TPC or HSC for 16 year old who's been out of school since early 2011. (1 Viewer)

CameronSaysHi

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Well here's the shortened story, my parent's went through 1 year of crazy disputes which ended in a divorce and the splitting of my family had quite an impact on me towards the end of 2010 and I was never at home, always out, had a history with drugs and decided to leave school in year 9 which is something I GREATLY regret, I just never attended school so somehow the department of education helped me find a way out after threatening with fines and court dates which I hardly cared about with my parents situation hanging over me.

I attended tafe and completed Business Cert II, Business Administration Cert III and CGVE (Tafes year 10 equivalent) which hardly taught me anything because they were pretty much teaching Year 7 - 8 stuff.

And this year I enrolled for HSC at tafe, after being out of school for soooo long I've realised that I've missed out on so many things and hence as a result of that I'm struggling in the HSC tafe course. At the moment I'm doing General Math (dropped from 2U), Advanced English and Chemistry. Struggling in pretty much in everything except for General Math which is easy. I've noticed in english I didn't exactly get to expand my vocabulary as much as I'd had wanted to and thus me writing essays with simplistic words makes me feel not really confident at all. In chemistry I hardly have knowledge on even the basics of science which in turn results in me not being able to understand much of the simple concepts at all especially when it's an accelerated course (3 subjects 1 year, prelims in the first 6 weeks of the year then it'll be all HSC syllabus taught, right now were doing the prelims and I'm already struggling) and without any history with much maths past year 9 I struggle with even the formulas and whatnot.

--------------------------
So my question is, would it be better for me to just pull my neck in and do the HSC at tafe and possibly fail completely and waste my time as I'm extremely struggling? Or do the TPC which I'll complete by the time I'm 17 which will give me time to catch up on further studies before trying to apply for uni with age requirements of 18. I'm set on doing psychology at Macquarie btw if that helps. The reason why I'm considering TPC is because I've been told by a couple students and teachers that It's better suited for people that have been out of education for a while like me and I'm most certainly not looking for the easy way out of things.

I wish to speak to a counsellor about it but they can't give me an appointment for another 2 weeks! And the TPC late enrolments end on Monday. Please give me your help guys! Thanks.
 

iSplicer

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Not a huge expert in this, but I've heard that it's not really useful to go back to the HSC after dropping out. Try and work your way up through TAFE courses, get into ANY undergraduate program at SOME University (there are alternative pathways offered, definitely) and then you're at par with everyone else.

Seriously, the HSC isnt' that important, see if you can get into uni whilst bypassing it. It'll be a bit trickier, but again, you'll be right on par with someone who's done their HSC - and as an added bonus, you'll start studying something you like straight away!

Good luck =]
 

iSplicer

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Not a huge expert in this, but I've heard that it's not really useful to go back to the HSC after dropping out. Try and work your way up through TAFE courses, get into ANY undergraduate program at SOME University (there are alternative pathways offered, definitely) and then you're at par with everyone else.

Seriously, the HSC isnt' that important, see if you can get into uni whilst bypassing it. It'll be a bit trickier, but again, you'll be right on par with someone who's done their HSC - and as an added bonus, you'll start studying something you like straight away!

Good luck =]
 

CameronSaysHi

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Not a huge expert in this, but I've heard that it's not really useful to go back to the HSC after dropping out. Try and work your way up through TAFE courses, get into ANY undergraduate program at SOME University (there are alternative pathways offered, definitely) and then you're at par with everyone else.

Seriously, the HSC isnt' that important, see if you can get into uni whilst bypassing it. It'll be a bit trickier, but again, you'll be right on par with someone who's done their HSC - and as an added bonus, you'll start studying something you like straight away!

Good luck =]
Oh really? Hmmmm I don't know what TAFE courses I'd consider though, and If there are any undergraduate programs open for 16 year olds to enrol in. >< Right now I feel like I don't have many options which sucks. Being 16 I thought It'd be best for me to do the HSC but after attending the course for 2 weeks or so it's become apparent that I've fallen behind way too much to do any good in it.

That's true, well I'm not sure what course I can apply for which will lead me in the pathway of psychology. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Cheers for the reply btw! :)
 

Nws m8

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Try UTS, I'm not sure if they do psychology though :p
 

Lieutenant_21

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Just do TPC, I think it is one year and if you do well you are guaranteed to get into university. Once you get into university you can transfer and all that stuff.
If I was in your situation I would keep my options open. Don't limit yourself to psycho.
 

Kat92

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Well here's the shortened story, my parent's went through 1 year of crazy disputes which ended in a divorce and the splitting of my family had quite an impact on me towards the end of 2010 and I was never at home, always out, had a history with drugs and decided to leave school in year 9 which is something I GREATLY regret, I just never attended school so somehow the department of education helped me find a way out after threatening with fines and court dates which I hardly cared about with my parents situation hanging over me.

I attended tafe and completed Business Cert II, Business Administration Cert III and CGVE (Tafes year 10 equivalent) which hardly taught me anything because they were pretty much teaching Year 7 - 8 stuff.

And this year I enrolled for HSC at tafe, after being out of school for soooo long I've realised that I've missed out on so many things and hence as a result of that I'm struggling in the HSC tafe course. At the moment I'm doing General Math (dropped from 2U), Advanced English and Chemistry. Struggling in pretty much in everything except for General Math which is easy. I've noticed in english I didn't exactly get to expand my vocabulary as much as I'd had wanted to and thus me writing essays with simplistic words makes me feel not really confident at all. In chemistry I hardly have knowledge on even the basics of science which in turn results in me not being able to understand much of the simple concepts at all especially when it's an accelerated course (3 subjects 1 year, prelims in the first 6 weeks of the year then it'll be all HSC syllabus taught, right now were doing the prelims and I'm already struggling) and without any history with much maths past year 9 I struggle with even the formulas and whatnot.

--------------------------
So my question is, would it be better for me to just pull my neck in and do the HSC at tafe and possibly fail completely and waste my time as I'm extremely struggling? Or do the TPC which I'll complete by the time I'm 17 which will give me time to catch up on further studies before trying to apply for uni with age requirements of 18. I'm set on doing psychology at Macquarie btw if that helps. The reason why I'm considering TPC is because I've been told by a couple students and teachers that It's better suited for people that have been out of education for a while like me and I'm most certainly not looking for the easy way out of things.

I wish to speak to a counsellor about it but they can't give me an appointment for another 2 weeks! And the TPC late enrolments end on Monday. Please give me your help guys! Thanks.

My advice would be to ask the Uni whether they have any tertiary preparation programs. As I know a couple of unis do have specific ones designed for 17-20 year olds who didn't complete the Higher School Certificate or who didn’t gain sufficient marks- they usually last for about 1-2 yrs. Otherwise go through the pathway of TAFE completing cert 4 and higher so that you can become eligible to apply for uni. If none of the above options apply have you heard of STAT- when you are 18 and older you can sit a multiple choice test in English and Maths to gain entry into uni that way (not really sure how this works although someone here would be able to explain in greater detail). Also I am pretty sure you can do some psych modules through a Bachelor of Arts (perhaps this is another alternative as the entry requirement is often lower and depending on your marks after a year you could ask for a transfer to psych.)

Good Luck with it all! :)
 

BenjaminR

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Best advice I think would be to phone the university in which you would like to apply and ask about TPC.... Do they have allocated places for student who receive a TPC and to what course they apply to.
I'm from the country and a TPC entry is used at CSU.
Look at different universities and also ask them about Bach Social Science as it's easier to get into and if you do well you can transfer over to Psychology.
Personally I would do the TPC if it's all good with the universities in which you might consider, as there is not as much pressure as school re exams, and that you have more avenues for support
Don't give up as there are always options and I wish you the best for the future
 
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CameronSaysHi

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I don't know what I should do honestly ahhhh I'm stressing out so bad from this :( I'm thinking of either just going for the TPC or perhaps continuing with the HSC course for atleast this semester and I'll see how I'm doing midway through the year and If I'm struggling too hard I'll just drop it for the TPC. Or maybe I should just drop one of my subjects this year and try to ease into studying? I need some help guys!

If I do a Cert IV to gain access into uni what courses can I do? TPC is a Cert IV right?

Any idea what other options I may have and what you guys personally think I should do?

Thanks so much for all the help I've received so far, it really means a lot considering the stress I've been going through recently about this.
 

tynormalbeep

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Im not sure if anyone else informed you of this, but you cerntainly have an exceptional flarity in your language that its band 6 worthy no doubt. IM mirin.
 

Kat92

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I don't know what I should do honestly ahhhh I'm stressing out so bad from this :( I'm thinking of either just going for the TPC or perhaps continuing with the HSC course for atleast this semester and I'll see how I'm doing midway through the year and If I'm struggling too hard I'll just drop it for the TPC. Or maybe I should just drop one of my subjects this year and try to ease into studying? I need some help guys!

If I do a Cert IV to gain access into uni what courses can I do? TPC is a Cert IV right?

Any idea what other options I may have and what you guys personally think I should do?

Thanks so much for all the help I've received so far, it really means a lot considering the stress I've been going through recently about this.

Ultimately, once again it depends upon the Uni that you apply to. Most unis consider cert IV as the minimum requirement to demonstrate academic knowledge. (However if you are looking for course credit transfer, a Diploma or higher is needed). Umm.. I do believe TPC is a cert IV approved course.

At the end of the day the best advice I can give is follow you heart and what feels right for you. Remember, to not look at failure as a negative. If you do fail, it is not the end of the world as you have learnt new skills along the way to improve next time around. Also keep your head high and keep on trying until you get to your dreams/aspirations.
 

unforlornedhope

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Well here's the shortened story, my parent's went through 1 year of crazy disputes which ended in a divorce and the splitting of my family had quite an impact on me towards the end of 2010 and I was never at home, always out, had a history with drugs and decided to leave school in year 9 which is something I GREATLY regret, I just never attended school so somehow the department of education helped me find a way out after threatening with fines and court dates which I hardly cared about with my parents situation hanging over me.

I attended tafe and completed Business Cert II, Business Administration Cert III and CGVE (Tafes year 10 equivalent) which hardly taught me anything because they were pretty much teaching Year 7 - 8 stuff.

And this year I enrolled for HSC at tafe, after being out of school for soooo long I've realised that I've missed out on so many things and hence as a result of that I'm struggling in the HSC tafe course. At the moment I'm doing General Math (dropped from 2U), Advanced English and Chemistry. Struggling in pretty much in everything except for General Math which is easy. I've noticed in english I didn't exactly get to expand my vocabulary as much as I'd had wanted to and thus me writing essays with simplistic words makes me feel not really confident at all. In chemistry I hardly have knowledge on even the basics of science which in turn results in me not being able to understand much of the simple concepts at all especially when it's an accelerated course (3 subjects 1 year, prelims in the first 6 weeks of the year then it'll be all HSC syllabus taught, right now were doing the prelims and I'm already struggling) and without any history with much maths past year 9 I struggle with even the formulas and whatnot.

--------------------------
So my question is, would it be better for me to just pull my neck in and do the HSC at tafe and possibly fail completely and waste my time as I'm extremely struggling? Or do the TPC which I'll complete by the time I'm 17 which will give me time to catch up on further studies before trying to apply for uni with age requirements of 18. I'm set on doing psychology at Macquarie btw if that helps. The reason why I'm considering TPC is because I've been told by a couple students and teachers that It's better suited for people that have been out of education for a while like me and I'm most certainly not looking for the easy way out of things.

I wish to speak to a counsellor about it but they can't give me an appointment for another 2 weeks! And the TPC late enrolments end on Monday. Please give me your help guys! Thanks.
I think you're only eligible to do the TPC in NSW if you're over 21 years of age on March in that year you've enrolled.
The HSC at TAFE is a good opportunity for people to repeat and boost their marks, but it can be quite difficult if you have only done up to year 9 in school, since they go at a very fast pace.

Or just do a TAFE course such as diploma or certificate course to get into uni if the HSC or TPC is too difficult for you.

If you have the financial ability, try considering courses at private colleges or SIBT at Macquarie, but bear in mind that it's really costly, it's at least 20k a year.
Just keep your options open, because in the end, it's up to you to decide which option best suits you.
 

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