More and more students think there's a better way than ATAR to get into uni

ABC NEWS (Australia)

As thousands of high school students across Australia anxiously await ATAR results, many first-year university applicants are finding other ways into their course of choice.

Transcript

00:00As thousands of students across Australia anxiously await ATAR results, many don't

00:07realise there are multiple pathways to university. EC Gildersleeve-Morris knew early into Year

00:1311, ATAR wasn't right for her.

00:16Everyone expected that you did an ATAR to get into uni and then people started talking

00:20and it's like, oh no, people like did, there's several other options.

00:24The 20-year-old is studying graphic design at Curtin University, but she didn't get in

00:28the traditional way, taking a uni-ready program in high school.

00:32It might be too hard, but I think that's a bit too narrow-minded to just say ATAR is

00:38the way you should go.

00:40There's also bridging courses and mature age entry. The chances of getting into university

00:44don't stop at a high school exam. In 2023, just 58% of people relied solely on their

00:50ATAR score for entry.

00:52The ATAR alone perhaps is not as transparent as a form of entry as what it once was.

01:00Some high schools are evolving with student study behaviour, but the WA Government is

01:04pushing high school students to take harder subjects, following an expert panel's report

01:09into improving secondary education.

01:11If you have the capacity and ability to do ATAR, you should be challenging yourself to

01:16do ATAR because it's the best preparation for university. You need preparation courses,

01:21and whether they do prepare students for university, it's hard to actually know.

01:25Australia is quite good in having second chances, so if you don't do well at school, it's not

01:30like that's it, your life's over, you're not going to get to the career you want to do.

01:34There are other chances.

01:35Mr Fillmore said students don't just opt out of ATAR because it's too hard. Some schools

01:40don't offer all the ATAR subjects. The Government is reviewing the panel's recommendations before

01:46implementing change.

01:51For more information visit www.fema.gov.au

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