ATAR not enough? Perth universities offer alternative pathways to entry

STUDENTS are being reminded of alternative entries into university as the main round of offers are sent out today.

Universities will send out second-round offers on January 31, although students have until 11pm on January 22 to re-arrange or add preferences.

Murdoch University

Murdoch University has a range of options to provide university entry for students who didn’t achieve the ATAR they wanted and the good news is that the courses are fee-free.

OnTrack is a 14-week, full time, on-campus, preparation course.

FlexiTrack gives students the chance to prepare for University in their own time by studying online either full time or part time.

Successful completion of one of these courses qualifies people to apply for any Murdoch undergraduate degree that has an indicative ATAR of 70 or less.

Students can visit www.murdoch.edu.au/OnTrack or call 1300 MURDOCH.

K-Track is a course tailored to launch Aboriginal students on the path to success by providing entry into a range of undergraduate degrees.

Visit www.murdoch.edu.au/Kulbardi to apply.

All these courses prepare students to achieve with university-level learning activities that include attending lectures and tutorials and developing study skills in researching and essay/report writing.

Curtin University

Flexible entry options include portfolio entry, the StepUp to Curtin Scheme, special consideration, enabling programs and higher education diploma programs.

Visit http://futurestudents.curtin.edu.au/undergraduate/flexible-entry/ for more information about the options.

University of WA

Students who wish to consider alternative entry pathways to commence studying at The University of Western Australia in 2018 can contact the Future Students Centre on 131 892 or future-students@uwa.edu.au.

Some possible alternative entry pathways into the university include completing a minimum of four units via AccessUWA in order to attempt to gain admission into a Bachelor’s degree.

Applications for this are open in mid-January.

Applicants with an ATAR of 75.00 to 79.95 who are identified as the first members of their immediate family to attend UWA, may be able to gain admissions to the university’s undergraduate degree courses.

Another option is to consider undertaking and successfully completing a TAFE or Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Diploma, in addition to ensuring students meet the university’s English Language Competence (ELC) requirement.

The University of Notre Dame

While the ATAR score is important, at The University of Notre Dame Australia it is the starting point to help secondary students on the path to their chosen career.

A unique, personalised admissions process goes beyond the ATAR to draw on a range of attributes critical to a future success.

The ATAR provides an indicative measure for how well a student is able to handle university-level study material.

Notre Dame also values a student’s contribution to Church and community; volunteering endeavours; sporting success; and passion for their chosen career.

Edith Cowan University

Edith Cowan University (ECU) recommends that you make a university preparation course your sixth preference.

While entry into preparation courses is not guaranteed, they do have slightly different requirements to an undergraduate course.

ECU prospective student adviser Laura Andre said upon successful completion of the freeUniPrep course in as little as 16 weeks, students would be eligible for most undergraduate university degrees.