Applying for tertiary study in Victoria A complete guide to applying for courses, SEAS, and scholarships through VTAC Presented by Ms Vivian Seremetis, Careers Coordinator, Mazenod College Monday 5th August 2019 VICTORIAN TERTIARY ADMISSIONS CENTRE 40 Park Street, South Melbourne, VIC 3205 Telephone: +61 3 9926 1020 www.vtac.edu.au Facebook: www.facebook.com/vtacguide | Twitter: twitter.com/vtacguide | Youtube: www.youtube.com/vtacmedia

What is VTAC? The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) is the central point for applications to Victorian universities, TAFEs, and Independent Tertiary Colleges. VTAC also calculates the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) for Victorian Year 12 students. Connect with VTAC today to receive updates, tips, and timely reminders: Facebook: facebook.com/vtacguide Twitter: @vtacguide Students won’t be applying individually to each institution, but instead submitting one application through VTAC for up to 8 course preferences.

The VTAC application process – key dates 5 August Applications open 27 September Timely applications close 11 October SEAS and Scholarships applications close 12 December Victorian ATAR released 18 December December offers released 15 January January offers released 3-24 February further offer rounds Late February Most courses commence classes All dates are available on the VTAC website and in the back of the VTAC Year 11 & 12 Guide

In this session Finding and comparing course information Research Finding and comparing course information Making sure you’re eligible Apply Creating a VTAC account Filling in your course preferences SEAS Applying for special consideration, including under-represented groups Applying for scholarships Offers Getting your course offer Accepting, deferring, rejecting

RESEARCH

Compare course information for all tertiary institutions in Victoria CourseSearch Compare course information for all tertiary institutions in Victoria Advanced search options include filtering by institution, area of interest, and qualification level Available at vtac.edu.au Ability to ‘save’ or ‘email’ a shortlist of courses – will be shown features of this during your one- on-one appointment CourseSearch lets you search across all the institutions at once – good for comparing courses Information displayed in CourseSearch is provided by institutions 2019 CourseSearch available from late July

The VTAC CourseSearch app Available free for iOS and Android After downloading, browse course information online or offline You can also use the Prerequisite and Course Explorer from inside the app – enter your VCE studies to find courses where you meet the prerequisites The app will automatically update with the latest course info whenever online.

Prerequisite and Course Explorer Enter your VCE study program to see which courses you meet the prerequisites for Refine your search by area of interest, institution, qualification level, and more Prerequisite and Course Explorer available with 2020-2022 course info from late July. Can save a program and then compare it to a new search to e.g. see the impact of adding/dropping a subject.

Year 11 & Year 12 Guide Information about how to apply A guide to researching and making decisions Interviews with students and professionals in various areas Copy distributed today at this session or download for free at the VTAC website. Of importance, contains information on creating a VTAC account, organizing your preferences, applying for SEAS and Scholarships. The Guide does not contain course information. PDF download is located in the “Publications” section of the VTAC website.

Different types of tertiary courses VET Cert II-IV Diploma Advanced Diploma Higher Education Associate Degree Bachelor Degree Graduate courses You can list both VET and Higher Ed courses on your VTAC preferences Current Year 12 students not eligible for Graduate courses

What’s in the course description? Course design Essential Requirements and Admission Criteria ATAR profile (for courses using the ATAR) Policy information Information in course entries is provided by the institution offering the course. Look out for: information about the course itself, explain why looking at major studies can be useful Draw attention to essential requirements and admission criteria Course design A description provided by the institution offering the course Which campus? How long does the course take to complete? What kind of career options are there? Essential requirements Which prerequisites do I need to get in? Do I need to do an interview or audition? Are there any advantages to studying certain VCE subjects? Is special consideration available? Policy information: Can I get credit for study I’ve already done? How do I apply? Where can I get further information?

What requirements might exist? Prerequisites Any VCE subjects you must complete to be eligible for an offer Interview Personal statement Audition Folio presentation CASPer test Online test needed for most teaching courses Subject adjustments Extra points for completing VCE subjects relevant to the course SEAS Special consideration CLICK to spotlight in order: Prerequisites Explain that prerequisites exist for all higher ed courses CLICK Personal statement Not needed for most current Y12s, read course description carefully before filling it out CLICK CASPer test Compulsory online test needed for most teaching courses in Victoria CLICK Subject adjustment Explain the concept and that these are applied automatically if specified in the course description CLICK to show all categories again Information about how to organise e.g. auditions and interviews is found in each course description. Contact the institution if it’s unclear how to complete a requirement. We’ll talk about SEAS in a bit.

Two types of essential requirements You need to complete these to apply and receive an offer Essential requirements for selection and application Prerequisites Interview Audition Pre-selection kit Essential requirements for enrolment or graduation Immunisations Police check Working with Children Check You don’t need to complete these until you have successfully received an offer These are just some examples of each type and there may be other requirements under these headings

The ATAR profile This information helps applicants to understand how competitive entry is for a particular course This is information from last year’s selection process as a guide for next year Some institutions may additionally provide links to ATAR profiles which include direct applicants

Subject adjustment tool Again, on the VTAC website, there is a tool that students can use to see the effect of a subject adjustment. For example, if you receive an ATAR of 67 and a course you are interested in offers an adjustment of 4 aggregate points for students who achieve a subject score of 30 & above in Accounting, then the course selection rank that a university will use in your new adjusted ATAR of 70.05 It is very important to be aware of any subject adjustments offered in some courses before you decide to remove a course from your preference list in December.

Ranking applicants Selection rank ATAR 95.00 ATAR 1 Mel 95.00 ATAR 2 Geri 90.00 ATAR 3 Victoria 85.00 ATAR 4 Emma 80.00 ATAR 5 AJ 75.00 ATAR 6 Howie 70.00 ATAR Selection rank 1 Mel 95.00 ATAR = 95.00 selection rank 2 Geri 90.00 ATAR +subject adjustment = 94.00 selection rank 3 AJ 75.00 ATAR + SEAS + subject adjustment = 86.00 selection rank 4 Victoria 85.00 ATAR = 85.00 selection rank 5 Emma 80.00 ATAR = 80.00 selection rank 6 Howie 70.00 ATAR = 70.00 selection rank Every course has some way of ranking applicants. In this example, they are using the ATAR but also taking into account special consideration and subject adjustments. For a different course they might be starting with e.g. the score from an audition, rather than ATAR. Let’s go through all six applicants in turn. CLICK Mel did not receive any adjustments, so her selection rank is the same as her ATAR, 95.00. CLICK Geri received a subject adjustment for completing a relevant VCE subject, so her selection rank is higher than her ATAR: 94.00 CLICK Victoria did not receive any adjustments, so her selection rank is the same as her ATAR CLICK Emma did not receive any adjustments, so her selection rank is the same as her ATAR CLICK AJ received a subject adjustment like Geri but also special consideration through SEAS, so his selection rank is a fair bit higher than his ATAR. CLICK Howie did not receive any adjustments, so his selection rank is the same as his ATAR This course had 4 places available for the 6 people applying, so who got the offers? CLICK the offers went to the applicants with the highest selection rank If we copy these same offers across to the ATAR list (CLICK), we can see that the people with the highest selection rank were not completely the same as the people with the highest ATAR.

Publishing information (ATAR-based selection only) 1 Mel 95.00 ATAR 2 Geri 90.00 ATAR 3 Victoria 85.00 ATAR 4 Emma 80.00 ATAR 5 AJ 75.00 ATAR 6 Howie 70.00 ATAR Selection rank 1 Mel 95.00 ATAR = 95.00 selection rank 2 Geri 90.00 ATAR +subject adjustment = 94.00 selection rank 3 AJ 75.00 ATAR + SEAS + subject adjustment = 86.00 selection rank 4 Victoria 85.00 ATAR = 85.00 selection rank 5 Emma 80.00 ATAR = 80.00 selection rank 6 Howie 70.00 ATAR = 70.00 selection rank Lowest ATAR to receive an offer Lowest selection rank to receive an offer So what information gets published about this course to tell you how competitive it was to get in? CLICK first, the lowest ATAR to successfully receive an offer CLICK second, the lowest selection rank to successfully receive an offer Explain why lowest sel. rank is the best number to look at Remember it’s last year’s data, might change for next year.

STEPS TO APPLY

Create a VTAC account All VTAC applications are completed online using the same VTAC ID and PIN Creating an account is a simple question-based process If you’re a current Year 12 student, make sure you enter your student number so that we can access your results later in the year One registration only To correct errors, change the details online or call VTAC. Do not create another registration. For current Year 12 applicants, use a personal, not school email address Some school email addresses are deactivated by the time offer emails are sent Four digit PIN Lost PINs can be retrieved from the log in form. Nominate a proxy if needed VTAC cannot discuss your application with anyone except you (not even your parents) unless you have specified an authorised nominee when registering.

VTAC account Highlight location of message inbox – a copy also sent to email

Applying for courses List up to eight courses/institutions Preference order – always list courses in the order you want to get into them To add course preferences: Select institution and/or course or type in the course code. To move a course on the preference list use the up/down buttons. To delete a course use the x button. Explain why preference order matters – you won’t find out about lower preference courses Be careful with X button – if a course has an early closing date and it is removed after that closing date, it can’t be re-added

How to order your preferences video Animated video available on the VTAC YouTube channel (VTACMedia - https://www.youtube.com/user/vtac media/videos) Covers how the preference system works, including why it’s important to list preferences in order of most wanted courses

Supplementary offers No offers in Round 1 or 2 Your details released to institutions with places available They may contact you to suggest a course you hadn’t applied for If interested, enrol for the course with the institution

Course application: payment 2019 timely application fee for current year 12 students: $39 Late fee $113 / very late $148 Application fees are paid using a credit or debit card via PayPal (PayPal account is not required) VTAC encourage applicants to make payment at the time of submitting an application, to avoid issues with the application down the track: Payment deadlines – domestic year 12 applicants To receive a printed ATAR statement 5pm, Monday 9 December To be eligible for December offers 4pm, Saturday 14 December To be eligible for January offers 4pm, Thursday 19 December

Change of Preference After applying, you can change your course preferences free-of-charge as many times as you like while Change of Preference is open Check the deadlines carefully prior to the start of each round The first deadline is for the December offer round, at 4pm on Saturday 14 December 2019 Get your preferences in the order you want by this date to maximise your chance of getting the offer you want COP Counselling at Mazenod: Thursday 12th December and Friday 13th December, 9am-4pm. Online bookings will open in Term 4. No limits or extra fees for change of preference. COP is closed for two weeks in November during selection for early offers (which are not available to current Year 12 students).

SEAS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Special Entry Access Scheme (SEAS) SEAS is the special consideration program used by most institutions Filling out a single SEAS application will cover all of your eligible preferences Primarily for students who have suffered long-term disadvantage Except: Category 1 (Personal Information and Location) – everyone should apply (essentially this is just opening the application, ticking YES and submitting) SEAS allows selection officers at institutions to grant special consideration for course entry to applicants. A single application for all eligible preferences

Applicants in ATAR order What can SEAS do? Applicants in ATAR order 1 Mel 95.00 ATAR = 95.00 selection rank 2 Geri 90.00 ATAR +subject adjustment = 94.00 selection rank 3 Victoria 85.00 ATAR = 85.00 selection rank 4 Emma 80.00 ATAR = 80.00 selection rank 5 AJ 75.00 ATAR + SEAS + subject adjustment = 86.00 selection rank 6 Howie 70.00 ATAR = 70.00 selection rank SEAS does not exempt you from completing essential requirements and compulsory admission criteria. You must study course prerequisites, attend all interviews, sit any required tests, and submit all required folios and forms. SEAS is not a guaranteed entry scheme or reserved quota, but may allow you to gain entry to a course with a lower ATAR than otherwise Show how in the example from earlier, special consideration through SEAS allowed AJ to get an offer ahead of Emma, even though AJ’s ATAR was lower.

SEAS categories Category 1: Personal information and location As simple as ticking a box All applicants should apply for this category Category 2: Disadvantaged financial background Category 3: Disability or medical condition Category 4: Difficult circumstances E.g. disruption to living situation, affected by illness or death of relative/friend, natural disaster, refugee status Apply for as many categories as relevant to your circumstances, but do not claim the same circumstances under multiple categories

Financial documentation Documentary evidence of benefit or family tax benefit in immediate family Impact statement Statement of support 123456789A (applicant’s own CRN) OR OR CRN only possible if it’s in the applicant’s name OR documentary evidence if it’s in a parent’s name OR impact statement and statement of support NO SCREENSHOTS for Centrelink doco Evidence must be no older than 3 months at the time of submission.

SEAS documentation – categories 3 & 4 Where needed: Impact statement – written by applicant Statement of support – written by health practitioner or relevant responsible person Impact statements without an accompanying statement of support will not be considered. For more information about SEAS documentation, visit www.vtac.edu.au Read the information provided today in your VTAC pack! More information and examples online

Scholarships VTAC collects scholarship applications for many institutions One application, many institutions Scholarships are not just for academic performance Many equity scholarships have similar documentation requirements to SEAS Statements must be submitted separately for each using the correct coversheet. List of scholarships available on the VTAC website Including scholarships which require direct applications to institutions Scholarships are not just for 99.95 students! Everyone should apply. Again, advice for scholarships in provided in your pack of information!

OFFERS

Six offer rounds This graph is based on the real offer numbers from last year. The majority of offers are made in the earlier rounds. This is why the 14 and 20 December COP deadlines are so important. Video: Change of Preference (2mins)

2pm Next day Offer advice From: VTAC Enrolment instructions From: Institution 2pm Accept Defer Reject Advise students to check enrolment deadlines carefully. These are set by institutions so are not all the same. Enrolment is with the institution, not VTAC Next day

Always accept an offer Reject We strongly advise students to always accept an offer, unless they don’t want it even as a back-up option. The offer process will continue regardless of whether you have accepted or rejected your offer.

You will be automatically considered for any higher preferences Higher preference courses. Automatically considered in future rounds. Offered course – can’t be removed but can be moved Lower preferences. Not considered unless moved above offered course. If they are happy with their preferences, they can just leave them alone and they will be automatically considered for any higher preferences.

Change of Preference Counselling Ms. Seremetis is available for 2-days: Thursday 12th December, 9am-4pm Friday 13th December, 9am – 4pm Mr. Rolfe, VCE Coordinator will be available on Thursday 12th December for ATAR related questions or VCAA study score questions/concerns Institutions will be running Change of Preference Events or Advice lines (online or telephone) on Friday 13th December and over the weekend. Change of Preference CLOSES Saturday 14 December, 4pm RE-OPENS Wednesday 18 December, 4pm CLOSES Friday 20 December, 4pm. Next round of offers: Wednesday 15 January 2020, 2pm

SO WHAT NEXT?

Application dates for Mazenod College VTAC applicants: Book an appointment with Ms Seremetis to get assistance in selecting your 8 preferences via the google doc! Attend Open Days in August (Open Day list attached) All applications are done at school in homeroom groups Last 2 weeks of term allocated time to chase up students who missed application sessions and to assist eligible SEAS applicants Homeroom Application Date Location Cagney, Coghlan & Foynes  Tuesday 3rd September 2019 Lecture Theatre Gavin, James & Lombard Thursday 5th September 2019 Mannix, Ryan & Simmonds Tuesday 10th September 2019 May run only if required Thursday 12th September 2019

More information Need help? At school? Talk to Ms Seremetis or send an email Call VTAC on (03) 9926 1020 Email VTAC through your VTAC account Send VTAC a Facebook message More information Step-by-step info on the VTAC website Articles in the VTAC Year 11 & Year 12 Guide (printed copies at school or free PDF online) Fact sheets on the VTAC website Short videos on our YouTube channel