Wantirna College Newsletter

Careers News

Reminder

  • Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT) – Register by: 3 June; Test date: 27 July (required by undergraduate Medicine at Monash University).
  1. HOW CAN I FIND OUT ABOUT UNIVERSITY AND VET COURSES ON OFFER? School students who do their research usually find it easier to make critical career/course decisions than those who do not. What research is recommended?
  • Go to the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) website at www.vtac.edu.au and do a Course Search (eg find where a particular course is taught, what is this years’ ATAR, what are the prerequisite VCE subjects?
  • Go on-line and search for courses on institution websites
  • Read brochures/pamphlets about courses available in the Careers Room
  • Go to career events such as Career Expos; eg VCE Careers Expo 2016 at Caulfield Racecourse (see info later in this newsletter)
  • Go to institution Open Days (usually on Sundays in August) – dates later
  • Go to events such as ‘Inside Monash’ (previously called ‘At Monash’) – details later in this newsletter, and ‘Focus on Melbourne’ (University) – details later
  • Attend school holiday programs run by some universities and other organisations (eg the Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary)
  • Search the Job Guide at www.jobguide.education.gov.au; this site also offers links to other useful careers websites (eg Job Outlook). Find out what a particular job involves, and what is the likely rate of employment upon graduation
  • Attend events run during the year which focus on particular careers (eg sports related careers, dietetics, psychology careers seminars have been held in the past) – details in this newsletter as they come to hand
  • Talk to people who work in careers which interests you; What do they like about their careers? Are there disadvantages? How did they qualify?
  1. MONASH UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS NEWS – Monash offered more than 10,000 students a place in an undergraduate course for 2016. There was an increase in offers made by the Faculty of Business and Economics, the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Science compared with 2015. Of these offers, 5,800 went to students with a Special Entry Access Scheme (SEAS) application. These are applications from students who have suffered disadvantage in their education in some way (eg illness, disability and so on). For your interest, and to give some guidance as to ATARs required by Monash, Clearly-In ATARs for all Monash courses can be viewed at: www.monash.edu/change-of-preference/assets/pdf/2016-round-1-clearly-in-atar.pdf
  2. DO YOU WANT TO FIND OUT ABOUT STUDYING AT MONASH UNIVERSITY? Monash is once again holding a Seminar Series where you can find out what it is really like to study at Monash. The seminar series this year is known as ‘Inside Monash’. The series kicks off with Business and Economics on 9 March, then Science on 10 March and Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences on 15 March. When: 6.30pm-8.00pm, 9 March through to 13 September; Where: Clayton, Caulfield or Peninsula campuses; Book/Info: www.monash.edu/inside-monash; Other Information: Call 1800 MONASH.

NOTE: In April there are seminars on Pharmacy, Design and Fine Art, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Global Studies, Nursing and Midwifery, Architecture, Interior Architecture and Psychology. Seminars on other courses will follow from May to September. See the above website for details and bookings. These Seminars are highly recommended for learning more about the course/career which interests you.

  1. FOCUS ON DEAKIN UNIVERSITY - Deakin is the seventh largest university in Australia with over 53,000 students. It offers over 700 courses and careers at its four campuses:
  • the largest campus is in the Melbourne suburb of Burwood
  • there are two campuses in Geelong, one at Waurn Ponds and the other on the Geelong Waterfront
  • a campus is located at Warrnambool.

Deakin offers real choice about how and when you learn, and it is possible to fast-track your degree by studying additional units in Trimester 3. You can choose from a wide range of study areas and select from the huge range of elective units offered in many courses, including, in some cases, the option to choose elective units from a different field.  You can also choose how you study. Cloud (online), the fifth campus, provides flexibility, enabling you to study where and when it suits.

 

Deakin is somewhat unusual in offering three semesters (trimesters) per year. This means that it is often possible to complete a three-year degree in two years by studying in January and February.

Deakin does not offer VET courses in the way that RMIT, Swinburne and Victoria Universities do. However, Deakin has formal arrangements with a number of VET providers offering pathways into their degrees. For example, Bendigo TAFE, Box Hill Institute, Chisholm, Melbourne Polytechnic, Riverina TAFE, South West TAFE and The Gordon (Geelong) have formal pathways. For details: www.deakin.edu.au/pathways-to-deakin.

 

Another pathway to Deakin is from Deakin College. The College offers Diplomas in Commerce, Computing, Engineering, Health Sciences, Management, Media and Communications and Science.  Students who perform well in these one-year diplomas are able to transition to the second year of a similar degree at Deakin University.

 

A great new resource for exploring courses and careers at Deakin can be found at: explore.deakin.edu.au. Featuring more than 700 courses and careers, this mobile tool will help you discover the myriad of future options available to you. You can scroll, select and save favourite courses and careers for later reference. See: http://explore.deakin.edu.au

  1. OPEN DAYS AT HOLMESGLEN – Most tertiary institutions hold their Open Days in August (dates will be provided in the next Newsletter so you can get them in your diary). However, Holmesglen has Open Days throughout the year. Holmesglen is mainly a VET provider (some degrees) with campuses in Chadstone, City, Moorabbin and Waverley. Dates of Open Days are: 17 March, 12 May, 16 June, 11 August, 15 September, 27 October and 15 December. On-line bookings are essential at www.holmesglen.edu.au/open.
  2. BIG CAREERS AND EDUCATION EVENT COMING – Attending the VCE and CAREERS EXPO 2016 is a great chance to collect information from a huge range of providers at the one location. Exhibitors include: VCE resource providers, universities and TAFE and training colleges. In addition, there will be seminars on VCE subjects, tertiary courses, career, gap year and study advice. When:  9am-3pm, Thurs 5 & Fri 6 May; 10am-4pm, Sat 7 & Sun 8 May; Where: Caulfield Racecourse; Cost: $10 per person, $25 for families; Info: www.vceandcareers.com.au. Put the date in your diary now! NOTE: Events such as these are great for collecting general information from many sources, so are particularly good for Year 10-11. Open Days at individual institutions will provide more specific course information.
  3. SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY NEWS – Swinburne is a provider of higher education and vocational education and training (VET) courses. Its main campus is in Hawthorn, with small campuses in Croydon and Wantirna.

2016 saw the introduction of 11 Professional Degrees in areas such as Arts, Business, Computer Science, Engineering, Games and Interactivity, Health Science, Information and Communication Technology, Media and Communication, and Science. These degrees are for high-achieving students and incorporate a guaranteed, paid, full-time work placement. They feature a mandatory 12-month work placement which is normally undertaken during the third year of study. Students receive academic credit and gain valuable skills that will make graduates job-ready. The university will find appropriate placements for students.

 

UniLink is quite a recent development at Swinburne. UniLink offers one-year courses for students who are unable to reach the required ATAR for Swinburne degrees. Around 80% of UniLink students move into appropriate degrees at Swinburne in the following year.  

Studying Medicine and Dentistry

It is possible to study medicine/surgery at Deakin (Geelong), Monash (Clayton and Gippsland), and Melbourne universities. Of course, many interstate universities also offer medicine, and it is possible to study it in New Zealand (eg University of Otago in Dunedin) and have the qualification recognised in Australia. NOTE: Be aware that medical qualifications from many overseas universities are not recognised in Australia and further study in Australia is required.

 

The ONLY university in Victoria offering an undergraduate medical degree is Monash. Acceptance into this course is based on a combination of ATAR, UMAT result and a multi-mini interview. UMAT is short for the Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test. This year the test will be held on Wednesday 27 July. Registrations are open now and close at 5pm (AEST) on Friday 3 June, 2016. See: http://umat.acer.edu.au. The UMAT is a multiple choice assessment; it is possible to purchase practice tests at this website, and you are strongly advised to do so as the UMAT is a very demanding test and practice is vital. The only Victorian undergraduate degree which requires completion of the UMAT is Medicine at Monash. La Trobe University requires it for Dentistry, but only for non-Year 12 applicants. Some interstate universities require it as part of the application process for medicine, dentistry and some other medical-related courses so you are wise to check this. It is common for students keen to study medical courses to apply to interstate universities as well as Victoria. Living in a particular state does not give any priority to applicants. NOTE: International applicants see International Student Admissions Test (ASAT).

 

Monash also offers a post-graduate degree in medicine, as do Deakin and Melbourne universities. Monash has very specific requirements for entry to the post-graduate degree, including that from 2017 the undergraduate degree MUST be a Monash degree (preferably the B. Biomedical Science, or alternatively the B. Pharmacy or the B. Physiotherapy, or in a small number of cases the B. Science). Most applicants for the Melbourne degree would complete either the B. Biomedicine or the B. Science at Melbourne first. Deakin also does not specify the under-graduate degree. NOTE: Many post-graduate medical degrees require applicants to sit for a test known as the GAMSAT. See: http://gamsat.acer.edu.au.   

 

Dentistry is only offered in Victoria as an undergraduate degree at La Trobe University (Bendigo) and as a post-graduate degree at Melbourne University.

 

It is important for anyone thinking of studying medicine or dentistry to research and start preparing; the competition for university places is considerable. Some universities offer information sessions about their courses (Eg ‘At Monash’ Seminars and Focus On Melbourne seminars – details later).

 

Remember, of course, many students considering medicine or dentistry could be well suited to several other occupations, not necessarily in the medical field, so explore these as well.

 

Compiled by: M.Walker