Peter Bartlett

Kirrawee student Peter Bartlett took the stress out of the HSC through the University of Wollongong's Early Entry program.

Peter motivated by a stress-free HSC

Kirrawee university student Peter Bartlett can understand the stress this year’s Higher School Certificate students are under – not that he felt under pressure when he sat for the HSC at The Jannali High School last year.

A few weeks before the exams started, Peter learned he had been granted Early Entry to the University of Wollongong, with a guaranteed place in the degree he wanted - the Bachelor of Computer Engineering.

“I was very pleased, because Wollongong’s Faculty of Informatics has a good reputation, and employers respect its degrees,” he said.

But instead of easing off because his place at UOW was guaranteed, Peter put his head down and studied just as hard for a good University Admissions Index score as he would have if he was fighting for a place in a university course.

“It really took the pressure off knowing I had a guaranteed position in the course I wanted, so didn’t have to get a set score,” Peter said. “But if anything it just made me more motivated to do well. I was very focused on still doing well.”

Peter gained an impressive UAI of 90.35, well above the course requirement and has since justified the Faculty’s faith in him by recording three High Distinctions and a Distinction in his four 1st Session subjects.

UOW’s Early Entry program is designed to take the stress out of the HSC.. Applicants learn if they have been successful about three weeks before the HSC – considerably reducing stress levels for the successful applicants.

Peter agreed to talk about the Early Entry program to help inform this year’s HSC students of the opportunities it presents to take the stress out of the HSC.

“I knew I wanted to do something with computers at university, and my careers advisor at high school advised me to apply for Early Entry as a way of taking pressure off before the HSC,” he said. “It was certainly a great position to be in, so I’d advise HSC students to investigate it.

“I’m really enjoying studying at Wollongong. Apart from the course, the campus has lots of greenery instead of just concrete and there are excellent services for students.”

Early Entry is open to all Year 12 HSC students and is not only geared towards gifted students. The program assesses students’ suitability for university based on your trial HSC results, portfolio and an interview. You will be offered either a guaranteed place or a place that is conditional upon your achieving a certain result in the final HSC exams. As identified by statistical analysis of Informatics students, Early Entry students generally obtain a greater UAI than students with no Early Entry Offer. Also once at UOW, these students achieve a greater average mark overall AND generally achieve better results in their subjects.

Early Entry is available at UOW through the Faculty of Informatics which delivers degrees in Maths, IT, Computer Science, Electrical, Computer & Telecommunication Engineering. Early Entry is also offered in the Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Science and some degrees in the Faculty of Health & Behavioural Sciences.

To find out more about the UOW Early Entry program and its requirements visit the website www.uow.edu.au/prospective/early_entry.html or phone 1300 367869.