Careers
Claire Pech – Careers Advisor
ACU have launched ACU Guarantee.
This is a new scheme (launched on the 4 August 2020 ) and closing on the 25 September 2020, where Year 12 students can use their Year 11 grades to gain early access to courses.
Even if Year 11 grades are not as high as a student was hoping for, if they are interested in attending ACU, it is worth looking into this scheme.
Personal statement – students can get adjustment factors for up to three bonus points – in a variety of three different schemes. Adjustments factors (bonus points) can also be acquired if you are the first person in the family to enter university. This ACU portal is similar to a UAC application portal and has a similar feel, so it will be familiar to Year 12 students.
ACU also runs an initiative to attract community leaders – Community Achievers Program – which closes on 9 September 2020. It is another way of accessing courses for early places, especially if students have done a lot of volunteer work and community service.
Some very popular courses at ACU are listed below. Some of the reasons that students would choose this smaller, more intimate institution rather than the big 50,000+ students of some of the bigger universities are for the following degrees:
- Bachelor of Physiotherapy (this does not sit under ACU guarantee) as it is their most popular course
- Bachelor of Paramedicine (this course does not sit in the main offers but hopefully will by the end of the demand period, and so will become accessible)
- Bachelor of Nursing
- Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science
- Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary)
As you can see by these course listings, ACU has an excellent industry reputation with great work placements, and practical and dynamic teaching methods, hence they have very competitive lists for these top courses listed. For some other courses, the ATARs are much more accessible and so courses in the late 50s and early 60s give access to courses in Business, Arts and Social Sciences. Law at ACU is a much more accessible option with ATARs in the 70s and 80s. It is not reflective of their students’ ability or educational standards, but simply an indication of demand compared to the number of places on the courses.
Notices
This is a topic that is playing out a lot recently – especially as our workforce is under much more pressure in Covid times. It also can be an area that some students really struggle with, as they feel that TAFE or a vocational education plan is a Plan B or a 2nd best option. I want to reassure students that this is not the case. Some students are much better suited to TAFE learning as it is hands on, practical and skills based, rather than theoretical, lecture based and non-skill based. For all parents who are wanting the ‘best for their children’ sometimes this can be the TAFE path. Please read more here on the debate and here for courses.
Other useful links
Metro Trains Virtual Industry Tour
Autohaus Hamilton Virtual Tour
Applying to University free booklet (Password EMS0219 for account set up).