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What we’re talking about:

If you’re trying to decide whether you want to do a scored VCE, unscored VCE or VCE-Vocational Major (VM), then listen up! In this episode I’ll explain the implications of choosing each type in terms of what happens when you want to apply to TAFE or university.

1:57 What’s the difference between a scored and an unscored VCE?

If you do a scored VCE, then you’ll get an ATAR that you can use to apply to university and TAFE courses. There might be other criteria, but most Bachelor degrees require an ATAR, so doing a scored VCE is the most efficient way of getting into one of these courses. How an unscored VCE works may differ depending on which school you go to, but it essentially means that you won’t get study scores for your subjects or an ATAR at the end of the year.

3:47 Is an unscored VCE new?

Most parents haven’t heard of an unscored VCE because it was very rare when we were at school. When students were kept at home during lockdowns throughout the pandemic, more students chose to do an unscored VCE because of the anxiety they were feeling about not being in the classroom. Since students have been back at school full time, the number of students doing an unscored VCE has decreased but it’s not back to what it was before covid, so while a minority of students are choosing to do an unscored VCE, it’s a larger minority than most parents would think.

4:40 Do all courses require an ATAR?

While the vast majority of Bachelor degrees require an ATAR as part of the selection criteria, not all do. You can find Bachelor degrees that only require completion of Year 12 and maybe a prerequisite subject. There are also Diplomas and TAFE courses that don’t require an ATAR.

5:38 If you do an unscored VCE, you can look at pathways into Bachelor degrees

If you don’t have an ATAR, there are still other ways that you can do a Bachelor degree at university if you want to. Listen up to hear more about guaranteed pathways, recommended pathways and why I think RMIT and Swinburne are great options for you if you need a pathway into a course.

Links mentioned:

Work with me: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/services

How ATARs are calculated?: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/58