What Kind Of Pathways Can I Take to Enter University?

There are heaps of options for you to choose from.

So, you’ve been floating the idea of going to university for a while now. You know what you want to study and you’ve picked your favourite uni but you’re just not 100 per cent sure on how to get there.

Luckily, Australian universities offer prospective students a plethora of varied entry pathways, whether you’re just finishing up high school, are in the middle of a TAFE certificate, or even if you’ve been working for the last few years.

While it’s great that there are so many options, it can get a little confusing figuring out which pathways best suit you, so let’s break them down.

Highschool entry

One of the most common ways young people enter an undergraduate degree is through the completion of their high school certificate and a rank that they receive if they studied uni entrance classes.

Students who completed university entrance classes and sat their relevant exams during high school will receive an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, or ATAR score, which will determine the position of an individual student in relation to the student body for that year across their state.

The ATAR score is calculated by adding up a student’s results from four of their highest achieving university entrance subjects assignments and final exams.

Year 11 and 12 students must choose six subjects to complete over both years of study to receive their high school certificate. Students wanting to achieve an ATAR score must choose a minimum of four or a maximum of six university entrance subjects to receive the rank.

Most universities will accept students into most courses with an ATAR score of 70 or higher, with some exceptions where higher scores are needed for difficult courses like medicine. While 70 seems like a pretty high bar to meet, some universities set 50 or 55 as their base level ATAR score, so even if you struggled in high school or had a bad day during your exam, there are universities that will give you options.

Once students have received an ATAR score they can apply to their university of choice through their local tertiary admissions centres:

• ACT/NSW: Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) (uac.edu.au)
• NT: South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre (SATAC) (satac.edu.au)
• QLD: Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) (qtac.edu.au)
• SA: South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre (SATAC) (satac.edu.au)
• TAS: University of Tasmania (utas.edu.au)
• WA: Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) (tisc.edu.au)

Students hoping to attend a private university must instead apply directly to that education provider.

Bridging courses

If you didn’t choose ATAR subjects in Years 11 and 12 and haven’t completed a previous qualification you can instead get into your ideal university degree through a bridging or foundation course.

Bridging and foundation courses are usually short programs run by your university to prepare students in the higher education sector.

These courses generally assist students in gaining assumed knowledge for specialist areas like science, maths or a key component of the degree that they want to enter into; it's essentially 'bridging the gap' between your knowledge and course.

Foundation courses work like enabling programs that usually take a full year to complete. These programs are designed to assist students in gaining any prerequisites or entry requirements that they previously have unfulfilled to enter their preferred course.

Both bridging and foundation courses are usually offered online and on campus if you’re looking for some flexibility in your studies.

VET studies

Similar to foundation courses, you can enter your preferred university degree by studying a lower-level course with fewer entry requirements like a TAFE certificate or an advanced diploma.

Many VET programs articulate into bachelor degrees, which means you can use a TAFE certificate as a stepping stone into uni if you don’t meet your bachelor degree’s entry requirements.

Many Australian high schools encourage their students to take up a VET course during their senior school studies, so if you still haven’t graduated yet and are wanting to go to uni but the ATAR pathway just isn’t for you, you can always start with a certificate.

Online pathway programs

If you work best when studying from home, you can always take up an online pathway program from your university. These work very similar to VET-to-uni pathways or foundation courses in that they are designed to give the student assumed knowledge and meet pre-requisites before they enter university.

Foundation diplomas are courses you can do online without needing a high ATAR score. Although, to enter courses like these you may need to do well on academic diagnostic tests.

Tertiary preparation programs are often free or low-cost courses to help students develop and demonstrate their academic abilities; kind of like bridging courses, but solely online.

Recognition of prior learning

If the idea of studying beforehand just so you can go study some more sounds awful, depending on your background you may be eligible to enter a bachelor’s degree with a recognition of prior learning.

This generally consists of students gathering all of their experience of both formal and informal education as well as any relevant experience.

This is a great option if you’ve previously studied or want to apply as a mature aged student.

You can also get credits of prior learning for some units, if you have the background, to shorten the length of your degree.

Portfolio entry

Portfolio entry is a great way for students to apply for university if they have prior experience in their preferred field but not so much education.

This option is for school-leaver and non-school leaver students who don’t meet standard admission requirements. Students who can demonstrate aptitude, commitment, motivation and give evidence of experience in their preferred university degree can choose this pathway.

This is also a great option for mature aged students.

Regardless of when you want to study or how you want to get there, there will always be an option available to you at any stage in life. All you have to do is start.

Header Image: Prostock-Studio via Getty Images.