Discussion thread pertaining to the pros/cons and undertaking a thirdyear of VCE

[lukeperry91]

Could anyone who has done so please share their experiences?
Also, if you recieve an ENTER this year, can you scrap it, but retain study scores, and retake just a few classes and an extension the following year?
What does everyone think of taking a third year if you don't get into your ideal course?
When do we get to opt to take the third year? Is it before or after we receive an ENTER?

Thanks

[Glockmeister]

Haven't done the third year, but I can answer some of the question

Also, if you recieve an ENTER this year, can you scrap it, but retain study scores, and retake just a few classes and an extension the following year?

Basically what would happen is that VTAC will take you best VCE study scores for the purpose of calculating your study scores. For example

Say for 2009 you got the following scores.
English 23
Maths Methods 33
Chemistry 34
Physics 25
Biology 34

Next year (2010) you did
English 40
Maths Methods 32
Physics 26

What would happen is that when VTAC looks at your score, it will use these scores to calculate your ENTER (or ATAR is it will be next year).

English 40
Maths Methods 33
Chemistry 34
Physics 26
Biology 34

Basically it used the 2010 scores from English and Physics. Notice it didn't take the Methods score from 2010. That's because you did poorly in it compared to 2009.

What does everyone think of taking a third year if you don't get into your ideal course?

I suppose with hindsight I can say this, but it's probably a waste of time, to be honest. I do remember this I suppose doom and gloom that you must get this ENTER score or you'll never get into this course etc. But there are many opportunities to get into the courses you want, even if you don't get in the first time.

When do we get to opt to take the third year? Is it before or after we receive an ENTER?

You would have to make contact with your school or separate educational institution.

[ninwa]

What does everyone think of taking a third year if you don't get into your ideal course?

I didn't do this either, but I have heard of stories of people trying to get into law, getting a 97 (not high enough), redoing VCE and studying really hard, and ending up with something like 97.4 - which still wasn't high enough and she wasted a year. I think you'd be much better off doing a related course for a year, garnering some credit, and transferring - that way you don't risk "wasting" the year.

[xXNovaxX]

waste of time. So many people i have heard of looking into doing it though, so ur not alone, but as ^^^ said tehre are so many ways of getting into a course, and besides, its not like ur planning to do med and need a 99?......or are you LOL, but most courses or what u should aim for is anywhere between 80-87, or something, i think you can achieve that.
---If u dont get into the course u want, try a different uni
---do a course such as Arts or something related then transfer
---apply for special consideration/SEAS/scholarships
---think 2 urself, do i 1000% have to do my 1st prefernces, do i like something else similar?

hope i helped.

[shinny]

His preference is in his signature, and that requires somewhere around 95ish or so.

My advice would be that since you're aiming for biomed, if you really do fall short, I'm pretty sure you can still get into science in UoM, which has the ability to almost mirror the units of biomed from my knowledge. It even still has the ability to get into post-grad Medicine if that's what you're interested in. A third year of VCE really guarantees nothing and holds your life back a year, which can often be a social hurdle in many respects as well in terms of friends etc.

[Toothpaste]

I think VCAA/entering stuff into the VASS database takes place before the ENTER is released, so if you're planning on a third year I'd talk to someone about it before exams have started so you get it out of the way/meet the "deadline".

Transferring around and getting a taste of uni is a good idea, but if you pick a course you hate you won't perform too well which means your GPA might be affected (pros may be that you know that's one course you're not touching again!). There are risks associated with both staying back in VCE or proceeding into an alternative course. I think if you repeat you'd have to be really determined to do well because if you finish with regrets - you would've made a really big mistake in 'wasting' that year.

Don't know if this is a petty thought or not but I personally wouldn't have enjoyed high school without my friends who went through it with me for the past six/whatever years. Usually with goals and stuff you shouldn't let this kind of stuff affect your decisions but it's still a factor to take into account (comfort factor). Repeating year twelve with a new group of kids and getting to know them is harder than going to uni and meeting new people in my opinion (unless you know that year level/going to an adult education centre). In uni people open up way more. Like, way, more.

[lukeperry91]

Thanks everyone! Definitely not going to consider taking a third year as yes, my end-goal is graduate med and yes, I can do that through science at UoM (and even transfer from BSc to Biomed for that matter!)

I guess the risk outweighs the potential benefit. Also, 95 still isn't out of reach for me, so there's no point getting stressed out and going into damage control as I also have a strong SEAS prospectus.

[shinny]

Thanks everyone! Definitely not going to consider taking a third year as yes, my end-goal is graduate med and yes, I can do that through science at UoM (and even transfer from BSc to Biomed for that matter!)

I guess the risk outweighs the potential benefit. Also, 95 still isn't out of reach for me, so there's no point getting stressed out and going into damage control as I also have a strong SEAS prospectus.

Well don't forget that ENTER is a very minor part of the undergrad Med process, so it's always worth giving it a try. I've got a friend with a 95 ENTER who got a first round offer into mainstream med (100 UMAT though), and one with a 90.something enter with a literally borderline UMAT (93) who made it into bonded.

[anconeous]

There are kids in med with (ATAR) scores that wouldnt get you into engineering (not that there is anything inferior about engineering). However this is only the case for undergraduate medicine, graduate entry is far more cut throat and competitive

[vexx]

also.. realise that, since you are going through university of melbourne, getting into grad med makes no difference whether you do science or biomed as an undergraduate degree.
all they care about is:
*doing prerequisite subjects, in biomed they are already in there but for science you have to choose them (just three second year subjects of biochem, physiology and anatomy)
*GPA over three years
*gamsat
and then you get the interview.

so basically, getting 85 as an ENTER does not have any impact of getting into med provided you get into science and DO WELL.

[doboman]

Thanks everyone! Definitely not going to consider taking a third year as yes, my end-goal is graduate med and yes, I can do that through science at UoM (and even transfer from BSc to Biomed for that matter!)

One last thing, if you're looking at post-grad med you can study any degree. I know heaps of people who did arts then did post-grad med. In saying that, a sciency related course is best to prepare you for the GAMSAT. Note that you dont need to do BSc at Melb, you could do, say, Science at LaTrobe. Post grad- it doesnt matter. Head over to pagingdr; they've got HEAP of info about this sort of stuff! Just make sure you do an undergrad degree that you like, and will get best marks in. Keeping in mind that if you dont like science, you dont need to do science.

[methodsboy]

Just go to Monash College, you can do first year subjects there, and then transfer directly to Monash Uni to second year uni.
1000th post! YAY im finally part of the furniture