Second choice course subjects should be chosen with care

Students who take a second-choice course hoping to upgrade later should still select subjects carefully, according to University of Queensland Courses and Admissions manager Maureen Bowen.

Mrs Bowen said students should tailor existing course subjects towards their desired careers in case attenpts to upgrade were unsuccessful.

'Otherwise, if they are unable to change courses, they may find themselves wishing they had chosen different subjects and having to backtrack to pick up required prerequisites. On the positive side, they may find that during their first year of study, they enjoy the course so much it becomes the preferred course,' she said.

Mrs Bowen said competition was intense for places in some quota courses at the University of Queensland and performing well in a second-choice course was one way of improving an applicant's entry score.

Students applying for courses through the upgrading method are assigned a rank or entry score based on the Grade Point Average (GPA) achieved in their tertiary level studies.

'A performance substantially better than the average for all tertiary students is needed to qualify for the highest rank of 99 and this is achieved only by a relatively small proportion of students,' Mrs Bowen said.

'For some courses, even highest rank students still miss out with selection coming down to GPAs in this top rank. In recent years, this has been the case for courses including physiotherapy and dentistry.'

Some important points to consider were as follows:

- To upgrade a rank substantially, students should complete the equivalent of one full year of study.

- Students who complete a minimum of one full year of study will be allocated new entry ranks in accordance with Schedule 3 of the University's Entry Rules. For example, a GPA of 6.5 or above out of a possible seven earns a rank of 99 for a bachelor degree, 96 for a diploma or 93 for an associate diploma.

- Students who wish to apply for a different course after undertaking one full year of study must re-apply for a quota place through QTAC. Care must be taken that all prerequisite subjects for the new course have been satisfied.

- Enrol in a study program that you would be keen to complete whether or not you succeed in moving to your preferred course.

For advice or further information, contact Courses and Admissions (telephone 07 3365 2203).