Parent Seminars July, August and September 2013

About VTAC and its resources Ways of accessing course information Applying for courses Special consideration and the Special Entry Access Scheme Applying for Scholarships Understanding the ATAR Change of preference The offer system Key dates and times All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

VTAC administers application services for Tertiary courses SEAS (Special Entry Access Scheme) 2013 Scholarships 2013 Admissions tests (STAT and ALSET) VTAC also Calculates and issues the ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) for VCE students. Provides information and enquiry services including telephone, , blog, Facebook and Twitter. Conducts information sessions. All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

VTAC Website: This is the definitive resource to obtaining current information on courses, policies and procedures, applications and offers through VTAC – VTAC Guide 2014 Printed book, available from newsagents (RRP: $12.00 incl.GST) – is a synopsis of whats on offer. Doesnt include detailed course information. Online information ABC of Applying – printed and online. Printed copies are distributed free to VCE students for their parents. Also available for download onto your device. Social media Stay up to date with timely information, provided when you need it by subscribing to one of the following: VTAC Blog - Facebook - Facebook.com/vtacguide All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Download the PDF from the VTAC website – publications. The download is free! Saved onto a smart device for use offline. Printed Use the QR code for each institution Hold your device up to the QR code – using the QR reader scan the code to get a list the information linked There are individual QR codes for each institution and VTAC topic. All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Use CourseSearch and short-list courses A shortlist facility will also enable users to shortlist courses from CourseSearch and the list or search

The simple search The advanced search Choose search results i.e. Course name and/or subject name Choose institution Choose Qualification type i.e. VET or HE qualifications Choose Area of interest Choose Application method

Vocational Education Training (VET) – TAFE qualifications Higher education Certificate II Certificate III Certificate IV Diploma Advanced Diploma Note: VTAC accepts and publicises courses from Certificate II and above Undergraduate Advanced Diploma Associate Degrees Bachelor Postgraduate Masters Graduate entry teaching All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

VTAC heading: This heading is created for the VTAC Guide and CourseSearch only. Qualification, title, length: The official title of the course and number of years to complete the course. All material in this presentation is copyrighted. Campus, VTAC course code and fee-type: Only courses with applications through VTAC have VTAC course codes. These codes show which institution, campus, course and type of course fees you are applying for. Check the application method. Brief description about the course.

Major studies: Provide a broader picture of what the course is about. Should be used as a research tool. i.e. Journalism Prerequisites: Are compulsory – if a student doesnt meet prerequisites then wont be considered for the course. Middle-band: Provides additional bonus to the ATAR – it can assist students whose ATAR is a bit lower than the required ATAR. Selection mode: provides a broad overview of what is considered as part of the selection. Extra requirements: are compulsory requirements that must be done, in addition to applying. Must be taken seriously. All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

VTAC Applications are submitted through VTAC if the course entry states Apply: Through VTAC Direct to institution If the course entry states Apply: Direct to institution, prospective applicants must contact the institution to lodge a direct application for the course All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Register to set up a user account. Keep the VTAC ID and PIN safe. Dont give it to anyone!! Once youve registered applicants can log in and make a course application. They can also: Update personal details Change preferences as many times as they like Lodge a SEAS and scholarships application Refer to messages Pay the processing fee VTAC Get their ATAR (when released in December) Get an offer (when released in January) All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Can list up to 12 courses/institutions on one application Always list them in the order you want to get into the course NOT the order you think you will get into the course Use the up/down buttons to move your preferences

Applicants apply through institution (not VTAC) Institution decides to make an offer or not Institution can make early offers whenever they choose Need to apply directly to each course youre interested in. So if youre interested in 5 courses that state Apply: Direct to institution, you will need to submit 5 individual applications (one for each course) All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Payment is online via Debit Visa or credit card or PayPal. Applicants dont need a PayPal account, can pay as a guest. While students should pay at the time of application, its not mandatory. Have until closing date to pay. Dont pay, wont be processed or be eligible for an offer. Apply by the 27 September and pay only $27. Apply after that time and fees increase to $91 and $116 All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Allows selection officers to grant special consideration to applicants for course entry whose education has been impacted by disadvantage It is not a get out of jail free card or a guarantee to getting into a course

Category 1: Personal Information and Location* Age Recognition as an Indigenous Australian Living or school postcode Under represented schools Gender Category 2: Non-English speaking background Category 3: Difficult circumstances Category 4: Disadvantaged financial background Category 5: Disability or medical condition Category 6: SALT (La Trobe University), PPP (Victoria University) and REEP schemes (University of Ballarat) * Everyone is encouraged to answer yes to Category 1. Let the system sort out if you are eligible or not! All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate that the disadvantage has impacted on their educational performance. Students who have suffered long-term disadvantage must start preparing now! Make appointments, collect supporting statements Dont wait until the SEAS closing date it will be too late All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Supporting statements should clearly outline: The disadvantage, medical condition etc How this has impacted on the applicant The timeline of how long the applicants has been experiencing the disadvantage Evidence is the key. Applicants can edit their SEAS application as many times as they need, until the deadline. All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Encourage all students to apply for scholarships. There are scholarships through VTAC and direct to institutions. They are not just for smart kids, there are lots of access and equity scholarships too. While no-one is guaranteed a scholarship, we can guarantee that if students dont apply, they wont be considered. All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

The ATAR: Is not a score out of 100 it is a rank between 0.00 and It is not the be all and end all of a person. It is a tool that: Allows tertiary institutions to rank students Provide a level playing field for applicants who have all done different types of programs All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Is calculated by VTAC for use by institutions. A students ATAR of means that they are in the top 25% of the Year 12 age group. Very few courses select only on the ATAR. Most courses look at a range of factors including: Extra requirements Middle-band bonuses SEAS consideration and other bonus or special consideration programs that students have applied for

To calculate the ATAR VTAC uses: English plus three other permissible scorable studies (primary four) Plus up to two other studies (5 th and 6 th increments)

Just because studies are scaled up – doesnt mean a student will get a good ATAR. Students need to perform well in all studies to get a good ATAR. Sarah loves textiles, she got a 39 and was scaled down to a 37. Chris was told that if he did specialist mathematics he would get a better ATAR because they are historically scaled up. Chris got a 15 that was scaled to a 19 in specialist mathematics Which scaled subject score is a better contribution to the ATAR. The one scaled up? Or the one scaled down?

ATARs are released to students: Monday 16 December 2013 from 7am. All students who are eligible to receive an ATAR, irrespective of whether or not they have applied, can access their ATAR online or via SMS. Two ways to access the ATAR on that day: Internet at resultsandatar.vic.edu.auresultsandatar.vic.edu.au SMS – must preregister for instructions go to All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Change of preference opens on Monday 16 December 2013 at 11am. All students are able to change their course preferences up until 12noon Monday 23 December Institutional change of preference days, these are worth checking out (see December 2013 Bulletin). All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Before changing preferences students should check: Last years selection data – dont panic if the ATAR is slightly lower, still put it down. Selection data fluctuates annually. Extra requirements to make sure they are complete Prerequisites – to make sure they meet them. All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

In a lot of courses you will see last years selection data. This gives you a guide of the ATAR standard for last year. It is not prescriptive!!

If students do not pay their processing fee they wont be considered for offers. All offers are provisional and subject to accurate information being supplied by the applicant. Rounds of offers: Early round offers – for non-year 12 applicants International VCE Main round offers – majority of offers to all applicants at any preference for undergraduate places. Round two offers – smaller number of offers – filling places After round 1: Negotiated offer (for all applicants) Supplementary offers (for all applicants) All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Round 1 offer made – accept – still eligible for a higher preference in round two. Dont wait!!! If you accept an offer made through VTAC, can withdraw if get a round two offer and get monies refunded Round 2 – about 3,000 offers made – no guarantees. After round 1: Can submit a negotiated offer for a course lower than one youve been offered or NOT listed on your course preferences. Can check your user account for the status of the negotiated offer.

Can apply for a negotiated offer if its lower than one youve been offered or the course is not on your application. Always: Ensure course requirements have been met Check place availability with the course selection officer and what additional documentation you may have to provide. Then complete the negotiated offer request in the VTAC user account Once you have received a negotiated offer, you are not eligible for any more offers. It is your new first preference! All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Are only available to applicants who have not received any offers in round 1 or round 2. Applicants must give VTAC permission to be eligible for consideration Supplementary offers are processed weekly in February 2014 Applicants may receive two or more offers at the same time Applicants will need to decide which offer to accept

Always accept an offer you receive Never wait to see if you get a better offer in round two If you dont accept any of the offers you have been made, you are not eligible for a supplementary offer Negotiated offers are no guarantee for an offer, unless the institution accepts you All material in this presentation is copyrighted.

Everything that we have covered is in the ABC of Applying. New and cancelled courses are added and removed weekly. We hope to be running some online webinars later in the year so stay in touch and updated by subscribing to: vtacmedia.wordpress.com Facebook: facebook.com/vtacguide All material in this presentation is copyrighted.