The world of
university, seemingly ruled by scores, tests and A+ grades, can be confusing,
if not daunting, for any homeschooler. As an Australian, however, it can be
much more stressful, due to the lack of information on the subject. This post
will share what I, as an Aussie homeschool graduate, have learnt through my
research and personal experience. (Note to US readers - Please be aware that
this is based on the Australian system of education and so some of the year
levels and testing systems may be different than you are used to.)
Pathways
There are
three main pathways that are used to gain entry into university in Australia.
ATAR
This is the
score that you get at a traditional school when you have finished your year
twelve subjects. As homeschoolers do not attend a tradition school, this is a
difficult pathway for them.
STAT Test
The STAT
test is a test that students can take to prove that they are academically able
to study at university. Most university admissions centres facilitate these
tests at set times of the year, generally before the start of each admissions
cycle. These tests can be helpful for homeschoolers because they enable you to
obtain formal recognition of your academic skill in the absence of an ATAR
score. However, STAT tests do come at a fee and, depending on how your
homeschooling has been set up, can require months of study and preparation to
familiarise yourself with the unique testing style of the STAT test.
Tafe
This is the
model that I am the most familiar with, as it was the pathway that I used to
gain entry into the university course that I am currently studying. I think
perhaps the best way to explain this pathway would be to share my personal
experience. As a child, I enjoyed study and had made a point to challenge
myself with how much ‘schooling’ I could complete each day. As I reached my
early teens and became more independent in my studies, I continued this and,
eventually, ended up completing my coursework, up until year ten level, by the
time I turned 15. At the time I was interested in studying nursing and so my
parents and I did a lot of research into the various pathways that I could use
to gain entry into university. In the end, I could either continue studying
general topics as a homeschooler for another two years and then go and sit a
STAT test, or I could study a certificate IV at Tafe to meet the entry
requirements. The particular certificate IV that I was looking at studying was
only one semester as well, so I would be able to start studying nursing at
university much sooner. Fairly quickly, we decided that studying through Tafe
would be the better option for me. Another thing that attracted us was that the
certificate that I wanted to study was offered externally, so I could study
from home, which I was already used to because of homeschooling, and the
Education Department was happy for us to use the Tafe studies to meet their
study requirements. I went ahead and completed the certificate and managed to complete
the coursework in good time. As it happened, God shut the door for me to go on
and study nursing at that time and I went on to study two more Tafe courses
externally, one in business and another in tourism. After a gap of a couple of
years, in which God taught me many lessons and enabled me to try many different
things, God led me to investigate the area of midwifery. This was something
that I had been interested in for quite some time, but I wasn’t sure whether it
would ever be something that I pursued formally. Anyway, as both my parents and
I considered and prayed about it, God led us to explore universities that offer
a bachelor of midwifery externally, of which there are two in Australia. I
applied to both, using my original certificate IV to meet the admission
requirements. I was accepted by my first preference, and now my days are filled
with textbooks, assignments, stethoscopes and the occasional blog post.
So that’s my
experience. Now for a few Q&A’s
What if my
Tafe won’t let my study a certificate IV straight away?
Different
Tafes act differently on this one, some will let you and some won’t. You might
need to study one or two lower certificates before they will let you study a
certificate IV. This may take you more time, but if you pick your courses well,
you can learn some valuable skills in the process. It probably wouldn’t take
you as long as completing years 11 and 12 would anyway. Or, perhaps you could
try studying at a different Tafe.
What courses
can you study externally?
There are many
areas that you can study externally through Tafe including finance, business,
youth work, aged care, education support, nursing preparation, hospitality,
general education, local government, management, small business, retail and
tourism for a start. You can even study for a builder’s registration
externally.
What if my
Tafe is not friendly to homeschoolers?
This does
happen. Tafes can be funny about accepting homeschooled students, especially
into a certificate III or IV. From my experience, one of their biggest concerns
is whether the homeschoolers are academically ready to study at a Tafe level.
One method that generally fixes this problem is to bring in a selection of the
student’s best work, such as essays, reports, maths awards and other projects, and
show these to the lecturer who is running the course you with to study. Often
this will be enough to show the lecturer that the student is serious and
hardworking. Depending on the course, you may even be able to get recognition
of prior learning (RPL) for some of those projects. If the lecturer is still
not convinced, you may need to start at a lower level certificate. Either way,
at least you will be heading in the right direction.
Written by
Sabrina
www.godzgear.blogspot.com.au
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