How does UAC assess external transfers? (1 Viewer)

[dannyo1]

Hi all. I’m aware that for external transfers where you’ve completed >1 years FTE study, UAC will assess your tertiary results as opposed to ATAR or maybe it’s a combo heavily skewed towards the tertiary but idk. Regardless, I found this on the UAC website, however it is a little bit vague IMO. I know different unis have harsher/more lenient marking standards and different marking systems all together (WAM vs GPA, different cutoffs for D, HD etc) and all UAC says is that they convert these results into a standardised 7 point GPA for everyone in the state. So, I’m asking if anyone on here has any insight into how UAC actually does this conversion - is it similar to ATAR scaling where harder subjects are accounted for? Is there any way I can predict what WAM I would need in order to get a specific selection rank?

I know that external transfers fight with the high school cohort for placement, so am interested to hear also how UAC’s GPA is compared with ATAR rank.

Thank you!

 

[jimmysmith560]

A few days ago I responded to a thread with a very similar question. I recall finding a very recent document by the University of Queensland in which they compare their own GPA to selection rank conversion to that of the other institutions, which is done to appear advantageous/entice applicants as their conversion is slightly more generous than that of other institutions. The table is accessible using the following link on page 2, under "All other institutions":

https://future-students.uq.edu.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/tertiary-studies-selection-rank-info-sheet.pdf

I hope this helps!

 

[dannyo1]

A few days ago I responded to a thread with a very similar question. I recall finding a very recent document by the University of Queensland in which they compare their own GPA to selection rank conversion to that of the other institutions, which is done to appear advantageous/entice applicants as their conversion is slightly more generous than that of other institutions. The table is accessible using the following link on page 2, under "All other institutions":

https://future-students.uq.edu.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/tertiary-studies-selection-rank-info-sheet.pdf

I hope this helps!

Very helpful, thank you! Unis are not very transparent about this, aside from when it serves their own marketing interests of course

Are looks just very deceiving, or does a selection rank in the 90s look a lot more achievable coming out of university study as opposed to finishing HSC/state equivalent?

 

[jimmysmith560]

Very helpful, thank you! Unis are not very transparent about this, aside from when it serves their own marketing interests of course

Are looks just very deceiving, or does a selection rank in the 90s look a lot more achievable coming out of university study as opposed to finishing HSC/state equivalent?

No worries, a very ingenious strategy haha!

I believe the main reason for this is to account for the fact that the applicant will have completed a year of a particular university degree by the time they attempt to transfer. Perceptions regarding a selection rank in the 90's being more achievable may vary, as some students may consider the HSC easier than university, whereas other students may consider university to be easier than the HSC, mainly because it focuses on one particular area of study, in which they are likely to be competent, as opposed to the HSC, where the student is required to take subjects that differ in nature.

 

[dannyo1]

No worries, a very ingenious strategy haha!

I believe the main reason for this is to account for the fact that the applicant will have completed a year of a particular university degree by the time they attempt to transfer. Perceptions regarding a selection rank in the 90's being more achievable may vary, as some students may consider the HSC easier than university, whereas other students may consider university to be easier than the HSC, mainly because it focuses on one particular area of study, in which they are likely to be competent, as opposed to the HSC, where the student is required to take subjects that differ in nature.

Yes these are good points. I also suppose that the hyper competitive nature of HSC would be lacking in the uni environment as ranks aren’t a thing which affect your final grade, aside from if the uni marks on a bell curve. And another thing is… the system doesn’t take into account subject difficulty like ATAR does! So really, if you just do piss easy subjects first year at uni I feel like it’s a pretty good way to get into those higher ATAR courses as opposed to straight out of high school, but that’s jusr my two cents.