How do unis determine the students they take in for a new course? (1 Viewer)

[Shoom]

Hi
Ive just been looking at my UAC book and lets say for Macq uni, B Sci with physics it says NC. How do they determine the students? As in ATAR or is it more, you do subjects in year 12 that are more related to this degree e.g physics and maths.

 

[Shoom]

So its a bit risky if I put all preferences as new courses.


I need some way to get into uni.


And say a degree needs 72 and I get 69, is there no chance of me getting accepted to that course?

 

[black_kat_meow]

It's not risky at all. You choose in order of preference, and if your first few preferences have too high a cut off, you just get your lower one.

 

[lala2]

^^Yes, if you do well in relevant subjects they may consider you automatically, or you may have to apply (which is usually the case).

 

[imsopostmodern]

it all depends on forces of supply and demand. if your course requires 72 but they dont get as many people as usual applying for it, they might lower the ATAR and accept you. however, if they get a significantly larger no of people interested, they might increase the ATAR and you won't get in.

in general, fewer people want to do new courses, so you have a better chance of getting into them. but then there are other factors such as course reputation to consider. and if your course is new, many workplaces might not be aware of its reputation, and this might influence your ability to get a job.

 

[IgnoranceIsBlis]

ive heard that they may take into account your scores for particular subjects relevant to the course you want to do.
so if you applied for a bachelor of science and you didnt get the 72 they want, if you did well in chemistry, physics or bio (if you do them) they may take you on that.

 

[Shoom]

Its so hard to choose. I just want to get into uni with a B of Science

The new course im interested in is B science in Physics at Macquarie university.


Do you think alot of people will be applying for that?


I am so stressed atm.

 

[Andi0390]

I think it would be a popular course but I'm not sure. If I were to do any science it would be that.

Apply anyway, even if you don't get in the main round often people get in through later rounds.

 

[HisNameIsChris]

I'm not sure if you realise this, but the UAI/ATAR cutoff listed in the book is from the previous year. Just because the cutoff for degree X was 90 in one year doesn't mean it'll be 90 in the year you receive your ATAR. If a lot more students apply that year, it may become 99 instead, or if a less students apply in that year, the ATAR cutoff may be 75 or lower. Similar effects will occur if the uni decided to change the amount of students they are too accept.

In other words, for most courses in most unis, they look at all the students who apply and accept them in order from highest ATAR to lowest ATAR. If degree X accepts 50 students, and the ATAR of the 50th student is 98, then the ATAR cutoff is 98.

In other words, choose your degree not based on the cutoff, not (entirely) based on the salaries, but based on how much you think you'll enjoy it (and whether you're capable of the work involved in this degree). Choose your degrees in order of preference (but be sure to choose a degree with a very low cutoff (as cutoffs will generally be similar from year to year) as your final preference just incase you don't meet the requirements for any of the others. Generally you should know the ATAR you'll receive, within 5 or 10 points at least.