Thinking about early entry into university? Wondering if you should even fill out an application?
对于Maitreyi，it’s a definiteyes!
Find out how thePathfinder Mentoring Programhelped Maitreyi get early entry into her dream course and how you can too!
Meet Maitreyi!
Step #1: Research early entry programs
Step #2: Check your eligibility
Step #3:Narrow your focus for what to include
Step #4:Limit your key achievements/activities listed
Step #5: Draft your application and have it reviewed
Step #6: Apply!
Meet Maitreyi!
- Maitreyi was a 2020 graduate of Riverside Girls High School
- 她是新南威尔士州70多种智能探索者的惊人艺术之一beplay体育官方
- Maitreyi希望将来从事外交，新闻或国际关系工作
- She is currently studying a Bachelor of Media and Communications at Macquarie University which she received early entry into!
- Maitreyi also received a scholarship worth $30k for international students from Macquarie University
- In her spare time, she likes to read and play classical guitar
As aninternational student, Maitreyi was pretty worried about her university options.
Not even sure she would be able to stay in the country, Maitreyiwanted to know what her options were ASAP.
Due to the higher fees for international students, she was also looking for a scholarship!
Through the Pathfinder program, Maitreyi was provided guidance throughout the whole process.
From where to find early entry schemes to how to write an amazing application — there was a Pathfinder intensive to help!
Maitreyi was initially mentored byAmelia Taylor后来Daniel Dummerthroughout the Pathfinder program.
Step #1: Research early entry programs
Nearly every university has an early entry program and scholarships for students regardless of their ATAR,因为他们知道他们的atar并不重要！
No matter what, you should have a look and consider applying to a bunch of these schemes.
Here are some of the more common early entry schemes offered by universities in New South Wales:
| University | Early Entry Scheme | About |
|---|---|---|
| ACU | ACU Guarantee | - Open to all Year 12 students completing the HSC or IB - Uses Year 11 results to predict selection rank and takes some adjustment factors into account - Option of writing up to 3 personal statements to increase chances of an offer |
| ACU | Schools Recommendation Scheme (SRS) | - Available to all students completing Year 12 or their IB -SRS根据您选择申请的课程采用不同的先决条件和标准 - Unconditional and conditional offers are made during the November round - If the offer is unconditional, you are guaranteed a place in that course, regardless of your final HSC score - 如果要约是有条件的，则在达到最低atar和/或完成先决条件或其他标准时就变得无条件 |
| Macquarie University | Macquarie Leaders and Achievers Early Entry Scheme | - Open to all Year 12 students completing the HSC or IB - Scheme assesses your Year 11 academic performance - Requires you to demonstrate up to three examples of your involvement in leadership and service during Year 12 - If successful, you are guaranteed a place at university regardless of your final exam marks |
| Macquarie University | Schools Recommendation Scheme (SRS) | - Open to all Year 12 students completing the HSC or IB - Scheme assesses your Year 11 academic performance and your school’s view of you as a student - Successful application guarantees you a place at the university regardless of your final exam marks |
| University of Sydney | 提议第12年（E12）计划 | - E12 scheme is assessed by UAC through their Educational Access Scheme - Additional scholarship of $5950 - To be eligible, students must be experiencing financial hardship, residing in an area of socio-economic disadvantage and/or attend a rural or regional school |
| University of Wollongong | UOW早期入场 | - Students assessed on four criteria: academic readiness, motivation and passion, communication and collaboration and, planning and persistence - UoW will also look to the marks the student has earned so far in subjects relevant to the desired degree |
| 西悉尼大学 | HSC True Reward Early Offer Program | - Early entry based on HSC results, rather than the scaled ATAR - Operates on research that indicates subject performance as a robust indicator of student success |
| University of Notre Dame | Early Offer Program | - Distributes results within 2-4 weeks of applying, meaning the earlier you apply, the earlier you can receive a potential offer - Students will need to fill out an application about themselves, and submit their available Year 11 and Year 12 reports |
| University of Newcastle |
Schools Recommendation Scheme (SRS) | - Based on Year 11 academic performance and school recommendation -SRS为所有本科学位提供（不包括B医学和医学博士和B助产士） - 必须通过UAC提交申请，如果成功，则不考虑您的HSC标记 |
| University of Newcastle |
Year 12 Subject Spotlight Early Offer Program | - Awarded to students who excel in HSC subjects that relate to their desired degree - For degrees that are eligible, students receive an early offer by achieving the marks required for their subjects |
| University of Newcastle |
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander program | - If you identify as Aboriginal or as a Torres Strait Islander, an early entry can be achieved by indicating such on your application and attending an interview on campus |
| University of Newcastle |
Indigenous Early Entry Scheme (Law) | - 由纽卡斯尔大学法学院提供 - Indigenous students can fill in an application including their two most recent report cards, letter of recommendation from the school and an expression of interest outlining why they want to study law - 如果成功，则保证学生没有HSC考试标记 |
早期进入有很多好处。对于Maitreyi，receiving early entry would mean she could stay in the country and be able to stress less about the HSC.
很多时候，早期入场都会自动提供奖学金，which is obviously a major plus and something Maitreyi desired.
Thanks to aPathfinder program intensiveMaitreyi was able to find out the options available to her and get excited about what could come of it!
Since there are so many choices available, you’re bound to find a way into your dream course or university so be sure to have a look.You can start here!
Applications aretypically open from May and generally close in Septemberat the latest.It’s unique for each university so note down those important dates!
早期进入程序通常有两个结果。You’ll either be given:
- Anunconditional offerthat guarantees you a placeregardless of your ATAR;或者
- Aconditional offerthat guarantees you a place as long as you达到最低ath atarthat is usually significantly lower than the actual requirement!
这些优惠可以从8月到11月提出，因此在某些情况下，您并不是在HSC之前完全摆脱困境！
Step #2: Check your eligibility
Before you get too excited, be sure to检查您是否有资格获得该计划或奖学金。
一些早期进入计划是exclusive to students living in certain locations, socioeconomic conditions or academic levels.但是不用担心，您肯定会有资格获得一些！
这是Maitreyi作为国际学生必须提防的。She was looking for a program that could provide her early entry in addition to a scholarship.
ThePathfinder programwill find and recommend these opportunities to students to make sure they aren’t missing out!
完成此操作后，请敏锐地开始考虑您可能想要在应用程序中包含的内容。
Step #3:Narrow your focus for what to include
While it can be hard to think of things off the top of your head,everyone has something they can talk about.
It doesn’t have to be academic or well known — it just has to have helped you learn in some way.Don’t discredit all your hard work, okay!
With her mentor, Amelia, Maitreyi was able tonarrow down what she would be talking about in her application and what its focus would be.
As she was applying for Macquarie University’s Leaders and Achievers Scheme, she conductedresearch into the institution’s core values and made sure to note down key buzz words she could incorporate.
To figure this out, Maitreyi and her mentor developed 6 key questions to answer that would help her structure her application and address the uni’s concerns!
Step #4:Limit your key achievements/activities listed
Maitreyi started listing out everything she’d done and initially wanted to list them all off — butsometimes less is more.
One thing to note is that these applications will have acharacter or word limityou have to abide by.
This means it’s实际上并不是您所做的活动数量，而是实际上是关于它们提供的质量和价值以及您能够传达的方式！
We recommend sticking to 2-3 key events/situations to discuss and then talking about them more in-depth.
The STAR technique
这是您可以讨论您选择关注的事情的一种方式，以便您可以有效地传达自己的经验和成长！
Check out how Maitreyi used the STAR technique in her application below!
明星技术使Maitreyi能够确定她应该和不应该包括什么 - 这对于需要简洁明了的早期进入申请非常重要！
使用这种结构确保她能够提供足够的背景，并从逻辑上传达其参与的价值。
Something else that Amelia got Maitreyi to do was actuallypoint out a weakness of hers.Unsurprisingly, this isn’t what she was intending to do but is something that can reallymake you stand out from the crowd当每个人都简单地炫耀！
Maitreyi也确保参加一些更独特的课外活动如新闻冠军论坛皮克衰减器tion of judges.
As much as popular extracurriculars are great, they lose significance when every applicant has also participated.
Step #5: Draft your application and have it reviewed
3月份Maitreyi开始起草她的应用程序as soon as she found out she could apply!It’s really great to get a head start on these things as you only end up getting busier throughout the year.
This gave Maitreyi time to polish and perfect her application whenever she checked in with her mentor, which led to三个主要修订！
While that sounds scary, she was super happy with the changes that were made as the Pathfinder program helped hereffectively present herself in her application.
This includedtailoring it to the purpose of the early entry scheme and taking out unnecessary anecdotes or experiences that were eating up her word count!
Something else Maitreyi did wascreate a group chatwith other students she met through the Pathfinder program applying for the same thing.
这对她来说非常有帮助found people who could relate and provide support and advice on the process!
Step #6: Apply!
Now, all that’s left to do is apply!
You never know what could’ve happened if you don’t apply— Maitreyi would’ve hated to know that if she didn’t she’d be missing out on $30k.
Relax and focus on your studies for the next few months until you get accepted into an early entry program or two with Maitreyi’s tips and tricks!
加布里埃尔·黄is currently the Digital Marketing Assistant at Art of Smart. She is a second year student at the University of Sydney studying a Bachelor of Arts/Advanced Studies majoring in Media and Communications and Marketing.
