Study a preferred course far away from home or study a 2nd preferred course (not a pathway to 1st) degree that is near home? (1 Viewer)

Flaker22

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Hi all! After receiving my ATAR last December, I got an ATAR in the low 80s and wanted to do physiotherapy, however, did not make it into any universities in Sydney. I did however make it into CSU physiotherapy. Although this ATAR is considered to be decent OR good to some people, I couldn’t stop feeling the need to almost throw up every day as I looked at the results compared with everyone around me (Family and friends who are doing crazy high ATAR course like dentistry and doctors or studying in a prestigious uni which pressured me in a wrong way) even though I knew that this shouldn’t bother me too much, it just made me feel uneasy (My cousin mentioned later helped me recovered, so I’m fine right now).

Before making this post, I asked a few people for advice or thoughts on what I should do and wanted to ask online, for your opinion on my questions asked near the end and the topic question.

My cousin who graduated in bachelor of physiotherapy at USYD told me that at the end of the day a degree is a degree, and that when looking for a job they will most importantly look at how well you did in university and interview. He also told me another 2 options that I could look into.
- Other option 1 : Take a pathway degree into postgrad which will take possibly 6 years (3/4 years of a bachelor exercise sport or physiology). HOWEVER, this will not guarantee me a position into the master’s degree as it is very competitive and I’m not sure if I will have a long motivation to study if I ever choose this option. PLUS a master degree could be very expensive AND could be very hard to pass which could then lead to a more expensive pathway.
- Other option 2: Do a different backup degree (wish not to reveal for now, staying anonymous as possible) that I don't mind and transfer in the first year if I do well, HOWEVER, he strictly told that I should never bank on this (Sounding as if it was almost 95% impossible). IF I don’t make it into physiotherapy, then I can keep this for the next 3 years and get a job afterwards. He didn’t say taking the bachelor of exercise sport or exercise physiology was a bad idea, BUT, he just said that it’s a better degree to take in job demand wise AND my greater passion (current) in this degree than exercise sport. I’m not sure if I’m correct, but I believe you cannot do a postgrad physiotherapy. (Speaking of passion, I wouldn’t be sure if I would enjoy or keep my passion in a degree I am doing in the next few years, although he told me to volunteer around and see how others work, but for now I want to decide on which degree to study this year)

I asked another family friend (Talked to his parents with some information about him, it was a one-time chat, wasn’t super close) who is currently in his 4th year physiotherapy at CSU and said it was a good experience, however, it leaves me to question “Why didn’t he try really hard in his first year and transfer back to a closer uni near Sydney, was it really that hard or you didn’t want to?”, which leaves me to think about what my cousin from USYD said that “Transferring is really hard”.

Relating back to the topic of this post, CSU is really far away from home and I am aware of many personal issues (Emotionally, physically, etc.). I am fine with the accommodation, living on campus and all, but I really don’t know how to feel about living far away from Sydney, it feels as if I might lose or miss something during those 4 years out of Sydney. I am aware of the ranking of the uni and how “not prestigious” the university is but then again, my cousin said its nothing to worry about, so I think I’m completely fine with that part.

To sum up about this post, I feel that there is more questions to this topic and want to ask for public opinions or personal experiences.

- How hard would it be to transfer into a competitive course, is it just like what he described (95% impossible)? How much effort would it take for a low 80 atar student put compared to the HSC (2x,3x or more?)
- If you were me (Reading all this long post), what do you think you would do or something else instead?

I hope this also helps other students out there as well so thanks for reading this long post.
 
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Nikolerak

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Hi all! After receiving my ATAR last December, I got an ATAR in the low 80s and wanted to do physiotherapy, however, did not make it into any universities in Sydney. I did however make it into CSU physiotherapy. Although this ATAR is considered to be decent OR good to some people, I couldn’t stop feeling the need to almost throw up every day as I looked at the results compared with everyone around me (Family and friends who are doing crazy high ATAR course like dentistry and doctors or studying in a prestigious uni which pressured me in a wrong way) even though I knew that this shouldn’t bother me too much, it just made me feel uneasy (My cousin mentioned later helped me recovered, so I’m fine right now).

Before making this post, I asked a few people for advice or thoughts on what I should do and wanted to ask online, for your opinion on my questions asked near the end and the topic question.

My cousin who graduated in bachelor of physiotherapy at USYD told me that at the end of the day a degree is a degree, and that when looking for a job they will most importantly look at how well you did in university and interview. He also told me another 2 options that I could look into.
- Other option 1 : Take a pathway degree into postgrad which will take possibly 6 years (3/4 years of a bachelor exercise sport or physiology). HOWEVER, this will not guarantee me a position into the master’s degree as it is very competitive and I’m not sure if I will have a long motivation to study if I ever choose this option. PLUS a master degree could be very expensive AND could be very hard to pass which could then lead to a more expensive pathway.
- Other option 2: Do a different backup degree (wish not to reveal for now, staying anonymous as possible) that I don't mind and transfer in the first year if I do well, HOWEVER, he strictly told that I should never bank on this (Sounding as if it was almost 95% impossible). IF I don’t make it into physiotherapy, then I can keep this for the next 3 years and get a job afterwards. He didn’t say taking the bachelor of exercise sport or exercise physiology was a bad idea, BUT, he just said that it’s a better degree to take in job demand wise AND my greater passion (current) in this degree than exercise sport. I’m not sure if I’m correct, but I believe you cannot do a postgrad physiotherapy. (Speaking of passion, I wouldn’t be sure if I would enjoy or keep my passion in a degree I am doing in the next few years, although he told me to volunteer around and see how others work, but for now I want to decide on which degree to study this year)

I asked another family friend (Talked to his parents with some information about him, it was a one-time chat, wasn’t super close) who is currently in his 4th year physiotherapy at CSU and said it was a good experience, however, it leaves me to question “Why didn’t he try really hard in his first year and transfer back to a closer uni near Sydney, was it really that hard or you didn’t want to?”, which leaves me to think about what my cousin from USYD said that “Transferring is really hard”.

Relating back to the topic of this post, CSU is really far away from home and I am aware of many personal issues (Emotionally, physically, etc.). I am fine with the accommodation, living on campus and all, but I really don’t know how to feel about living far away from Sydney, it feels as if I might lose or miss something during those 4 years out of Sydney. I am aware of the ranking of the uni and how “not prestigious” the university is but then again, my cousin said its nothing to worry about, so I think I’m completely fine with that part.

To sum up about this post, I feel that there is more questions to this topic and want to ask for public opinions or personal experiences.

- How hard would it be to transfer into a competitive course, is it just like what he described (95% impossible)? How much effort would it take for a low 80 atar student put compared to the HSC (2x,3x or more?)
- If you were me (Reading all this long post), what do you think you would do or something else instead?

I hope this also helps other students out there as well so thanks for reading this long post.
Hi there
It looks like you gathered some great info and thought deeply about your options. I do believe that transferring into physio after the first year is quite hard (because they are capped, therefore no vacancies). Only you can decide if you could live away from Sydney for 4 years, but you definitely don't need to worry about CSU being "not prestigious " as their physio course is accredited and leads to AHPRA registration like every other physio course in Australia. This would definitely be the least expensive and quickest option. I also don't think that you should worry about not being able to cope with the course. ATARs for physio are very high due to popularity of the course. ATAR in 80s is above average!
I guess it's a very personal decision in regards to being away from Sydney for four years as opposed to studying 3/4 + 2 years (exercise science/physiology + masters). I would personally go for the later option (having a strong interest in sport and exercise as well as not willing to live away from home at this stage), however everyone is different, therefore this may not be the best option for you. Good luck!
 
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Flaker22

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Hi there
It looks like you gathered some great info and thought deeply about your options. I do believe that transferring into physio after the first year is quite hard (because they are capped, therefore no vacancies). Only you can decide if you could live away from Sydney for 4 years, but you definitely don't need to worry about CSU being "not prestigious " as their physio course is accredited and leads to AHPRA registration like every other physio course in Australia. This would definitely be the least expensive and quickest option. I also don't think that you should worry about not being able to cope with the course. ATARs for physio are very high due to popularity of the course. ATAR in 80s is above average!
I guess it's a very personal decision in regards to being away from Sydney for four years as opposed to studying 3/4 + 2 years (exercise science/physiology + masters). I would personally go for the later option (having a strong interest in sport and exercise as well as not willing to live away from home at this stage), however everyone is different, therefore this may not be the best option for you. Good luck!
Thank you for your reply, I will really consider studying at CSU right now after hearing about how difficult it is, I think its best that I take the course instead and see how hard getting a (HD WAM??), if not then still remain in the course, rather than going to a closer university near home and trying really hard to transfer but still not able, as it is very competitive. I am still not sure why studying a pathway course will not guarantee you a master's degree (I would assume you have to do really well in all those 3-4 years?) and I guess it could be very expensive.

I agree that it is a personal thing, maybe I should ask around what the experience at CSU is like.
 

Nikolerak

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Thank you for your reply, I will really consider studying at CSU right now after hearing about how difficult it is, I think its best that I take the course instead and see how hard getting a (HD WAM??), if not then still remain in the course, rather than going to a closer university near home and trying really hard to transfer but still not able, as it is very competitive. I am still not sure why studying a pathway course will not guarantee you a master's degree (I would assume you have to do really well in all those 3-4 years?) and I guess it could be very expensive.

I agree that it is a personal thing, maybe I should ask around what the experience at CSU is like.
You are welcome. My understanding is that completing Bachelor of Exercise Physiology (4 years) gives you a much higher chance of getting into Physio Masters as opposed to the 3 year exercise science. This way you would actually have two occupations (exercise physiologist and physiotherapist), but not sure how valuable would this be for you if you don't have an interest in sport and exercise. And definitely much more expensive! If you don't get a CSP place (which is hard, because they are limited), two years of masters would be around $80,000.
 

quickoats

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Be aware that WSU and ACU have physio degrees in Sydney, and that they probably don't require a HD WAM (probably at least 70-75).
 

Flaker22

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Be aware that WSU and ACU have physio degrees in Sydney, and that they probably don't require a HD WAM (probably at least 70-75).
Is that so, then Ill look out onto it, as I'm sure they vary in (different years???) I would like to ask if any of these factors affect the chance of getting in (unless they only look at your mark).
-Same university attended
- A bridging course / related course such as exercise sport.
Thank you for this information.
 

quickoats

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Is that so, then Ill look out onto it, as I'm sure they vary in (different years???) I would like to ask if any of these factors affect the chance of getting in (unless they only look at your mark).
-Same university attended
- A bridging course / related course such as exercise sport.
Thank you for this information.
Looks like about 1/2 of the WSU physio intake are tertiary transfers (ACU and USyd have a lot less tertiary transfers).

Pretty sure they just use WAM or GPA but I think a distinction average should cut it for their 95 ATAR. Not sure if they give a boost to their own applicants.

You could do one year of physio at CSU and try to transfer into WSU. If you don’t want to move out then you can always do a year of exercise physio (might be hard to maintain a D average at usyd tho so maybe consider like UTS)
 

Nikolerak

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Maybe try to get into Occupational therapy at WSU. I heard units are almost identical to physio in the first year, and then transfer?
 

Flaker22

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Maybe try to get into Occupational therapy at WSU. I heard units are almost identical to physio in the first year, and then transfer?
Yes, It was actually on one of my preference and got accepted. The first and second year are almost the same. If I do ever do the course, I'm going to hope its not super hard to transfer (maybe not hope but rather work my butt off).
 

Nikolerak

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Yes, It was actually on one of my preference and got accepted. The first and second year are almost the same. If I do ever do the course, I'm going to hope its not super hard to transfer (maybe not hope but rather work my butt off).
Sounds like a good plan!
 

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