Lots of people say that there are other ways to get into uni. But they don’t usually follow this statement up with what these pathways actually are.
So we’re going to do that now.
First: What do you need to get in to university?
When you apply for university, QTAC (and most other TACs) will look at two things:
Are you ELIGIBLE for a place in the course?
That is, do you meet the basic entry requirements for the course? This is the first thing QTAC will check. And this usually involves checking that you’ve met the minimum age requirement, subject prerequisites, and minimum ATAR/selection rank. If you don’t meet all of these basic requirements for a course, you can’t be offered a place, even if you have an ATAR of 99.95.
Are you COMPETITIVE for a place in the course?
That is, how do you compare with other applicants for the same course? After QTAC have checked and confirmed that you meet the basic entry requirements for a course, they will compare you with other applicants.
What they use to compare you depends on the type of course you apply for. Most courses use ATAR or selection rank to rank applicants in “descending order of merit”. But some courses use other things as well as, or instead of, ATAR/selection rank. For example, some creative and fine arts courses use only audition, interview or port folio data to compare applicants and select the best. Other courses, like medicine and dentistry, will often use ATAR/selection rank plus some other data, like UCAT, written application or performance at interview.
Now that you know that you need to do two things to get into uni – meet the basic requirements for a course and be competitive when compared to other applicants – let’s look at the different pathways you could take.
Main pathways to university
- Completing a VET qualification
- Completing a tertiary preparation program
- Sitting the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT)
- Taking a tertiary upgrading pathway
1. Completing a VET qualification
Going to TAFE to get a Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification is one of the most common pathways to university in Queensland.
Most Queensland universities will assign a “selection rank” to completed AQF VET qualifications. A selection rank is like an ATAR and can be used to compare you with other students who are competing with you for a place in a university course.
Different universities accept different levels of VET qualifications. For example, QUT will only accept Certificate IV courses and higher, but Griffith accept Certificate III courses and higher.
And the higher the level of VET qualification you complete, the higher the selection rank you should be considered to have. Here is a handy table that shows the approximate selection rank assigned by Queensland universities to different completed AQF VET qualifications.
| Qualification level | Selection rank |
| Certificate III | 68 |
| Certificate IV | 72 |
| Diploma | 82 (most unis) or 87 (Griffith & QUT) |
| Advanced Diploma | 91 |
As you can see, completing a diploma or advanced diploma can give you a very competitive selection rank. You can also boost this rank up by sitting STAT, so read more about this below. So as long as you meet the other entry requirements for the courses you’re interested in (like the subject prerequisites), you could use a VET qualification to make you competitive for quite a lot of courses.
Credit for VET study
You might also find that completing a VET course could make your university degree shorter. Some VET qualifications (usually diplomas or advanced diplomas) can be credited towards a related degree at university. For example, TAFE Queensland offer a lot of Diploma>Degree pathways that they explain in their Pathways to University Guide. This guide shows the different universities that give credit to students who have studied TQ VET courses, and approximately how much credit these students get for their VET studies. Even if you plan to do a diploma>degree pathway that is not listed in this guide, you could still get some credit for your VET studies. Applying for credit once you’re accepted to university is easy and free, so I always recommend doing it to see if you can reduce the length and cost of your degree.
The VET qualification pathway could be for you if:
- You don’t have already have an ATAR/selection rank, or your ATAR/selection rank is below 65
- You don’t need to meet many/any subject prerequisites (NB: many Queensland universities consider a completed diploma as equivalent to Year 12 General English, but you won’t be able to do maths or science bridging studies in a standard VET course)
- You don’t need a super high selection rank/ATAR for the university courses you’re interested in
2. Completing a tertiary preparation program (aka an enabling program)
Tertiary preparation programs are a bit like doing Year 11 and 12 in six months. These programs don’t cover the same amount of content as Year 11 and 12, but they do allow you to study several subjects that can meet university subject prerequisites and allow you to get a competitive selection rank (similar to an ATAR). Probably the most common tertiary preparation program is the Certificate IV in Adult Tertiary Preparation. ATP is a graded VET qualification, unlike most VET qualifications. You can do ATP at TAFE Queensland and some other RTOs.
Many universities also offer their own tertiary preparation programs that could allow you entry to their degrees. Find out more about university-specific enabling programs here.
If you’re interested in university courses with high ATAR cut offs (e.g. law), it’s good to know that completing a tertiary preparation program plus the STAT (see below), could get you a selection rank as high as 98.95.
The tertiary preparation pathway could be for you if:
- You don’t already have an ATAR or selection rank, or your selection rank/ATAR is below 65
- You need to meet several subject prerequisites, like English and Maths
- You are interested in courses that usually have high ATAR/selection rank cutoffs
3. Completing the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT)
The Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) is an aptitude test that costs about $170 and takes 2 hours. You can’t sit the STAT as a school leaver, but if you’ve done some post-school study or work, the STAT could be a good option for you.
The STAT can be used to either:
- give you a selection rank; OR
- boost the selection rank of your existing VET qualification or employment experience
If you sit the STAT with no work experience or qualifications, you can usually expect a selection rank between 50 and 88, depending on how well you do. If you have some employment experience or a VET qualification, like Certificate IV in ATP, you could get a rank that’s even higher. 99 is possible with the right VET qualification and STAT result. However, it’s good to know that some universities will exclude certain courses from being entered with STAT results. For example, Griffith University exclude their dentistry and medicine programs from entry via STAT.
Find out more about the STAT on the QTAC website and check out the STAT practice questions available here. Contact QTAC to get the most up-to-date info about how STAT can give you a rank or boost your existing rank, and to check it is a good pathway for the course you have in mind.
The STAT pathway could be for you if:
- You are not a school leaver
- You do well in test situations
- You don’t have an ATAR
- You don’t need to study a maths or science prerequisite before you go to uni
- You want to improve the selection rank of your VET qualification or (eligible) enabling program OR you want a quick way to create a selection rank for yourself, if you haven’t done other studies
- The course you want isn’t excluded from entry via STAT
4. Tertiary upgrading pathway
Tertiary upgrading pathways are often not well understood, but they can be a great option for lots of students. Following a tertiary upgrading pathway means studying for 12 months in a university course that isn’t your first preference, then changing across to the university course you want the most.
This pathway could be a good choice for you if you have an ATAR or selection rank that will get you in to university, but that will probably not be higher enough to get you into the course you want the most. It is also possible to use this pathway to meet subject prerequisites for the course you would ultimately like to do. This can be done by choosing a pathway degree that would allow you to study a university unit that is considered equivalent to the subject you didn’t take at school.
Completing one year of bachelor degree level study can lead to a very competitive selection rank. Tertiary upgrading upgrading pathways are very popular for students who would like to move in to highly competitive courses like medicine and dentistry – courses that aren’t usually accessible via any of the other pathways we’ve talked about.
In Queensland, the table below shows the approximate GPA to selection rank conversion, for a student who has complete one year of full-time bachelor-level study:
| GPA | Selection rank |
| 6.99 | 99.90 |
| 6.5 | 99.00 |
| 6 | 98.00 |
| 5.5 | 97.00 |
| 5 | 96.00 |
| 4.5 | 95.00 |
| 4 | 93.00 |
NB: I always suggest aiming for a publicly funded university for both your pathway and final university course. Most Queensland universities are publicly-funded and, as such, offer Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) in their undergraduate programs. CSP means the government subsidise your course costs and make going to university more affordable.
The tertiary upgrading pathway could be for you if:
- You have an ATAR or selection rank that could get you into university
- You are interested in going straight to university, instead of doing a VET course first
- You are interested in improving your selection rank/ATAR
- Maybe you’re interested in very competitive courses, like medicine and dentistry
Hopefully this post has given you some clear ideas about pathways to university. If you have more questions about pathways to university, or want some tailored advice for your situation, talking to a careers counsellor would be a really good idea!
Good luck!
Tom
Graphic by stories