Careers & Partnerships

Dates to Diarise in Term 4

• Year 12 VTAC late applications – throughout 29 September – 30 October

• VTAC SEAS and Scholarship applications – throughout September and early October

   

Useful Tips for a University Degree Wannabe (UDW)

UDW: definition - a person who is convinced they want to go to University but are not sure where or exactly what they want to study!  Also suffers from ATAR anxiety.

• Choose a degree that allows some flexibility in selecting a sequence of units that is right for you
• Make sure the program offers opportunities for practical work experience (sometimes called Industry Based Learning)
• Do not base your decision solely on what your friends are doing
• LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!!  Make sure travel time from your residence to the campus is within what you are willing and able to do on a day to- day basis
• Do not just pick courses based on ATAR alone

 How to be Successful in my First Year of Uni?

• I should attend orientation and transition activities – that way I can find out about support and advisory services available to me!
• I need to seek assistance to learn expectations of my lecturers – I will have to learn about tertiary essay writing, using sources, avoiding plagiarism, and managing my time, etc.
• I must remember to ask for help – no-one will necessarily be offering any!
• I will need to be an independent learner – my lecturers and tutors will not be reminding me about deadlines!
• I will need to take charge of my own learning – no-one will be checking up on me to see if I am keeping up with work or assignments!
• I will need to organise my time effectively – there are no bells to remind me where to be!
• I must remember that my classes may be much larger than what I have been used to at school – I will receive less individual attention!
• I must make friends – building new friendship groups will help me cope and help me stay motivated!
• I will be learning new skills that will be critical for my success – I will have to learn important research and referencing skills!

 Low Income Healthcare Card for Australian and PR Students

Once you have finished school you are no longer a student and you may be eligible for a Low Income Health Care Card.

This card gives access to a range of benefits, not only on some health care items but also on a range of other goods and services if you are on a low income.  In particular, some TAFE and other short courses may offer discounts for cardholders.

You may also be eligible for public transport concessions (note that if you are studying interstate you are not eligible for public transport concessions in Victoria).

Eligibility for a Low Income Health Care Card is based on YOUR income over the previous 8 weeks before applying.  As long as your income is less than $6,608 over that period (or $826 per week) you are eligible to apply.  You will be eligible to keep the Low Income Health Care Card as long as your income does not exceed $8,260 (or $1,032.50 per week) in any 8 week period prior to renewing your card.

It is highly recommended that all eligible graduating Year 12 students consider applying for this card once the exams are over. 

Visit Low Income Health Care Card - Services Australia and find out more about all the benefits, your eligibility, and how to apply.

Useful Websites and Links

Discover Your Career - a website launched by the National Careers Institute, and become more informed about career ideas, career industries, and how to become job ready.

Explore Your Career | Your Career

Myfuture - a career information & exploration service providing current career information, articles and links to many resources. Myfuture - Australia's National Career Information Service | Myfuture

Careers Online - career research, resume help, job hunting tips, job links, etc. Welcome to Careers Online

Workforce Australia - free online jobsite, searches can be made by region and state, occupational category, type of employment – casual, part-time, or full-time, and covers a range of occupations. Workforce Australia for individuals

Victorian Government Vacancies - find out about government jobs and careers available at the Victorian Government of Australia.Careers in the Victorian government public sector

Study Abroad & Exchange Programs offered by Victorian Universities 

Students who choose to take up an opportunity to do some of their university study overseas get the opportunity to immerse themselves in another culture, study at an overseas university, and really get to engage with students and lecturers at those institutions.  A bonus of many study-abroad programs is that students get to study for one or two semesters at these overseas partner institutions and earn credit towards their degrees.

Find out more about the Study Abroad programs offered, by browsing the following links:

 Scholarships to Study Abroad

Looking to study abroad but worried about the costs? Good news! There are hundreds of scholarships to study abroad, including general scholarships and more specialized funding schemes. Some are offered by government agencies, some by individual universities, and others by external funding organizations and charitable enterprises.

The Top Universities website is an excellent resource to learn more about what scholarships are on offer. Students can search for region-specific scholarships or country-specific scholarships.  Students can even search forsubject-specific scholarships.

Students are encouraged to browse Scholarships to study abroad | Top Universities. 

University Terms

When students are looking into university study, they often come across words or terms they are unfamiliar with.  Here are a few of the more commonly used terms to help students understand what is being talked about.

Associated Degree – an associate degree is generally a two-year qualification that is made up of two-thirds of a bachelor’s degree and may be offered by both TAFEs and universities. Students often use this as a steppingstone to the full Bachelor Degree.

Assumed knowledge – refers to subjects the university recommends or prefers a student to have studied at school before starting the course.

ATAR – Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank – the figure used by UAC and VTAC to calculate the entrance ranking for a university course.

Bachelor’s degree – the award/qualification a student gains when they have completed studies in an undergraduate course, which takes between 3 or 4 years of full-time study.  This is the traditional starting point of a university qualification.

Bridging Course – an introductory course to help students achieve the preferred entry level to a degree, e.g., a bridging maths course for students who do not have the preferred maths but need it to access a course.

Census Date – the last day a student can withdraw from their university course and not owe fees.

Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) – a student’s enrolment in a university degree for which the Commonwealth government contributes towards the cost of that student’s education.

Credit – if a student has previously studied – perhaps at TAFE – and has Recognised Prior Learning (RPL), the student may be able to receive credit for a subject or subjects in their course.  Also often referred to as Advanced Standing.

Double degree – a student can choose to complete a double degree – this integrates studies in two degrees resulting in an award of two degrees, usually after a minimum of 4 years of study. Often also referred to as Combined Degrees.

Defer – a student may choose to delay starting their course.  Deferring an offer of a place might mean delaying for 6, 12, 18 or 24 months. Deferment ensures the student is guaranteed their place in their selected course.

Elective – a subject that is not core to the degree and is often from another faculty, e.g., a commerce student might choose psychology (from the Arts Faculty) as an elective.

Faculty – a department within a university devoted to a particular area of study – so, Faculty of Arts or Faculty of Science

FEE-HELP – a loan scheme for domestic students used to pay all or part of an eligible student’s tuition fees for university courses but cannot be used for additional study costs such as accommodation or textbooks.  A 20% loan fee usually applies. 

HECS-HELP – a loan scheme that assists domestic students with a CSP place to pay their contribution. Students may choose to pay their fees upfront or choose to defer payment via the HECS-HELP loan scheme.

Honours – many Bachelor degrees offer a fourth year – called an Honours year.  The Honours year allows students to further focus on a particular area of interest.  The Honours year can either be integrated into a 4-year bachelor’s degree or be offered as a separate year after completion of a 3-year bachelor’s degree.

Lecture – a period of teaching given by a lecturer to a large group of students in a lecture theatre; can often be as many as 300 students in a lecture.

Major study – an area within a course that allows in-depth study in a particular field.  More than one major may be allowed in some courses.

Minor study – a grouping of subjects allowing a broader understanding of a few subjects, with less emphasis on in-depth study.

Prerequisite – a set of conditions – usually the completion of a subject – that must be met before enrollment in a subject or course is allowed. 

SA-HELP – SA‑HELP is a loan scheme that assists eligible students to pay for all or part of their student services and amenities fees – so, non-academic fees.

Transcript – this is the university academic record each student receives, like a school report.

Tutorial – a period of teaching given to a small group of students – involving discussion and participation.

Undergraduate – a student studying at university for a first level degree, e.g., a bachelor’s degree.

VET Student Loans – a loan scheme for domestic students used to pay all or part of an eligible student’s tuition fees for TAFE courses but cannot be used for additional study costs such as accommodation or textbooks.  

Workplace learning – practical training in a workplace, such as internships or practical work experience. This is a hands-on experience – some universities call it Industry Based Learning or Work Integrated Learning.