LukeM

I know the organization in question provide a lot of great services if you're in the UK/Europe and just wanting to come to Australia as a student, on your own, by all means go to them - they'll do a fantastic job of taking care of your application and they should be able to assist you with your student visa application as well. Otherwise, as I said, best to go directly to the institutions in Australia, or people here, with your questions.

Hi zk2102 I'm a "uni aged kid", and was when I moved to Aus. If you've seen some of my other posts around these forums, you may have picked that up. I don't come on here much, and when I do, it's usually only to the Education section. I've actually heard of the organization in question here and I attended one of their seminar things in Guildford, some time in 2009/10. NOTE: I'm in Queensland. I 'graduated' from a Sixth Form College in 2010 with 2 Cs (in IT and Media Studies), a D and a couple of Es (for 2 subjects at AS level), plus an "Extended Project". With that I was able to get a selection rank of about 89 (out of a maximum 99) I was told at one point or another that to meet the requirement of Maths 4,SA you have to have a D at AS level in Maths. Hope that helps... As for applying? Well. I moved August 2010 just after having finished A Levels and I applied when I got to Aus. I wouldn't have known my results in March/April the year before and as far as QTAC goes you can't apply that far in advance. QTAC applications for Semester 1 of the coming year open around the end of August usually. You need (at least, if you are in Queensland) to be in possession of your official A Level certificates before you can apply. Statements of results were not deemed acceptable by QTAC and they said they were subject to change, until I had my certificates in my hand. If you have permanent residency you have to indicate that on your application, obviously, and I had only been in the country all of about 8 months before I actually commenced study and I was offered the Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) which is the 'lower' rate you mentioned, but with the only catch being having to pay up-front and in full. If you yourself are only on temp visas (whether that's a student visa or another type of visa) and are converting to permanent residency down the track, obviously then that is different and you'd have to pay the International rate and change over when you have your PR. Similarly, if you become a Citizen and are eligible for HECS down the track you also then have to provide evidence to the University so you no longer have to pay 'up-front'. I don't like to bag out those people, but, in all honesty my opinion of them 4 years down the track remains the same as when I first met with them to talk about my options: they are more oriented toward picking up students who want to study abroad, rather than helping people in your situation who are already making the move. They themselves, that being the reps from the Aus universities, don't spend a lot of time in Aus. They travel, as I said, with the aim of picking up international students for the Universities concerned. The rep from Griffith, for what it's worth, was really great and very helpful but when it came down to me actually getting to Aus, the staff at the Universities I approached for guidance, as well as QTAC, were far more helpful and told me very different things to what she told me, which is why I say (as above) they're more oriented toward getting int'l students in. So unless the rules are drastically/have suddenly changed, I'd say that you've probably been given advice for international students rather than for domestic students, and if you want to know anything specifically I'd get asking questions to current Uni students here (such as myself), members who've put their kids through Uni here already, those who are teachers in Aus on here, and emailing/calling Universities and relevant admissions centres for your state that you're heading to! Sorry if that comes across as a little harsh but I just speak from experience when I say I found them to be a waste of time after I learned that by having PR I had domestic students' rights (minus the HECS loans), so if you have any questions feel free to ask away!!

I think that's the thing... I don't know how it works exactly but the schools seem to get a bit of say in which subject areas are offered... And as the previous post says there's different variations for some subjects... I also can't speak for other states but here in QLD we have to be qualified for two specialist teaching areas, but there is no guarantee that you will teach those 2 subjects.

Is there no way that you could do your studies over here OP? The only reason I ask is because I've seen so many posts on here from so many people saying what a hard time they've had converting their qualifications from overseas (UK and wherever else) to allow them to be classed as qualified teachers in the Aus system. High School (Secondary) teachers here will have one of the following... - 3yr Bachelor degree (BSc, BA etc) - + 1yr Graduate Diploma of Education (which will be changing to 1.5yrs soon and eventually 2yrs) - 4yr undergraduate degree in Education (either as a single award (BEd)) or in my case I'm doing BA + BEd combined in a 4yr program which comes with registration in Queensland at the end of the 4th year. I specialise in English and Film & Television Studies (similar to Media Studies). Many teachers, much like in the UK, won't necessarily end up teaching in their specialist areas... but F&TV is a rapidly growing one so you never know :biggrin: Anyway, even if you do it online through a Uni like USQ (University of Southern Queensland) I'd have a think about it... it'll be much easier for you being acquainted with the Aus curriculum. You'll have to be here for practical placements and such, obviously, which are a major component of such degrees. But just food for thought... With regards to your actual question though... And I'm talking from a Queenslander perspective... some places do offer it yes. "Business Communications & Technology" (BCT) is offered as a teaching area at QUT, which is a fair indication that in at least year 11 + 12 it's possibly a taught subject. Oh and if you are considering going down that route of studying it here, Business courses at Uni are more expensive.

Disagree - for the 32GB model at only 1yr old, definitely not, when the 8GB model is still for sale on Telstra pre-paid for more... see: https://onlineshop.telstra.com.au/prepaid-mobile/mobile-phones/apple-iphone-4-8gb-black?ti=TR:TR:Dec12:iphone4prepaid:mobilesindex:banner (not forgetting of course with no free screen protectors, case, or dock, or shipping!) :cool: iPhone pricing works: more storage, bigger price tag.

Sent you a message parleycross

Update - offering a set of clear screen protectors as part of the package, forgot I had a spare pack, plus photos... Front: Back: Dock: Case:

I have heard that they have to do further University level study in order to be able to practice as a Lawyer in Australia... Unfortunately it just goes that way sometimes. It's the same for teachers, have to do further study.

The University of Queensland and QUT both offer Law degrees, don't know about USQ but they do a lot of online degrees so might be worth looking at that. Aside from that if you want to do Aus law you're probably better off doing it here in Aus. Fees don't vary too much here in Queensland at least unless you were looking at comparing UQ/QUT/USQ etc with Bond (cos Bond is privately owned and insanely expensive)

Hi all I have recently upgraded my phone so I am selling my old iPhone 4. Model: iPhone 4 Colour: black Storage: 32GB Age: 1yr I did have the phone unlocked back in June to take it on holiday to the UK with me for a month as well and I used it there on a UK PAYG microsim with no dramas. Accessories: original USB connector, plus the wall charger and a dock that I (purchased separately), a SIM tool which will be required to add your microSIM, and a hard shell plastic Billabong case. Original box included with all instruction manuals. No earphones, will take any standard earphones. The phone has never been dropped and never had the screen or the back glass cracked. No scratches, no marks. It has been very well looked after. Battery life is still good after a year of heavy use. It is running on the very latest update of iOS6. I have had a number of smart phones including BlackBerrys and HTCs and Nokias and the iPhone has been the most reliable, durable and best performing of all. Stores a lot of music! Well over 2000 songs can be stored on there, I've never filled it up and I have a lot of music!! If you have any further questions please reply here and I will respond to save people asking the same questions again. Please message to enquire on price as it may be subject to change. Also I will upload some photos below in a bit... Cheers!

I've seen it in Coles & Woollies, and also in: - Lolly shop next to Hungry Jacks, Indooroopilly shopping centre food court. - Lolly shop Shop in Brisbane Central Station and the one in Queen St Myer Centre - "The British Lolly Shop", Surfers Paradise - Lolly shop in Mt Ommaney Shopping Centre Those are all I can think off the top of my head.

As your eldest hasn't done her A Levels she will need to do either: - Year 12 at a high school and get her QCE - Tertiary Prep Program such as that offered by UQ College (see http://www.uqcollege.edu.au) and I believe this course may actually be free (I think my brother is going to do it next year to upgrade his rank to get into a different course) - A Diploma (at TAFE) - Could possibly do a STAT test (Special Tertiary Admission Test) Bear in mind now that the deadline for QTAC (Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre) applications for study at University and some TAFE courses in Semester 1 2013 (February to July) have now closed... late applications probably would now not be considered. By the way, if your daughter wants to talk to someone already doing studies to become a teacher you can PM me because I'm doing a Bachelor of Arts & Bachelor of Education (Secondary) at UQ from February (but I have already done some education studies at QUT last year) and I have a number of friends who are studying various streams of education (primary and secondary mainly) :biggrin:

As far as I know, you have to do A levels straight after GCSEs (so they finish in June/July) and have to resume in September and start AS, and do A2 the following year. As far as I know you can't 'break it up'. You'll have to double-check this with the place she is doing her A Levels at. If you wanted to put her through uni in Australia, you'd have to have her either complete her full A levels (AS levels are not accepted), you'd have to put her through either TAFE or year 11 and 12 of high school. Regarding the fees... no idea. I've heard 3 years, and 5 years, before you have to pay International fees. Best place to check is one of the Universities she's interested in. If you're going to put her through high school or TAFE here instead and then send her back to UK to go to Uni - be very careful, qualifications don't translate in the same way... Aus Unis love A Levels UK Unis are not so keen on high school graduates from here. For some reason. I don't know why. But I've heard it's a pretty one-way thing... Hope that helps a little.

I would still say "no, don't do it" Whatever way you look at it - doing it in the UK will be way more expensive. Would be better off working for half a year (because many Universities, in Qld at least) do have mid-year entry options. Plus you'll have a complete headache if he wants to come back here to Aus and actually use the degree afterwards (as it's teaching). Oh and this is why they don't let PR have access to the HECS/HELP loans: so you don't come to uni here, scab off the gov't, and then run away back to UK or wherever. It's much less messy for the government. I can imagine, especially with how much it costs now, you wouldn't want to do that to a UK university and have them pursue you - with interest etc that's a LOT more $ than you want to suddenly have to find/get arrested over!!

Even if he could get in and not pay the international fees in the UK it's not worth it (money wise) since they tripled tuition fees over there as of this year. And then you've got to pay for accommodation and living costs. He'd be better off living at home and just copping the student fees here to be honest. Plus... if you skip around the forums for long enough you'll see that many teachers who come over here from the UK have an absolute headache regarding qualifications. If he was keen to do something else I'd say it'd be expensive and that'd be the only issue. But as he wants to be a teacher, I'd just do the degree here. Saves the money and the hassle 'cos he'll 99% have to do some extra qualifications or study here to actually be eligible to teach (and a hell of a lot of paper work on top of that).

Most Universities offer some music/tech stuff as part of Bachelor of Music degree courses. Otherwise, TAFE. Ignore UCAS stuff - is not really relevant to this. Those who deal with tertiary entries in WA will look at UCAS if they need to, saves you fumbling through all their rubbish.

I don't understand how anyone can possibly enjoy working there. I think they are all bluffing!! Rubbish job... I worked in a supermarket in the UK (at 16-18), moved here and started doing some office/IT work, then more IT work, then I left that because I didn't want to pursue IT any more and I couldn't get through to Coles/Woolworths etc even with 2 years experience and I ended up in Maccas. Worst place ever. Technically I'm still employed by them, have been since the end of April this year and they are just terrible... management are shocking. They expect you to literally be doing 3 things at once, constantly on-the-go. They've given me 14 shifts in the space of 6 months. I've gone weeks at a time without work, because they neglect availabilities (expecting me to somehow get there for a 5am start when there's no buses from where I am and I don't drive and they KNOW this.) I have two managers who just give me crap every time I'm there... I also had to phone in sick one day and one of them just gave me a torrent of abuse. Get her out of that job before she becomes a manager I say!! They all seem to power-trip when they become managers... It's sad there's people younger than me who just drop out of uni and such and go f/t at Maccas and turn out this way... dislikeable citizens!! :biglaugh:

Which state are you moving to? This website may be of benefit to you: http://www.myschool.edu.au/

It could be a very attractive pathway for your daughter depending on what she wants to do. They provide lots of qualifications that are very relevant to most industries. They do so much... Seriously, just jump on the website for your nearest institution and have a look at what they offer. TAFE is as supportive an environment as school will be, if you talk to them, they're going to be able to provide support. I've worked closely with TAFE in Queensland looking after some of their IT systems for just over a year, I know that the staff are supportive, lovely people and they care about their students. If the problem is with the level of difficulty at high school, she could benefit from starting at around Cert II or III level and building up to Cert IV/Diploma, many of which provide a direct path/entrance score or rank of some sort for University (e.g. I know in Qld we have Nursing diplomas and IT diplomas, where they apply through QTAC and do the diploma and then gain direct entry into the degree providing they pass the diploma...) Personally I believe it's a more relaxed environment, and it's certainly very supportive. Hope that helps somewhat.

I'm not surprised. There's way too many Universities in the UK, offering way too many scrappy and overly-specialised degrees, many of which the level and difficulty of study is significantly easier. I've had friends here who have gone on exchange for a semester and have gone to a London university and said they didn't feel at all challenged by the unit/courses there, and that "students just make life difficult for themselves by going out partying all the time" Also I'd just like to say that A levels are supposed to be near-University level. They're supposed to prepare you for University level stuff? Try taking A Levels in IT and then doing an IT degree here in Australia... unless you're a very quick learner and a very very logical thinker you'll fall behind pretty much from the get-go as I did. Seems that the people who step into IT degrees are already taught programming a LOT in years 11 and 12 if they can do IPT/ICT/etc. That's just a brief example. Like I said I'm not surprised.

Or even Open University Australia. Or USQ (University of Southern Queensland) have a LOT of entry points throughout the calendar/academic year for lots and lots of courses via online mode. I don't know if there is much synchronous participation required, I only know you'd have to go to one of their exam centres to take the exams. And I know people who study with them (full-time equivalent) whilst holding down full time jobs. So it's perfectly do-able. It's just what your situation is that dictates whether you can/want to do it. If you're young, no family/partner to worry about and think you can handle it then of course this is a great option if you want to void off the possible synchronous study (late into the night!!) with a UK university via distance ed.

Perhaps, or a Grad. Diploma of Ed.? But depending on the OP's qualifications and degree as it stands it might be more or less than a Master's depending on what the rego board looks for...

Best bet would be to find the people who deal with Teacher Registration in the state you're looking at and talk to them e.g. in Queensland, QCT (Queensland College of Teachers). Alternatively the Faculty of Education at a University in the state you're looking at could be helpful.

When I posted the thread it was because my wonderful 'friend' (using the term loosely) in a similar position told me that her friend said that you couldn't start deferring half-way through a degree. Knew it was a complete load but just wanted to check!!! :eek:

You can withdraw at any time. They have what's called Census Dates (each semester). It's usually at the end of Week 3 or 4 (out of about 13) of the Semester (so the date varies slightly). At the Census date you can withdraw from any/all units (courses/classes/subjects) of study WITHOUT ACADEMIC OR FINANCIAL PENALTY. There is another date later in the Semester where you can withdraw without incurring ACADEMIC penalty, but you would either not get a refund (if you paid up-front) or it would stay on your HECS account and you'd have to pay it off somewhere down the track along with any other fees you've accrued. Also from this year some/most/(not sure if all) Universities have another little sum of money to pay on top of the other fees you have to pay... Student Amenities Fee. You can defer this in the same way you defer HECS by using the SA-HELP loan. It's a fairly small amount anyway, I'd say expect to pay no more than $200 per semester for the foreseeable future. And bare in mind that fees do go up each year but that the cost at each University will be relatively the same nationwide. As for workload? Mixed bag. Started out life doing an IT degree and quit after the equivalent of one year. Generally there was a very big variety of work to do: presentations, projects, programming, written essay-style assignments, exams (multiple choice and short answer questions mostly). There was one unit where we had a short 'assignment' to do every week for 6 weeks. That was painful. Now I study education and there's a LOT of reading, theory, and preparation... and mainly essay-based assignments with a few longer exams. I'd say the workload is greater and it really relies on you to be on-campus for every class to get through it. Lots of the stuff you need for assignments genuinely IS delivered in-class (as it was not in IT, everything was accessible online!!) so I would say the workload and commitment required is huge by comparison. If you can get to open days, do go! They're usually great. I think the Uni lifestyle here is way better than it looked in the UK. I think I would've crashed and burned if I went to Uni there.