivalent to the Year 12 subject at university level) and then request a transfer mid-year.

[slothpomba]

No, unfortunately, for all intents and purposes, it is impossible to gain entry into the course unless you meet the prerequisite.

The word prerequisite kind of hints at it. It's something they require you to have before they even begin to look at or accept the other parts of your application.

There are alternative pathways to get in. You can go do another course at Monash (perhaps science), take the Monash equivalent of VCE chem and transfer into your chosen course later on. You can do a similar thing from another university as well.

[slothpomba]

Will you be able to get into nutrition at deakin? If so, yes, that is a good option.

Depending on the Deakin course structure, you may or may not be able to do the bridging unit there. If they offer you no electives in their nutrition course, you cant elect to study chemistry. This is fine if they include something similar to VCE chemistry in their course though. If they don't you're back to square one.

In which case i'd probably recommend just taking up science for a semester and doing the chemistry unit that way.

[hayley123]

yes i can do nutrition at deakin, but i prefer going to monash.

nutrition at deakin doesn't have chemistry as a prerequisite at all so I'm assuming that they will be covering it first year. would that be good enough to apply for a transfer to monash?

and what happens if i don't get the english score, do i have to do a bridging unit for that too?

[Aaron]

If you really want to go to Monash then if you don't get into your desired course, do another course for the time being at Monash (with the bridging units) and transfer accordingly. If you fail english, yes you have to do an equivalent bridging unit (at monash - i'd contact them for what subject this is), or take an english language test (I'd speak to admissions about this) since the english pre-requisite basically says you can competently speak english.

[hayley123]

but isn't it risky to do another course i am not interested in to just do the bridging unit?
deakin offers nutrition which i prefer to do rather than doing a random course without the complete assurance of getting into nutrition.
are you saying its a lot easier to transfer internally than externally?

[Aaron]

You would choose something that you're interested in as an alternative because in the end you'd only be doing it for one semester if your intention was to just do the bridging unit(s) and transfer. Ultimately in the end to transfer you need a decent average so it'd be wise to choose something that you're interested in for that duration.

[hayley123]

thats true, other problem is that i don't think i will be able to get into the bachelor of science at monash either, it still requires a 25 for chemistry
so i don't think there is a possible bridging unit through a monash course that i can take

[Aaron]

Well another option you could take is doing a course that doesn't have a 25 ss requirement for chemistry that allows you to select electives or free units. That would be a good opportunity to select your bridging units there.

You would just need to make sure that the course you select allows you to select such units.

[hayley123]

such as bachelor of arts? i can't think of anything else

[Aaron]

Yes provided that you can select the bridging unit(s) required. If you get into it, choose subjects that would most likely get you a good average (that you think you would do well in) in your first semester because in most cases you need it to successfully transfer.

Just to reiterate: it can be ANY course provided you can do the bridging unit(s) required to get into your ideal one.

In terms of what these bridging units actually are, i'm not too sure. You'd have to ask someone that goes to Monash (or contact their admissions).

[hayley123]

and if i do pass the bridging unit, what are the chances that i will be able to transfer?

[Aaron]

When you transfer they look at a variety of factors (primarily your overall average). So it's important to not only get a decent mark in your bridging unit, but maintain marks in the other subjects as well.

In terms of what would be required, I would say at least 70 to have a good chance.

[hayley123]

thanks heaps!
are you aware of any other courses at monash that offer chemistry that can be used as a bridging unit?