SEAS Special Entry Access Schemes

What is SEAS?  For VTAC applicants who have experienced educational disadvantage  Aims to ‘level the playing field’ for those people  Individual institutions determine how much weighting those circumstances will affect your ATAR

General eligibility  Have made application through VTAC  Have Australian or New Zealand citizenship OR  Hold a permanent Australian residency visa

SEAS Categories  You may qualify for more than one category; if so, you need to complete each category for which you qualify individually  There are 6 categories, but not all apply for ELTHAM students  Some of these are covered in the following slides:

Category 1: Personal information & location  Age – mature aged entry (21yrs plus)  Indigenous Australian  Gender – men or women in under represented disciplines. A limited number of tertiary institutions recognise this category e.g. females for courses such as Engineering, Information Technology and males for nursing or early childhood or primary education

Category 2: Non English speaking background  You have to have arrived in Australia within the last 10 years from a non-English speaking country (on or after 1 January 2002)  Been born outside Australia in a non- English speaking country

Category 3: Difficult circumstances  For applicants who have been prevented from reaching their educational performance potential because of family or other life circumstances  May be long term (in existence prior to 2009) or short term (existing only in )  E.g. severe family disruption such as dealing with alcoholism or drug addiction  Long term illness of family member  Divorce/separation of parents  Death of immediate family member or friend  Excessive family responsibility  Natural disaster e.g. bushfire

Category 5: Disability or medical condition  Have to demonstrate educational disadvantage as a result of a disability or medical condition  Either short term (only in 2010/2011) or long term (in existence prior to 2009)

What to do  Get info booklet from Trish or LifeWork Centre  Log on to and complete VTAC on-line application for tertiary entrance  Go to the SEAS application link through MyInfo and follow prompts  Inform Trish/Pobs/Michael/LifeWork Centre of your intention to apply by 19 th August, stating the categories you intend to apply under

What to do (continued)  Get the required evidence to support your claims – e.g. certified copies of medical certificates; interview/s with Chelsea Eacott/Michael Colling so the school can write a supporting statement  Make sure you leave plenty of time to gather your information – specialist reports etc can take a while to obtain  Seek help/advice from LifeWork Centre, Chelsea Eacott, Michael Colling or Trish  Submit by Friday 9 th September (end of Term 3)