Introduction: who this session is for

Rob: Welcome to the National Virtual Expo and to this session on making the University of Sydney happen if you're a mature age student. I'm joined by Beth Downie from the University of Sydney to talk about your opportunities as a mature age student. That's an interesting term, because you can be a mature age student whether you are 21 or 55 — everybody in the middle who isn't coming straight out of school, that is you.

Rob: This is a great session because the University of Sydney is one of Australia's most prestigious institutions, something to aspire to, and Beth is going to take us through everything you need to know. If you've got any questions as we go, drop them in the chat wherever that is for you. If you're watching this on the replay, you can ask questions in the chat using the Choosing Your Uni Discord, or if you're a parent, in the Facebook group for parents — details for both are down in the description below. Without further ado, let's hand over to Beth.

Guest: Hello, my name is Beth Downie. I work in Sydney Futures Students at the University of Sydney, and today we are going to look at applying as a mature age student. Please note that the information in this presentation is for domestic applicants. Applying to university can be complicated, and hopefully this presentation will clarify some things for you. If you need help at any point, you can contact our team via email at admissions.pathways@sydney.edu.au.

What "mature age student" actually means at USyd

Guest: Let's start by clarifying a few key points. First, when we say mature age student, we are referring to an applicant who is over the age of 21. One common misconception is that just because you are over 21, you must apply through the Mature Age Entry Scheme. This is not always the case. The Mature Age Entry Scheme is specifically designed for applicants who don't already have a qualification that will be recognised for admission. If you already have an eligible qualification, you can apply without the scheme.

Guest: Another common misconception is that the Mature Age Entry Scheme allows you to apply for courses simply on the basis of your age. In all cases, you must have a qualification we recognise and can assess for admission. The Mature Age Entry Scheme is a pathway that allows you to apply with an eligible university preparation course, which would not be accepted under regular circumstances.

Guest: No matter what qualification you are using to apply, if you are a domestic mature student applying for a bachelor's degree at the University of Sydney, you will always need to submit your course application through the Universities Admissions Centre, or UAC.

Course restrictions mature age applicants should know about

Guest: There are also a few restrictions you should be aware of. A small number of courses are only available to current high school leavers — these are the double degree Medicine and Sciences Po dual degrees. There are also restrictions on the double degree Veterinary Medicine course. If you are interested in Medicine or Veterinary Medicine, we recommend contacting our team for advice regarding your options.

Guest: It is also important to note that some courses will not accept certain qualifications for admission. For example, you cannot use a TAFE diploma to apply for any law or pharmacy degrees. You can find a summary of this information on the Recognised Qualifications page on the University of Sydney website — simply search "Recognised Qualifications University of Sydney". I will refer to this page multiple times throughout the presentation and I highly recommend visiting it. Additionally, all entry schemes will have at least some courses that are excluded, and these will be listed on the relevant scheme page. Make sure to research your options or seek advice before committing to a course of action.

Secondary qualifications accepted for undergraduate admission

Guest: We'll now look at what sort of qualification you might use to apply for an undergraduate course. If you completed high school and received an ATAR, you can still use it to apply for admission, even if you finished many years ago. If you completed an Australian Year 12 qualification before the ATAR was established, you may have a different school leaving result such as the UAE or TAS. These are called historic Year 12 studies and we will still accept them — they will simply be rescaled against the ATAR when you apply.

Guest: We also accept over 100 secondary qualifications from around the world, such as the IB, the SAT, or the A-levels. We include indicative entry scores for common secondary qualifications on our course pages. For example, on the course page for our Bachelor of Arts, I can select the relevant qualification from the dropdown and see that the indicative entry requirement is a score of 1250. This list is non-exhaustive, meaning it doesn't include every accepted qualification, so you should visit the Recognised Qualifications page for full details.

Using prior university or higher education study to apply

Guest: We can also consider you based on your grades from a bachelor's degree or a higher qualification like a master's degree. You do not have to have finished your degree, but you will need to have completed the equivalent of at least one year of full-time study before you can apply using this qualification. Please be aware that this study must be within the one degree — so if you've done six months in one degree and six months in another, you won't be able to combine them to make one year of study for assessment purposes.

Guest: If you have both a secondary qualification and higher education studies, you'll be assessed on the better of the two. We provide a table on the Recognised Qualifications page which you can use as a guide for eligibility. For example, if you have a credit average in the first year of your bachelor's degree, you can apply to courses with a selection rank of up to 88.

Using a TAFE diploma or advanced diploma to apply

Guest: We may also consider vocational education and training, or VET, study — such as a completed TAFE diploma or TAFE advanced diploma — if it meets certain requirements. First, your diploma must be accredited by the Australian Qualifications Framework, or the AQF, or an overseas equivalent if you studied abroad. You can check accreditation with your qualification provider, or if you've already finished, you can look for an AQF accreditation symbol on your transcript of results or board certificate.

Guest: Next, your faculty or school must accept the qualification. We provide a list on the Recognised Qualifications page which outlines whether a faculty or school will: (a) accept any diploma, (b) accept diplomas from a relevant field of study only, or (c) not accept diplomas at all. Finally, if you are under the age of 21, you cannot apply with a diploma. As a mature student, if you do not already have an ATAR or equivalent, this restriction will not apply to you.

Guest: We also provide a table on the Recognised Qualifications page which you can use as a guide for eligibility to apply with a diploma or advanced diploma. Before choosing to study a diploma, you should check the selection rank of the course you're applying for. For example, if I was interested in a Bachelor of Commerce, I would look up and see that it has a selection rank of 96. If I completed a diploma, even with top marks, I would not be able to meet the selection rank for this course, as the maximum rank I could receive is 95. And if I studied an advanced diploma, I would need to have a high distinction average to be eligible to apply for Commerce.

How the Mature Age Entry Scheme works

Guest: If you already have an eligible qualification for your course, you can go ahead and apply through UAC. But if you don't, you might like to take advantage of our Mature Age Entry Scheme, which allows you to apply to most of our courses using an approved university preparation programme. These programmes are not accepted outside of specific entry schemes. The preparation programmes can be studied by anyone, so they are accessible, flexible, and a low-cost way to get a qualification you can use to apply to university.

Guest: It is important to note that if you have an ATAR of 70 or above, a completed diploma or advanced diploma, one or more years of full-time study in a bachelor's degree, a higher education qualification, or the recognised equivalent of any of these, then you are not able to apply through the Mature Age Entry Scheme. To be eligible for the scheme, you will also need to be a domestic student, at least 21 years old on the 1st of March in the year in which you will commence study at the University of Sydney, and to have completed an eligible university preparation course within the previous two years.

Guest: If you are eligible, you'll also need to make sure that the course you want is offered through the scheme, and take note of the accepted university preparation courses plus any prerequisite subjects. For example, if I am interested in the Bachelor of Commerce, I go to the eligible courses heading and open up Business. I can see that I can apply with certain units from TAFE, specifically units in business, engineering, or science, or the University of Newcastle Open Foundation course. When I complete one of these qualifications, I must also complete a mathematics subject.

Guest: Once you've completed your preparation course, you can apply for admission through UAC. Remember that admission to the University of Sydney is competitive and places are awarded based on academic merit. Simply completing a preparation course does not guarantee an offer to your degree — you will be assessed based on your academic results.

Other entry schemes and pathways that may apply to you

Guest: Let's finish up with a few other entry schemes that might be relevant to you. The Tertiary Preparation Course, or TPC, Entry Scheme and the Skills for Tertiary Admission Test, or STAT, Entry Scheme also allow you to apply for courses with qualifications that are not accepted under regular circumstances.

Guest: The Educational Access Scheme gives students who have experienced significant educational disadvantage throughout their secondary studies the opportunity to have their circumstances taken into account when applying. This does not apply if you have a record of tertiary study. If you do have a record of tertiary study, the Special Consideration for Admission Scheme is for applicants whose secondary or tertiary studies were impacted by circumstances outside of their control.

Guest: If you are an elite athlete or performer and your rehearsal, training, or competitive commitments significantly impacted your secondary or tertiary qualification, you can apply through the Elite Athletes and Performers Scheme. The My Sydney Entry and Scholarship Scheme supports students from low socioeconomic areas with adjustment factors for course entry, an annual scholarship, and ongoing support. The Regional Remote Entry Scheme provides adjustment factors for entry to support students from regional and remote areas. And finally, the Portfolio Admissions Pathway can help you gain entry into eligible undergraduate courses at the School of Architecture, Design and Planning.

Guest: Thank you for your time. I hope this presentation has helped, and if you ever need assistance, please contact our team — we'd be happy to help.