Undergraduate Admission Process for Australian Students

Bachelor degree studies (as well adverted to as undergraduate studies) lead to the award of a bachelor degree (after 3 or 4 years of study) or a bachelor with honours (4 years). The bachelor degree is the base university qualification.

There are two types of undergraduate qualifications offered by most higher education institutions are as follows:

• Bachelor degree: Bachelor degrees provide initial preparation for professional careers and postgraduate study and involve a minimum of three years of full-time study. Entry typically requires completion of an Australian secondary school certificate of education (Year 12) or the overseas equivalent, or a diploma or advanced diploma from the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector.
  
  
• Bachelor degree (honours): Honours may require an optional additional year of study (usually research based) following a three-year degree or may be awarded for academic achievement in degrees of four or more years.
  

Entrance/Test Requirements

Entry into Undergraduate Degree Course of Studies in Australia is highly competitive. The most important prerequisite is English language proficiency. At all Australian universities, English is the language of instruction. An applicant has to provide evidence of proficiency in the English language.

Other requirements

Applicants also require an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of at least 70 (80 for engineering and other select courses). The ATAR required for each course changes from year to year, depending on demand.
STAT: STAT is a series of tests designed to assess a range of competencies considered important for success in tertiary study. It assesses the ability to think critically and analyze the material given, rather than testing your knowledge of specific academic subjects.

Each Education provider will have different entrance requirements such as prior knowledge in certain subject, work or volunteer experience, portfolio, Official academic transcripts, test or interview.  Pre-requisite subjects differ from course to course, e.g., a Bachelor of Commerce might require Mathematics, and a Bachelor of Engineering might require Advanced Mathematics as well as Calculus, Physics and Chemistry while a Bachelor of Arts degree might have no pre-requisites. A course, in art and design, expects students to submit portfolios of their work with their applications.

Duration

The duration of Undergraduate degree program is generally three or four years' full-time study or part-time equivalent.

Academic Calendar

Starting dates vary widely depending upon the course undertaken. Undergraduate degree programs generally run from late February to mid-November. The academic year is divided into two semesters, although some Universities operate on trimester system or offer summer schools from December to February.  Applicants should enroll for their area of study at the beginning of the year i.e., January or February and the application dates are towards the end of the previous year. Also, some institutions have a mid-year intake i.e., in month of July for certain specific courses.

Admission Procedure

The admission process involves following steps:

• Application Forms
  - Requesting Application Forms via email: You can request application forms from the universities website. Most universities have a form on their website which can be completed online to request application material.
  - University Representatives and Agents: The other way is to take forms directly from the university representatives or agents based in your city. Most Australian universities and colleges have agents all over the world.
  - Downloading from the university website: Many universities have a downloadable and ready to print versions of their application forms on the internet. These can be used for applying just as regular forms.
  

In the form, fill the following sections and submit:
Personal Details
Academic History
Supplement Information
Course chosen

• Supporting Documents
  

  Submit Supporting documents such as transcripts from all high school coursework, test scores of IELTS/TOEFL, and Reference/Personal Statement.

• Letter of Offer

  If the application is successful, the applicant will receive “Letter of Offer”. To confirm the offer you must reply to this letter by signing and sending an acceptance of offer back to the institution either by email or post. Subsequently you have accepted your Offer and paid your deposit you will receive an ‘Electronic Confirmation of Enrolment’ (eCoE) by email.
  

Financial Aid

Each University has different sums that a student can borrow for long term loans. Long term financial aid loans are for the following uses:

• Class costs
• Living costs
• Other school related costs
  

Applicants for Financial aid are looked at by a University Student Loans fund committee. The University Fund committee looks at a student personal income and well as his or her parent’s income. Many universities also require the student to submit their expenditure for the upcoming school year. Academic results and school progress will also be a factor that the Student Fund Committee will tally to their criteria for obtaining a student loan.

It is important for prospective students to be well devised with their financial budgeting and future prospect.
Guarantors: Australian Universities require all students to provide a guarantor. Guarantors can be: Parents, Related Relatives and Personal Friends.

Guarantors will need to provide the following information:

• Proof of the Guarantor's income
• Home ownership and/or car ownership
• Other assets
• Repayment details
  

Students that are Permanent residents and/or Citizens of Australia:

Repayments are required when the student completes or decides to withdraw from their school classes. When a loan is granted to a student, a repayment plan is put into place and includes a repayment start date and the anticipated monthly payments along the long term loan.

The significant thing about financial assistance from Australian Universities is that Loans granted to students are interest-free up to the agreed upon repayment date. Interest is charged to a student total amount of an overdue payment.

How to Apply for Financial aid

Every University has their own way to apply for financial aid. Contact the prospective University by phone for more information or go the Universities website and locate financial aid and/or loan information sections.