OzBargain ATAR + University Advice

LBetterBeOnSale on 12/12/2024 - 09:59
Last edited 12/12/2024 - 20:09 by 1 other user

Hello everyone, I woke up this morning to check my ATAR this morning and it's not exactly what I was hoping for.

I was just wondering if anybody here had any insights or experiences they'd like to share about completing university undergraduate courses without a guaranteed post-graduate pathway? Eg. Subjects, WAM, GPA, MMIs?

I would also love to hear if anyone has any personal stories or recommendations to career pathways you have felt to be especially fulfilling? This is probably my main concern because I feel I don't have any specific direction with my studies. Though I have had thoughts about working in the health sector as a PT/OT.

Sorry for the vagueness of the whole post but if any of my questions need clarifications I'm more than happy to reply in the comments.

And I know this a bit of an odd forum to be asking something like this but I'm really lost at the moment and would appreciate some advice.

Thanks.

D

Edit: Thank you for everyone's advice. I think this morning I was a bit all over the place but after reading everyone's messages (and touching some grass) I'm feeling a lot better. If I remember I'll make sure to update where I'm at in a year. Thanks again.

Education & Work

Comments

      • Zoroaster on 15/12/2024 - 10:22

        What's cooked is thinking this isn't going to happen soon; An automated workforce in a capitalist society where our wages have been undercut by an artificial labour shortage for the last 50 years. What do you want me to tell people like you? Maybe you have a long mortgage. There's lots of people that do. Hopefully you guys figure things out sooner rather than later. I'm done and dusted.

  • xiJINPINGaz on 15/12/2024 - 04:32
    -1

    I was friends with a guy who played casino poker ages 18-25, left the poker grind around 2016, applied to a uni in Sydney for some lower ATAR social science degree, grinded it hard for a year to get good marks, made and got an offer for medicine at a regional NSW uni on that foundation, now a GP.

    TAFE for 1-2 years when you can get a good deal on credit transfer to UNI is a great option. Seeing the TAFE and UNI teaching styles in your education is a plus IMO.

    I (profanity) up my first attempt at uni and now back studying Software Engineering, mid 30's.

  • Talsek on 15/12/2024 - 13:54

    You sounds pretty unsure about your career choice. It's always an option to just start a degree and see where it takes you but HECS isn't free.

    I suggest you try out different jobs, even unpaid internships to see what you enjoy. Impressions can be very different from the day to day of a job

    As someone who studied OT for a year, Id caution that unless you're ready to "settle down" into something safe and flexible doing it as your first choice might not be wise.

    We had an very large number of students drop out and my general impression of the field was that it's filled of older people/career changers/women who wanted a stress free job whilst raising a family. There were (at least in my course) very very few people, looking at "exciting" stuff such as research, assistive devices..etc

    If you do well academically/in your career, it's very possible to do a 2 year Master of OT later on.

  • Muppet Detector on 20/01/2025 - 14:05

    I've always wondered why somebody would voluntarily become a proctologist.

  • bk1973 on 18/02/2025 - 14:25

    It's a bit late, but I'll add this to help the OP out. Let's just say, I'm very very familiar with universities in Australia. Won't go into further details about myself.

    The whole guaranteed PG pathway is a gimmick designed to lure in high quality students that would almost certainly get into those PG courses anyways and just make them feel less anxiety about the future. I can't say this about all courses, but for non-MD or non-JD courses, I believe this is the case. I know it's absolutely the case for the field I am in.

    If you've gotten in the mid-90s for your ATAR, and you continue to work hard, you'll be fine. When I say work hard, I am also referring to attending all your classes, working no more than 10 hours per week if you're taking a full subject load, and not overcommitting to extracurriculars that will hurt your marks. Yes, you can do stuff outside of being a student, but when you do things that also cause stress, fatigue and anxiety (jobs, difficult relationships, poor living conditions, etc.), these things make it hard to be a good student.

    Students with mid-90s ATARs that work hard generally do very well, especially if they are not at the more competitive unis like UniMelb or Monash. Do not let the non-guaranteed pathway be an issue.

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