Hear from recent graduates on their course preference tips
Not sure what to study? Unsure on how to list your course preferences? We spoke to recent graduates on how they tackled course preferences in Year 12.
It can be difficult to know where to start in your research for tertiary education. If you have a personal passion or area of interests in your study, you can jump onto CourseSearch to see all the courses on offer. If not, that’s okay! You can take a look at the different institutions or career outcomes to see if any courses spark your interest.
The good news is, if you change your mind about a course, you can change your preferences. During specified periods you can change your preferences by adding, removing or re-ordering courses on your preference list. You can do this as many times as you like during the change of preference periods. We spoke to last years graduates to understand how they went about choosing the right course for them.
“I wrote down my values, goals, time and location. I wanted to challenge myself at university and chose an institution that I thought could deliver this. I also didn’t want to have to spend too much time travelling to and from university, so I chose an institution that wouldn’t require minimal travel time”. - Ariel, First year University of Melbourne student.
“I was already set on the career path I wanted, so I spent the most time on deciding which degree and university would be the most appropriate. I researched what part of the degrees would interest me most and also took into consideration the travel time to get to university.” Victoria - First year University of Melbourne student.
What is your advice for course preferences?
“Don’t put it off! It’s better to put a few courses down and change them later, than forget to do it altogether. Even if you’re not sure you’ll get into the course, put it down because you never know. Lastly, make sure you put more than three options. Even if they’re not as appealing it important to have back up options.”
“Always put the course you want most first; despite how challenging you think it will be or even if you don’t think you’ll get in. There is always a chance and worse case, you always have time to change it later.”
Did you get into your preferred course?
“Yes and no. I was hoping to get into Arts with a guaranteed entry into post-graduate law but unfortunately missed out on achieving the guaranteed ATAR. However, I got my second preference which was Arts, and I aim to work hard to get in to Law at the end of my undergraduate degree.”
“I knew what ATAR I needed to get but was hoping to achieve higher. I smashed my ATAR goals however, still didn’t feel confident enough to put my dream course number one, even once results were released. However, the course I got into felt more interesting to me and allowed for more career opportunities post degree, in case I want to hold pursuing a postgraduate degree.”
At the end of the day, put down the courses that align best with what you love and want to do in the future. You have plenty of time to change your preferences throughout the process, and even once results are released. Take the time to start researching and get your list in order, make sure you include back-up options and pathway options to get into your dream course.
