Transcript Slide 1

UAC
Universities Admissions Centre
(NSW & ACT) Pty Ltd
2010 admissions
What is UAC?
 UAC stands for Universities Admissions
Centre
 UAC is the central office that receives and
processes applications for participating
institutions (all unis in NSW and the ACT, La
Trobe uni in VIC, Griffith uni in QLD and AMC
in Tas).
 Institutions, not UAC, decide on offers
 UAC notifies HSC students of their ATAR
 Each year UAC publishes the UAC Guide
(and the UAC International Booklet for
international students)
UAC 2010 Guide
 Free copies of the UAC 2010 Guide were
sent to schools in the last week of July 2009
 The Guide contains
–
–
–
–
course descriptions
instructions on how to apply
information about participating institutions
an areas of study index
Application dates
for 2010
 Applications open 9.30am 6 August 2009
 On-time closing date is
Wednesday 30 September 2009
 UAC will process late applications until
Wednesday 4 February 2010
 Late fees (up to $135) apply after
Wednesday 30 September 2009
 Some courses have early closing dates
- check the UAC Guide for details
How to apply
 All applicants must apply online using
Apply-By-Web
 You must supply an email address when
you apply
 Processing charge of $24 for Year 12
students
 Can pay by credit card (MasterCard or
Visa), PayPal, BPay and Australia Post’s
BillPay
 PayPal allows you to transfer funds safely
over the internet from your bank account to
UAC
What you need to apply
 Your Board of Studies student number
 Your UAC PIN – for NSW and ACT students
this will be posted to you by UAC on Friday
7 August (note that it is separate to your
Board of Studies PIN)
 You will receive your 9 digit UAC application
number when you apply – for NSW students
your UAC application number will be a ‘1’
followed by your Board of Studies student
number
What courses are
available?
 Table 1 in the UAC 2010 Guide lists
all the courses available
 Courses for 2010 are Commonwealthsupported place (CSP) courses
Commonwealth-supported
place (CSP) courses
 Previously known as HECS courses
 Students pay only a student contribution,
which is part of the cost of the course (the
Australian Government pays the rest of the
cost)
 Only available to Australian citizens, New
Zealand citizens and Australian permanent
residents
 HECS-HELP loan may be used to pay
student contribution
How to list your
course preferences
 Use the ATAR cut-offs from 2009 as a
guide to making your selections
 Apply for courses which interest you, and
put them in the order that you want them
considered
 If you change your mind you can change
your course preferences – but remember
each offer round has a closing date
 Most students change course preferences
after the ATAR is released
Changing your course
preferences
 Via UAC’s website
 Closing dates:
For Main Round – Wednesday 6 January
2010
For Early Feb Round – Tuesday 26 January
2010
For Final Round – Thursday 4 February 2010
Online applicant services
www.uac.edu.au
 Apply-By-Web
 Check your application
 Change your contact details
 Change your UAC PIN
 Change your course preferences
 View/print your confirmation of application
 View and download correspondence from UAC
 View your ATAR
 View your offer/s
HSC and ATAR
 2009 NSW HSC results released by Board
of Studies on Wednesday 16 December
2009
 ATAR released by UAC (on UAC’s website)
on Thursday 17 December 2009
 Both scheduled to arrive at your postal
address on Friday 18 December 2009
What happened to the
UAI?
In June 2009 the UAI was replaced by the
ATAR - the Australian Tertiary Admission
Rank
 a number between 0.00 and 99.95
(only ATARs above 30 will be reported)
 indicates student’s position relative to all
students who entered Year 7 with them
 a rank, not a mark
 used by universities to rank applicants
WHAT is the difference?
ATAR
UAI
100
top 0.025%
→
→
99.95
top 0.05%
Most ATARs will be higher, for example
91.00
→
91.75
compared against
compared against
Year 10 cohort
Year 7 cohort
WHY the change?
 National consistency
- common name
- equivalence of top rank (99.95)
(Qld retains OP ranks – conversion table in UAC Guide p98)
Foreshadowing change to NSW school leaving age
Impact on students
UAI
ATAR
Scaling
No change
Rank order
No change
Rank achieved
Slightly higher for most
students
Uni application & choice of
courses
No change
Cut-offs
Adjusted
Chance of getting an offer
No change
Offer rounds e-release
Available on UAC’s website
 Early Jan Round
9am Tues 5 January 2010
 Main Round
9pm Wed 20 January 2010
 Early Feb Round
9pm Wed 3 February 2010
 Final Round
9am Wed 10 February 2010
Most offers are made in the Main Round
Accepting your offer
 Accept your offer by the due date (stated in
the offer letter) otherwise it could lapse
 If you receive another offer in a subsequent
offer round and wish to proceed with that
offer, you will have to accept your second
offer and withdraw from your first
Travelling
interstate/overseas
 Take your UAC 2010 Guide, your UAC
application number and your UAC PIN with
you
 You can retrieve your ATAR and offer/s,
change course preferences and your contact
details through UAC’s website only
 www.uac.edu.au
Deferment
 Each institution has its own policy
 Follow instructions in offer letter
 Deferred place is guaranteed
 Usually apply the following year through
UAC
 Can list other courses above deferred
course
 If an offer is made to a higher preference,
deferred course will lapse
Transferring to another
course
 Typical example transferring to a more
competitive course
 Transfers such as these are possible but
very competitive, usually requiring you to
achieve excellent results in your first year of
university study
 Each institution has its own requirements
for transfer and you should check with the
relevant institution for more information
before you enrol
 Usually apply through UAC
Educational Access
Schemes (EAS)
 For students who have suffered long-term
educational disadvantage
 Students must demonstrate that
performance during Years 11 and 12 has
been seriously affected by circumstances
beyond their control
 EAS booklets (with application forms)
distributed early August 2009, can also be
downloaded from UAC’s website www.uac.edu.au
Educational Access
Schemes (EAS)
 On-time closing date - Wednesday 30
September 2009
 Late applications accepted by UAC until
Monday 30 November 2009 - but not
guaranteed to be considered in time for the
Main Round of offers
 Applications are detailed and require
supporting documentation so allow plenty of
time to prepare and complete your EAS
application
Educational Access
Schemes (EAS)
Examples of disadvantage:
 Disrupted schooling
 Financial hardship
 Home environment/responsibilities
 English language
 Personal illness/disability
 Refugee status
 School environment
 Unable to live at home
Bonus points
 Universities allocate bonus points on certain
criteria (see next slide)
 Bonus points are not ATAR points
 Bonus points do not change a student’s
ATAR
 Bonus points change a student’s selection
rank
Bonus points
 Universities allocate bonus points for
different circumstances
Examples include:
 strong performance in HSC subjects
 Students who attend a school in an area
defined by the university
 Students who have applied for consideration
through EAS
Bonus points
 For most Year 12 applicants their selection
rank is their ATAR
However, if universities allocate bonus points
then:
 the student’s selection rank =
ATAR + bonus points
Equity Scholarships
Equity Scholarships assist students
who experience financial hardship
with higher education costs
Equity Scholarships
 2 categories of Equity Scholarships…
Commonwealth Scholarships
and
Institution Equity Scholarships
 Information about 2010 Equity Scholarships
on UAC’s website – www.uac.edu.au
Commonwealth
Scholarships
 Student Start-up Scholarships
 Relocation Scholarships
 Both are administered by Centrelink and paid
automatically to all eligible students (receiving
Youth Allowance, Austudy, Abstudy)
 Commonwealth Scholarships for Indigenous
students – applications through UAC open
early September
Institution Equity
Scholarships (IES)
 Each institution has its own scheme
 Aim is to maximise participation in
higher education by students from
certain target groups
 The value and duration of the
scholarships differ depending on the
institution
 IES applications for most UAC
institutions will be submitted online
through UAC’s website at
www.uac.edu.au from early September
UAC International
You are an international student if you are NOT:
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an Australian citizen
a New Zealand citizen
an Australian permanent resident
You must apply through UAC if you are an
international student undertaking:
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a 2009 Australian Year 12 in Australia
a 2009 Australian Year 12 overseas
an International Baccalaureate in Australia in 2009
a New Zealand Certificate of Educational Achievement
level 3 in 2009
Free copies of the UAC 2010 International Booklet will
be sent to schools in August 2009
Finally, remember to …..
 Read course descriptions in UAC 2010 Guide
 Attend uni open days, talk to uni students
 Use last year’s ATAR cut-offs only as an
indication of possible cut-offs for 2010
 Include up to 9 course preferences - check for
additional selection criteria, early closing dates
 Place course choices in the order of your
preference
 Have realistic expectations of your academic
ability