After Year 12 Q&A 2019

[AngelWings]

This thread will open once the Q&A begins.

AFTER YEAR 12 Q&A
(11th - 12th December)

Questions will be answered 12th December sometime

Hey everyone!

We’re bringing this back! After being a big hit last year, we’re hosting another Q & A this year. If you’re Victorian, this’ll be the perfect opportunity to ask all your burning questions before the Change of Preference period closes for the new December round offers. If you’re from NSW, Queensland or another state/ territory altogether, it’ll still be a good time to change or decide on what comes next.

Here’s a brief overview taken from last year:

In this Q & A thread, we’ll be answering those questions about what comes next after Year 12.

With ATARs (and a lot of emotions) released, we’ll aim to answer your questions about university, tertiary education, VTAC/ UAC/ other state equivalents and careers-related questions. From “I’m unsure what I want to study anymore and want to take a gap year. How do I do that?” to “Can I still get into [insert course] at [insert institution]?”, we’ll take them all! You don’t even have to be a Year 12 Class of 2018 student to join! If you're in Year 11 or younger and have any questions regarding what happens after Year 12 or simply what life is like after high school ends, feel free to ask your questions when this Q & A begins.

If you don’t have one already, register for an account and log in to join in on December 11th - 12th.

Hope to see you then!

This thread will be unlocked the evening of December 11 and will be closing again at December 12 late evening, with questions getting answered sometime on December 12. During this time, please feel free to ask any questions about what happens after Year 12. We'll be happy to answer questions and provide advice!

In the meantime, here’s some helpful resources: 

Resources (Click me!)

General
Lauren's Choosing Universities: A Beginner's Guide
Sdfg's How to Choose a University Course: A Student Perspective
Open Universities' Should I Go to Uni Online?...
EEEEEEP's Guide to University Rankings
PhoenixxFire's Didn't get the ATAR for Access Melbourne/Monash guarantee? Thread
Opengangs' Lower ATAR than I needed - what do I do? Thread
PhoenixxFire's Missed out on pre-reqs? Bridging courses are available (Swinburne and Monash) Thread

If you're from NSW and/or intending on studying in NSW
UAC Questions Thread
UAC Preferences Guide
University Boards for New South Wales
UAC website

If you're from Victoria and/or intending on studying in Victoria
Post Results and ATAR Service (PRAS)
Aaron's post on How to order your VTAC preferences
VTAC's updated list of changes to courses
Change of Preference Day (a collated list of all the institutes, locations and times)

[AngelWings]

Hope everyone's ready to rock and roll! This Q and A thread is open to questions until 11am tomorrow morning. 

Feel free to ask any questions regarding careers, uni/ specialist colleges/TAFE, study pathways, VTAC/ UAC/ QTAC/ etc. preference advice and anything after Year 12, no matter which state you're from!

[AngelWings]

Will be leaving this open for the rest of the day until late tonight, as no questions were asked here.

Edite: Changed the opening post.

[JR_StudyEd]

Why is it better for you to submit your preferences in order of how much you want to study that course, rather than ordering your preferences based on how likely you think you will get into the course?

[lm21074]

Why is it better for you to submit your preferences in order of how much you want to study that course, rather than ordering your preferences based on how likely you think you will get into the course?

This video explains just that!

[Sine]

Why is it better for you to submit your preferences in order of how much you want to study that course, rather than ordering your preferences based on how likely you think you will get into the course?

Hi, great question

Let's see how the two options would work out using examples.
1) Preferences based on how likely they will get into the course.
Let's begin with a student who receives an ATAR of 91, they really want to do Commerce/Engineering at Monash but that requires a higher atar (92-93) I think. So they decide to put down Science as their first preference as their atar is higher than the one required for this course and they are sure thye will get in.

So there preferences are
1) Science
2) Commerce Engineering.

When the universities allocate offers this student would actually be eligible for both courses (even they only thought they would get into 1). As a results as you get your highest successful preference this student ends up with Science and not Commerce/Engineering that they wanted because they thought it was more likely for them to get Science.

If the student had put down the preferences
1) Commerce/Engineering
2) Science

Both courses could be successful but vtac gives your highest successful preference so as a result, they get Commerce/Engineering that they wanted.
In the circumstances that they aren't successful for comm/engineering they still would get Science (even if it is a lower preference).

Universities don't take into account what number a course is on your preference list but you will get your highest successful preference.

[AngelWings]

To add on to the responses above, you also never know how many spots are available and how much demand there will be for a course. If you pick by how likely you think you’ll get in, you might miss out on a spot that you might’ve been able to get for the course you most wanted to study!

[yourfriendlyneighbourhoodghost]

Hi,

For access Melbourne (I'm not sure if this questions still fits here actually) you need an 80 for a guranteed place, so does that mean if you get over 80 or 80 itself, you are DEFINITELY going to get into your course so come the round one offers, they will 100% offer you a place?

Thanks (:

[AngelWings]

Hi,

For access Melbourne (I'm not sure if this questions still fits here actually) you need an 80 for a guranteed place, so does that mean if you get over 80 or 80 itself, you are DEFINITELY going to get into your course so come the round one offers, they will 100% offer you a place?

Thanks (:

That question definitely belongs here.

As long as they said you have been accepted for Access Melbourne and fulfil the criteria, then yes, it appears it’s guaranteed places for these courses.

[Yaeo]

Would it be better to do a Bachelor of Commerce at UOM or a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Actuarial Science at Monash?

[Matthew_Whelan]

For a course at Deakin (medical imaging) the lowest selection rank is 89.95 yet I got 88.65, is it still possible for me to get an offer for the course?

[Sine]

For a course at Deakin (medical imaging) the lowest selection rank is 89.95 yet I got 88.65, is it still possible for me to get an offer for the course?

You are pretty close so there is definitely a possibility for you to get an offer (many people get into courses with atars lower than the reported atar required) for many reasons e.g. bonuses, atar cutoff changes every year and 2nd/3rd round offers but nobody will know the chances of that. Definitely keep it at the top of your preference list of that is the course that you most want to study.

[AngelWings]

Would it be better to do a Bachelor of Commerce at UOM or a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Actuarial Science at Monash?

Depends on what you want to focus on, how you want to do your degree, convenience, etc.

Some quick differences between Monash Commerce vs. Melbourne Commerce:
Melbourne Commerce (course map here):
- higher ranked
- 3 years (assuming you pass everything the first time)
- Melbourne model (meaning you'd have an elective subject called a "breadth unit" each semester which must be out of faculty, but most of their qualifications come from their postgrad degrees - if you're intending to qualify as an actuary, you'll need to do more than simply the Bachelor of Commerce at UoM - more info on that here on page 20)
- Parkville campus
Some of the subject reviews for the Bachelor of Commerce at UoM can be found here.

Monash Commerce and Actuarial Studies (course map here):
- lower ranked, but will be a double degree (4 years if you finish everything the first time, but two certificates at the end)
- elective subjects can be within faculty
- Clayton campus (some business subjects can be found at Caulfield campus)
- will get you through Part I to become an accredited actuary (like UoM)
Some of the subject review for the Bachelor of Commerce/ Actuarial Studies at Monash can be found here.

For a course at Deakin (medical imaging) the lowest selection rank is 89.95 yet I got 88.65, is it still possible for me to get an offer for the course?

Yes, considering that you're only a couple of ATAR points off, you've still got a chance. Please leave it as Preference #1 if it's the course you want to study the most. Subject bonuses, SEAS and other programs may mean that your aggregate gets shifted up a bit too, so give it a good shot and see how that goes.

[AngelWings]

That's a wrap for the After Year 12 Q & A 2019! If you have any further questions, please ask them in the appropriate boards across the forum.