Australia & New Zealand
Higher Education
Destination Coffees
April 21, 2011
Why Australia/
New Zealand?

Why not? – Australia and New Zealand are some of the
best places to live while you learn

In comparison to other countries, cost of higher
education is affordable; international students can often
work on a student visa

Strong international reputation for excellence –
standings in world rankings of research universities

Great preparation for future success

Multicultural societies with English-speaking cultures

Built in 6 month “gap” experience
What To Think About

Australian universities operate separate admissions procedures for
domestic and international students.

Many Australian universities have intakes in both Semester 1
(February/March) and Semester 2 (July). Applications submitted in
September for February intake.

Faculty Admissions Committees often set specific subject requirements
and selection procedures relating to particular degree courses.

You may direct entry to Law or Medicine

Standard university degree is 3 years

Although some courses at some institutions operate strict quotas (and
particular application procedures will apply) most courses operate on a
“rolling” admissions basis in that selection decisions are made as
applications from international students are received.
Australian Unis

There are different types of universities in Australia: the "Group of 8"
research universities (ANU, Monash, Universities of Adelaide,
Melbourne, Western Australia, Queensland, Sydney, South Wales)

Technology universities (RMIT, Curtin, University of South Australia,
University of Technology Sydney, Queensland University of
Technology)

Universities that focus on undergraduate teaching (Edith Cowan,
University of Canberra, Central Queensland, Charles Sturt)

TAFE (Technical and Further Education) Colleges and Institutes:
Vocational education institutions, sometimes bridging institutions
between high schools and universities.
Admission criteria will differ among these groups, and even from one
university to another.
New Zealand Unis

New Zealand has 8 Universities (University of Auckland, University of
Waikato, Victoria University of Wellington, Canterbury University,
University of Auckland, University of Otago, Lincoln University, Massey
University)

25 Polytechnics and/or Institutes of Technology (Auckland Institute of
Technology, Central Institute of Technology, Christchurch Polytechnic,
Waikato Polytechnic)

What is the difference between Universities and Polytechnics and Institutes
of Technology?


Historically the main difference had been that Universities focused on academic
programmes and the Polytechnics focused on practical training.
Taylors Auckland Foundation Year (TAFY) designed to prepare you for
entry into the University of Auckland, AUT University and Massey
University.
General Requirements

Secondary School Leaving Certificate: Prefer IB
diploma, but also possible to enter with a High
School Diploma and scores from SAT (for noncitizens)

Language proficiency: Prefer the IELTS, but may
take TOEFL

Foundation Year: Also possible to do a Foundation
Year if you don’t meet general requirements
Application Process

New Zealand – Apply directly to each institution.

Australia - Australian citizens and permanent
residents apply through the tertiary admissions
centre in the state in which they plan to study

IB students – convert your IB score to the tertiary
leaving exam score equivalent to see what minimum
points are required for each course, at each uni
Tertiary Admissions
Centers

New South Wales – University Admissions Centre
(UAC) www.uac.edu.au

Queensland – Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre
(QTAC) www.qtac.edu.au

South Australia – South Aus. Tertiary Adms. Centre
(SATAC) www.satac.edu.au

Western Australia – Tertiary Institutions Service
Centre (TISC) www.tisc.edu.au

Victoria – Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre
(VTAC) www.vtac.edu.au

Sample IB:ATAR score conversion table
Resources

http://www.internationalstudent.com/school-search/internationalcolleges.shtml

http://www.australian-universities.com/

http://www.idp.com/

http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Australia/Education/High
er_Education/Colleges_and_Universities/

http://studyinaustralia.gov.au/Sia/en/Home.htm

http://www.studyingnewzealand.com/

http://www.i-studentadvisor.com/international-courses-newzealand.html
Advice from WAB families

Residence is very difficult to get – think about shared
housing and start looking before you apply.

Important: which city, lifestyle do you want?

Think carefully about your “gap” semester

Keep an open mind, especially when returning to
your home country

Aussie unis moving towards more general education
in first year – to help retain students

For example, Monash will move to a 4-year degree in
2012
Q&A

Ms. Bernie Longboy
 A-I

Mr. Peter Hauet
 J-M

Ms. Aleka Novitski Bilan
 N-T

Ms. Michelle Chow-Liu
 U-Z