Transcript: How to get into UTS

00:00:10 – Let’s get started so once again good afternoon, everyone and welcome to UTS Open Day! Hopefully you’re enjoying the webinars and information that you’re participating in and getting a lot of information that is useful for showing you what’s available at UTS.

OK so for this webinar I will be talking about how to get into UTS and taking you through a guide to apply for UTS for undergraduate study. So firstly, how do I apply to study at UTS? So, we’ve been getting a number of questions such as how do I apply, where do I apply, what options are available. So, letting you know that we do have two options available for undergraduate students, the first one which is launched for the first time this year is the UTS Early Entry Portal which is for current school leavers completing the HSC or IB in 2021. We also have a separate info session which was available this morning and a web page on the early entry program. So, we’ll be focusing on the application process by the University Admissions Center which is also known as UAC. So, regarding the university’s admission centre, it is an application based on your previous studies. It is open to all applicants and includes consideration of all merit and equity-based admission schemes at UTS. You would need to submit by the 30th of September for UAC’s early-bird discount which we definitely encourage you to do so that gives you a little over a month.

So I’ll be focusing mainly on applying for UAC given we have a whole separate webinar that I’ve just mentioned on the UTS early entry. So for applying to UAC, first things first what you need to know is what our preferences are. So, when you submit an application for UAC you need to put in your preferences which are the choices for the course is that you would like to study at UTS. They are ranked in order from the most preferred course that you have, which is your first preference, to your fifth preference.

Just remember that you have five preferences to choose from at any one time. At any point in time, you can change preferences for the courses that you want to be considered for, simply if you change your mind. Just before every offer round, change of preferences will close for a short period until the offer round is complete and the offer is released for that offer round. Ensure that you check the UAC dates for any important dates. Just a note as well that you don’t need to actually list all five preferences, but you must choose at least one in order to submit your application for UAC. Just a tip as well if you are interested in a particular UTS course, we do recommend that you list it as your first preference to be considered for an offer. In the case that you are not eligible for that for first preference, UAC will then look at your remaining preferences from preference 2 to 5.

Applying for uni, what type of applicant are you and how your application was common. So one type of applicant is a recent school label so this is if you are completing your Year 12 HSC or UB 2021 and you are applying to start university directly after your studies or it might also be if you finished high school in the two years prior to intake so that would be if you completed year 12 last year in 2020 and you have started no further studies within higher education so essentially you took a gap year. If this is you, you will be considered for admission based on your selection rank. Your selection rank is a combination of your ATAR or IB score or equivalent plus any adjustment points that you may be eligible for through the admission schemes that we offer.

If you’re not a recent school level would be a non-recent school leaver, so if that is anyone else who isn’t a recent school leaver which I’ve noted above you may also have commenced studies in higher education or completed the HSC or equivalent three years prior to intake so that would be if you completed your HSC in 2019 2018 this is you. You will be considered for admission based on any assessable qualification that you hold for the course that you want to apply for at UTS. Just a note that you if you do have multiple qualifications so let’s say if you completed your HSC and you’ve also commenced studies in an institution then we will be considering your best rank out of all those qualifications that you’ve commenced or completed.

Another question that we do get quite a lot is how do I know if I’m likely to receive an offer. So if you are a recent school leaver and you like to know how likely you want to receive an offer you can always check the UTS website for a minimum selection ranks that were required to receive an offer in the previous autumn intake. So if you look at the UTS website it’s on the UTS course listing page as well as on the individual course pages on the study section. Just please note though this is only an indication as selection ranks and requirements can vary from year to year depending on demand from the previous year. This is an example of a screenshot of our individual course page where you can find the lowest selection rank from recent school leavers in 2021.

So another question that we do take quite a lot is when will I get an offer, so noting that yes we have three intakes the main one is in autumn which commences in either February or March depending on their intake here. Spring which connects in July or August and summer. For current school leaders most of our offers for autumn and made it in December Round 2 which is the first offer round after ATAR release. Please note that due to the recent, more recent updates in the that changes for the HSC please check the UTS and UAC website for updates on when those first offers for current school leaders will be made.  If you are non- current school leaver, meaning you didn’t complete or you’re not completing the HSC this year, it you may receive an offer in earlier rounds which will commence from October round two as you likely already have a qualification that we can assess your application on.

If you are eligible for an offer you will receive an email from UAC so please check the correspondence tab within your UAC account if you are not made an offer you will still be considered for all future offers provided you are an eligible and that there are vacancies. In order to be considered you will still need to have UTS listed as one of your preferences. Just remember again that you can always change your preferences including after an offer round to be considered for other courses in future round. So for admission schemes UTS has a range of schemes to help you boost your chances of being made an offer into UTS. We understand that there is sudden circumstances that should be taken into consideration when applying and we recognize that your these would include your academic performance in specific HSC subjects, your interest in certain study areas, and your experiences of educational disadvantage and also your identity as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

I’m just going to talk about very briefly, the direct schemes and the direct early entry schemes that we have launched this year. So again we have the early entry program which is direct to UTS. It is designed for high achieving school students and it allows the current school leaders to secure a place at UTS using your academic achievements. We also have concurrent to that the UTS Engineering and IT Early Entry Program which is called Edge. The Edge Program allows students interested in studying engineering or IT to be assessed on year 11 results plus edge points. Edge points are composed of the edge portfolio, Year 11 grades in relevant stem subjects and the Woman in engineering and IT initiative. So please check the website for more information on these two schemes because they are direct to UTS. The majority of our admission schemes are taken into consideration through UAC in which will be considered for your adjustment factors that contribute to your selection rank. So, for the year 12 subject scheme if you are a recent school lead by you may be eligible for this scheme. It awards points towards your selection rank based on your performance and selected high school subjects that are relevant to the course that you apply for. If eligible you may be awarded a maximum of five adjustment points you don’t actually need to apply for this or except for your UAC application and adjustments are applied automatically if you’re an eligible. If you have completed your completing your HSC or you 12 Interstate you can also check the UAC website for a list of equivalent subjects and grades that qualify for subject adjustments.

Next up we have the Year 12 Engineering and IT portfolio so this is applicable if you apply through either UAC or the early entry edge plus an additional UTS application. So, this is only for recent school leavers what you need to do is you need to submit your portfolio directly to UTS and it will be considered in both your UAC and Early Entry and if eligible you’ll receive adjustment points or edge points which will contribute towards your application. Just note the following closing dates so far early entry edge your portfolio must be submitted by Sunday the 12th of September at 11:59 for you at portfolios must be submitted by Friday the 26th of November 1159 to be considered for the first round for current school leaders and what’s that we’ve got.

Next up we’ve got the elite athletes and performers so this requires you to submit a new application in addition to a UTS application for elite athletes and performers. So, this is for both recent and non-recent school leavers if your studies have been impacted because you participated as an elite athlete or performer for your school at a State and national level you may be eligible for five adjustment points. These points will be added to the qualification that was impacted by your participation. Just a note that in your submission, you will likely need to submit statements from your school or coach or someone who can verify your participation. To be considered for this scheme, you submit an EAP application to UTS via the website by the 30th of November.

Next up we have the business cadetship which is available for both recent and non-recent school leavers. It’s for students who are applying for one of the following courses, so it’s either Bachelor of Management or Bachelor of Economics. To be eligible you have you must never save the minimum of one year paid cadetship and you also must matriculate. In order to apply, you must apply by the UTS website along with your cadetship letter and you also need to apply through UAC.

Next up we have the science aptitude test so again you also need to apply for UAC and put in a separate UTS application. So all applicants are eligible to register so that’s whether you are a recent or a non-recent school leaver. So it’s mainly for students who are interested in studying a science course to UTS you can set an optional aptitude assessment if you feel that your results from Year 12 or other studies may not be sufficient for you to receive an offer. A note though that this does exclude entry to advance science, honors or combined courses. Please check the website for upcoming dates and that you can only take the test once for calendar year.

Next up we also want to note that we do take work experience into consideration so this is again for this again for recent and non-recent school leavers as well and you will need to apply through UAC and you may be eligible for up to five adjustment points if your work experience relates to the course that you apply for at UTS.  So all you need to do is simply complete an employment question in your application so your work experience can be considered this will be for select courses in business and engineering and IT science and criminology.

Then we also have the design and architecture portfolio scheme which is only available for non-current school leavers so as I have noted here it is for any applicant who is currently not completing the Year 12 in 2021. If you apply for a design or architecture course at UTS you can submit this optional portfolio it is not mandatory if selected and shortlisted you’ll be invited to attend an interview and if successful at the interview you’ll be made a noncompetitive offer. So please check our UTS website for application dates. It is likely that we will be opening up towards the end of October or November. Just noting, if you don’t submit a portfolio or get shortlisted for an interview you’ll still be considered for an offer based on your academic qualifications that you put in through UAC.

Next up we have the Women in engineering IT and construction project management scheme. So this is for again all non-recent and recent school leavers and it’s for any applicant who identifies as a female in their UAC application. So, if you’re applying to any course in engineering, IT or construction project management points you will be eligible for 10 adjustment points which are applied automatically. Just a note though if you’re an eligible for multiple adjustment points that there is a cap for the faculty of engineering and IT and design and architecture which have a cap of 10 and 13.

OK so on to our equity based schemes, we’ve got the Educational Access Scheme which is called input. So this is four, at UTS, input, we acknowledge that there are difficult times and long term disadvantage which can impact your studies and your ability to achieve the ATAR you need for the course you want. So if you apply and make the eligibility criteria for inputs you will be awarded 10 adjustment points towards your selection rank. Some examples of disadvantages can include school environment disadvantage term environment disadvantage personal disadvantage also socio- economic disadvantage. Just a note as well that it is 10 points as a blanket. 10 points and it is not awarded on a sliding scale. You may need to also submit supporting statements from yourself your school or a medical professional to be considered for eligibility. Please ensure that you submit your application via UAC by the 28th of November to be considered for the December round two just noting as well that the first current school leader offer with round still waiting on confirmation but so please check UAC for updates and deadlines.

Next we’ve got the schools recommendation scheme which you need to apply through via UAC only. So this is only open for current school leavers and it’s aimed at helping Year 12 students gain entry into university when you’re ATAR alone may not be sufficient. So in order to be considered for the schools recommendation scheme you need to submit your application by the 19th of September. For the Schools Recommendation Scheme we do have two streams, we have the equity stream which focuses on supporting students who have the potential to succeed at university but you may not have received an offer based on your ATAR alone. In order to be eligible for the equity stream you must also be eligible for inputs.

The other stream that we have is the 2021 access stream which focuses on supporting students as well who were who may not have been able to show their best potential due to the disruption in studies caused by COVID-19. So through the access stream UTS will take into consideration both your year 11 studies as well as your selection rank which is your Year 12 ATAR plus any adjustment points you are eligible for.

So the last of the admissions teams we have at UTS is for both recent and non-recent school leaders. So this is the Jumbunna Direct Entry Program and you apply direct to UTS. So this is if your studies work info sorry there is an issue with this one it didn’t update but anyway so with this one that we do have a number of different pathways I’ll have to update this slide but you apply directly to UTS and it is for student applicants who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders and then it allows you for direct entry into any of the undergraduate courses at UTS.

Next up we’ve got out admissions pathways so these pathways are alternative ways to be considered for entry into a course using criteria other than ATAR and are that is the most common question that we do get as well it is what if you don’t get an offer to UTS. So we do have a number of pathways and I’ve split them through into UTS pathways as well as external pathways so if you weren’t eligible for an offer one of the things that you could do is complete one year full time study at and consider another UTS course then we apply to UAC to your preferred course after you’ve completed that year of studies. Just to note though that some UTC courses may consider one year less than one-year studies so see the UTS website on which courses would take that into consideration. Another option is UTS College which is our pathway provider that offers diplomas in various disciplines. All you need to do is complete a college which can then lead to a guaranteed offer provided that you make the minimum GPA requirements. If you complete a diploma at UTS college will also be required be eligible for recognition of prior learning for most of all of your first year subjects.

We also have to Jumbunna uni start program which is a 12 month program for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students. You will study at the Jumbunna Institute for indigenous education and research and once had completed the program will progress into your chosen UTS degree and receive recognition of prior learning for subjects completed.

But those are the UTS pathways that we have.

In terms of external pathways similar to what was mentioned in the previous slide again you can complete one year full time studies at another institution as well then reapply via UAC to your preferred UTS course. We also have TAFE and private college studies which you can do and they may give you a higher selection rank which will then make your application more competitive. What we do recommend though is that you do choose a graded diploma not a competency based diploma to better your chances of getting an offer.

We also have the STAT test which is an alternative pathway to a number of different courses at UTS. Please note that the STAT test is not a pathway for all courses so check our website again. The last one is limited ATAR, so it’s for all undergraduate courses except scholarship and accelerated nursing courses so note that you have to be at least 20 years of age in the year that you complete your HSC to be legible for entry based on the limited data.

Now we’ve come to the end of the presentation hopefully that answers some of your questions.