ARW Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 Hi please help with advice. We've decided to wait until my son finishes his matric year this year before we make our move to Oz. As a permanent resident we are looking forward to him starting university in Oz but my worry is about the time line being very tight in terms of his adjustment. Will there be delays in terms of his school qualification being accepted since he didn't school in Oz, is it still possible that he will be able to start his studies in the New year or are we likely to lose the year? Also we havent yet decided where to live so I haven't yet decided on universities yet... too much happening in too short a time period. Any advice on best universities? I'm leaning toward Melbourne, for university and work so that the family stays together. As PR what kind of fees can we expect to pay for tertiary education? Thanks all 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Settled Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 (edited) Hi There We did the same: My daughter flew to Oz after getting her official results certified by the principal. (9 Jan) I had already done the applications. In Oz, you basically short list your preferred study and uni, so for example you choose 1. BA at UNSW 2. BA Educ at UNSW 3. BA Griffith etc etc Then once your SA results are received at UAC( Univercity Application Centre) they convert to ATAR (diff states have slightly diff names) And then you get a reply back from them saying you've been offered x (one of the options you listed depending on your ATAR score). There is a huge big book each year, I got from a local highschool listing the required ATAR for every course at every uni. SO basically, it is a lot easier to get into a rural uni for a course than in the big cities - the ATAR is usually lower in rural areas. So you need to register with UAC this year and fill in all this stuff online. However, that book would help a lot. Maybe you can find it online. And yes, you can start the first semester in Feb. If you had citizenship, he'd qualify for HECS which is a interest free loan. on PR, you pay, but it's not the international rates, it's the regular fees. And it is per subject, so depends hugely. A few years, back, a BA was about $6000 per 6months, I think engineering is almost double that. I think the science maths subjects cost a lot more than the arts subjects. But you can check on the uni's websites. we put her in Res type accommodation, thinking it would help with making friends, but actually, It was $$$ and actually, if you're in a city, go to one of the uni in your area. there is always public transport, / own transport and getting a part time job makes it easier to have some spending money and make friends. If you want any other info, feel free to PM me, - this was all beginning of 2012, so might be slightly outdated. J Edited January 18, 2017 by Settled 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riekie Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 On PR your son will qualify for a commonwealth supported place (basically government subsidised, in other words lower fees than for international students) however he would not qualify for HECS and will need to pay the full fees upfront. More about commonwealth supported places here: http://studyassist.gov.au/sites/studyassist/helppayingmyfees/csps/pages/commonwealth-supported-places More about HECS here: http://studyassist.gov.au/sites/studyassist/helppayingmyfees/hecs-help/pages/hecs-help-welcome Some universities will not accept the South African matric without doing a 1 year bridging course first. University enrollments usually close around August to October the year prior to study and they only allow a specific number of students per course. Best would be to check several uni websites for their courses and fee schedules and then contact them for info on enrollment. This is UAC's website - very important: http://www.uac.edu.au/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonny Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 (edited) Hi ARW This might all sound like Greek to you, there are so many abbreviations and each State uses a different system, so it is different. Here in QLD we have an OP score in year 12 (but this is being phased out) and you have to apply to Uni (it's not called varsity) through QTAC...;) I just wanted to say we had the same situation with my husband's son (our eldest) who finished Matric in SA then moved to stay with us in Brisbane. We could not get him into Uni in time for a Feb start, because his Matric certificate only arrived in the January. So he became part of the mid-year (June) intake. It was a bit stressfull because his subjects didn't line up perfectly after that, for eg. he needed to start various units which then weren't offered in 2nd semester. But it was do-able. After 6 months he changed his degree anyway and used a couple of units as credits in the new course. He did get quite depressed in that first 6 months, playing games online with his SA friends for most of the night and then sleeping all day. They need to spend that time sorting out their drivers' licenses and getting a part-time job! Edited April 10, 2017 by Bonny Grammar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lien Posted May 12, 2017 Report Share Posted May 12, 2017 Fees depends on what he want to study and if he is going to Uni, TAFE or RTO. There is a lot of pathways for kids to achieve their ultimate goal. I am in the tertiary education industry and can share my thoughts if you want. If you can let me know what he want to study I will try and advice. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARW Posted July 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 Hi lien thanks for your offer of assistance. He wants to study electrical engineering and we're planning to settle in Melbourne, so uni around those parts would be the ideal. Even with PR we are expecting a huge bill on uni fees so it's important we get a good feel for the costs beforehand. He attends a very good private school here in RSA and he's a bright boy, but still I've no idea how he will assessed in terms of the atar scoring and what exactly is required for successful uni entry.... Your insight would be appreciated. Tx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 HI @ARW We're in the same boat with my daughter finishing matric this year and hopefully starting uni in Melbourne next year. I have done a lot of research and plan to share on a new topic when I get a chance. In short, for Victoria, you register on http://www.vtac.edu.au/ Applications open in August and you need to select a few options. Selection is then made in mid January (sure IEB results will be out by then). Currently on PR you still qualify for CSP fees which are the same as domestic fees. The Aus government have said they are changing this so that PRs will have to pay international fees. Believe we could apply for a government study loan (HECS or HELP). Big difference in fees. Feel free to pm me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimpleSimon Posted July 21, 2017 Report Share Posted July 21, 2017 Hi @ARW, How has your research into Uni studies worked out? I have a son in 1st year doing IT and a daughter who has started a postgraduate MBA. Both are taking the HECS loan, which they then have to pay back as a portion of their salary as they get a job. In my day we went to Varsity after school otherwise straight into the army. The pressure was on and my guess is we put this same pressure on our kids now. We did standardised courses with little flexibility and less than a 1/3 of starters got through. The attitude is different in Australia. Nearly half the workforce has a Uni degrees so it is a requirement to get a reasonable job. However, there are many pathways to getting the qualifications: Bridging courses, full-time, part-time, online etc ect. Kids often take a gap year after school to work out what they really want to do. Australia is a highly competitive society and that includes getting into Uni places. Most Australian universities are rated in the top 100 in the world. The ATAR (threshold) for my son's course was 93. The calculation is very complex but meant that he had to get a distinction in each subject he did for HSC (matric). For my daughter, she went through a comprehensive selection process including interviews. There are conversion courses. I teach on one which is for student with an undergrad degree who want to become pharmacists. My advice to all emigrants is to relax, enjoy the adventure and don't put too much pressure on yourselves and your kids to succeed the minute you get off the plane. You have a long long time to get established. If your son takes off a year and works in retail and then goes to Uni, it will probably do him the world of good and he will be more focussed when he starts studying 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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