zk2102 Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Having seen some of the posts on here re: moving over to oz with uni aged kids, thought some of you may find this information of particular interest to you. Ive just got back from an info eve given by DD college. One of the talks was about studying abroad. An organisation called degreesahead had an abundance of info on how to apply for the unis in Oz and the fees etc... We're moving over Sept 2014 when DD finishes her A levels. This means that she will have to put in an application for a place at uni in March/April 2014 for a Feb start in 2015. Regardless of which state she applies for, having been educated in an English speaking nation she will only need a GCE Grade C in English Language or above for any of the courses. Obviously there's a prerequisite for relevant A levels for the chosen course, but I know there has always been some confusion with regards to the English requirements. Also with regards to the fees. Unless you have been resident for a year or more before the application you will be charged International Student rate fees (avg £9000 a year) for the first year, where thereafter you can transfer status to that of a PR and pay the lower rates. Degrees ahead are also going to help with DD applications and were very knowledgeable about the Oz unis. They have also organised some dates in Sept 2013, including one at DDs college where representatives from the Oz unis will be talking and answering questions. Hope some of you find this useful because I know just how confusing and daunting the whole process seems!:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeM Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 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!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeM Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 I am a Teacher in Oz and have also done post grad study at Uni here. I agree with LukeM - good advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest littlesarah Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 I work at a university in Australia, & I always suggest that anyone looking to study as a domestic student contact institutions directly for info. Each uni has an admissions team who can give accurate & specific advice to prospective students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Does anyone happen to know whether the universities here give any kind of credit for prior university experience, in terms of enrollment? I am thinking of doing a degree or something over a number of years by distance learning, just to keep me intellectually stimulated, and then maybe leading onwards to a change of career once the children are a little bit older, but I graduated from my first undergraduate degree in 1996 and my second degree in 2001 and haven't done any formal study at all since then. I would be enrolling as a mature student at the age of around 39 or 40, which I am hoping wouldn't go against me. I am not sure whether I would need to take a refresher course or something, or whether my prior experience would allow me to start on a degree straight away. I will email the universities once I have decided exactly what I would like to do, but wondered if anyone could give me a general idea. Not sure whether I would be too mature to be a mature student! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victoriagal Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Lol LKC - as my DS keeps telling me, you're never too old to go to Uni, and I have a good few years on you. :laugh: He's eight years off and sometimes I suspect he thinks I'm going with him! I'll be looking forward to retiring by then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 I don't feel that old usually, I am still in my twenties in my head (but with more responsibilities!), but when I started thinking about how long 40 years is, I felt suddenly old! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest76088 Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 If you are looking at asynchronous distance learning then it doesn't matter where the institution is located. Open University (UK), University of London (International Programmes) will give familiar brand names and many universities offer distance courses from Health and Safety to Macroeconomics. Coursera offer FREE MOOCS (massively online courses) in many subjects from recognised universities (stanford, melbourne, MIT etc). I have done a couple and they are very good. Of course there are other courses available in Australia, and there may be reasons to do it "locally" for brand recognition by a potential employer: for example a course in banana and pineapple agriculture or Macroeconomics at the Perthbum school of Bullshit. BigD Does anyone happen to know whether the universities here give any kind of credit for prior university experience, in terms of enrollment? I am thinking of doing a degree or something over a number of years by distance learning, just to keep me intellectually stimulated, and then maybe leading onwards to a change of career once the children are a little bit older, but I graduated from my first undergraduate degree in 1996 and my second degree in 2001 and haven't done any formal study at all since then. I would be enrolling as a mature student at the age of around 39 or 40, which I am hoping wouldn't go against me. I am not sure whether I would need to take a refresher course or something, or whether my prior experience would allow me to start on a degree straight away. I will email the universities once I have decided exactly what I would like to do, but wondered if anyone could give me a general idea. Not sure whether I would be too mature to be a mature student! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest littlesarah Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 LKC, credit for prior learning can usually be given for courses/modules completed in the last few (I think 5) years. However it may well be different for OU courses. Most institutions offer 'enabling'/foundation courses as an entry route. There are options for postgrad study by distance too - either standalone modules or whole courses. Age is immaterial as far as universities are concerned - some of our highest achieving students are 'mature age'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 LKC, credit for prior learning can usually be given for courses/modules completed in the last few (I think 5) years. However it may well be different for OU courses. There are options for postgrad study by distance too - either standalone modules or whole courses. I don't mind doing the whole course, so wouldn't worry about getting credit for prior learning. I was more worried that they wouldn't allow me to enrol given that my last stint of study was over 10 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest littlesarah Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 My understanding is that institutions are happy to look at a prospective student's qualifications & have a chat about their options. Not all students come straight from school, & there are ways that unis calculate a high school score from existing qualifications. So I'm sure you'll find that the universities you speak to will be happy to help you figure out how to do what you'd like to do. Good luck with it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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