Thinking of repeating the High School Certificate, help! (1 Viewer)

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Ok, i need some actual facts.


My ATAR for last year (2016 HSC) was 98 and I've put off enrolment until I can get a clearer answer.

I wanted to do medicine but due to some unfortunate circumstances like getting depressed during my exams (medicated and checked professionally), I don't think I did as well as I could of. I've heard of kids repeating year 12 and acing it the second time round alongside with the UMAT and getting into UNSW undergrad medicine or USYD post-grad medicine.

But my problem is my school won't take me back since it was a private school (parents don't want to fork out another 25 grand) so I've resorted in looking at various TAFE's around Sydney to repeat my HSC at.

What are the limitations and chances of me getting 99+ in my second run at the HSC and continuing into undergraduate medicine?

Do you guys have any factual information that can deter me from setting my foot on the ground about this?


Thanks in advanced.
 

si2136

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98 is a really good ATAR! Yes, you can repeat your HSC up to 5 years I think, and no, repeating won't ruin your chances, but is it really worth it?

Do you have to do medicine at UNSW?There are other uni's that offer it: Bond, WSU etc. Any other interests besides medicine?

Your chances getting 99+ will be the same as a normal high school student, you won't be disadvantaged or advantaged.
 

pikachu975

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98 is a really good ATAR! Yes, you can repeat your HSC up to 5 years I think, and no, repeating won't ruin your chances, but is it really worth it?

Do you have to do medicine at UNSW?There are other uni's that offer it: Bond, WSU etc. Any other interests besides medicine?

Your chances getting 99+ will be the same as a normal high school student, you won't be disadvantaged or advantaged.
As si2136 said you could've gone to another university but what was your UMAT? WSU your atar reaches the threshold so it is 33% umat 66% interview. It's maybe too late to try apply for medicine now, though.

Next year the HSC might throw curveballs or be much harder and could drag you down or the cohort in the state might be much better. For example, an atar in 2016 would be lower with the same marks in other years (according to HSC ninja) so it could be risky.
 

donkily

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I think repeating the HSC won't do much, in fact it will probably have a much worse effect because you'll probably be really frustrated with the repetitive content and such. And once you get to uni, I doubt people would care for your ATAR much
 

Queenroot

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dafaq ur atar is more than enough, why don't u just take a gap year to study for umat instead.
 

BLIT2014

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Another thing is that they take the most recent marks, so your ATAR may end up being lower!

You'd be better of retaking/focusing on getting a really good UMAT.
 

cookie_dough

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Hey my ATAR was a low 98 and I got into UNSW med with EAS. If u apply for EAS, you would probably get bonus points for your situation. This means your ATAR isn't even the issue here. So do not repeat year 12! (but idk how many bonus points you would get, you would most likely need 2 not 1)

How did you go in the UMAT? Because the REAL question is whether or not you will get about 90%ile+. Your UMAT/ATAR combination will decide whether or not you get an interview. Then you need to ace the interview.
So right now, you definitely have a chance. You can do it :)
 

Shadowdude

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Have you considered getting into Medical Science and transferring instead...?
 
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Not a good idea IMO. From a purely business sense, the risk-reward margin is simply too high.
 

cookie_dough

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Have you considered getting into Medical Science and transferring instead...?
It is better to repeat year 12 than to do Med Science. Med Science degrees are a way unis make money, by exploiting people's dreams. It is v. risky to transfer, if you don't get in you are stuck with a degree which WAY too many people have compared to the jobs available.

http://medstudentsonline.com.au/forum/threads/common-pitfalls-to-avoid-for-year-12-school-leavers-and-other-medicine-applicants.32824/

And anyways, to transfer, wouldn't he/she need UMAT anyways? As I said before, this all comes down to UMAT. So taking a gap year or doing one year of a health science course which he/she would still be happy to pursue a career in (then instead of calculations using ATAR it is ATAR/GPA combo), then doing UMAT and applying for EAS, and reapplying for Med is the safest bet :)
 

davidgoes4wce

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What places allow you to repeat the HSC?

I actually enquired and look around last year. THere was a TAFE that offered that option, where they offer the student (in most cases I think mature age students) to come back and complete the Yr 11/12 equivalent to be able to get the HSC certificate.
 

Shadowdude

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isnt med competitive?
everything worth it is competitive

It is better to repeat year 12 than to do Med Science. Med Science degrees are a way unis make money, by exploiting people's dreams. It is v. risky to transfer, if you don't get in you are stuck with a degree which WAY too many people have compared to the jobs available.

http://medstudentsonline.com.au/forum/threads/common-pitfalls-to-avoid-for-year-12-school-leavers-and-other-medicine-applicants.32824/

And anyways, to transfer, wouldn't he/she need UMAT anyways? As I said before, this all comes down to UMAT. So taking a gap year or doing one year of a health science course which he/she would still be happy to pursue a career in (then instead of calculations using ATAR it is ATAR/GPA combo), then doing UMAT and applying for EAS, and reapplying for Med is the safest bet :)
are you serious


med sci is at least semi-relevant - and at least at unsw, if they haven't changed it, they have a special system where they reserve a few transfers into medicine for the best med sci students
 

BenHowe

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For UNSW don't you need an ATAR >96 and > 50% UMAT and then they select the highest ranked applicants for local, internationall, rural and indiginous (there is a quota). So if you performed or are going to do well in UMAT you should be able to get an interview? https://med.unsw.edu.au/local-applicants
 

chickencoop

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Terrible idea. How can you be so sure that you will do well again this year? You also have to take into consideration that redoing the HSC again may put you back into depression and im no Doctor, but that does not sound like a great thing to do to your health and well-being. IMO, get into a decent university as an undergrad and attempt the GAMSAT. Undergrad medicine is really hard to get into and from what i have heard, postgrad medicine from a statistical standpoint has a higher success rate than undergrad medicine.
 

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