Hi there!
This may be a silly question, but I don’t have anyone around me to ask.
I’m 28 and I’ve haven’t studied since school. I’m a single parent with two small children (4 and 1)
I would like to study something.. I’m not entirely sure what, though I have a few ideas.. but I don’t even know where to start.
I didn’t do year 12 so is there something I’m required to do first? Where do I go for information? Do I just contact any which university and ask about requirements? I have no idea where to start!
As for paying, do I have to pay upfront? Is there options to pay it off throughout the year?
Any help would be appreciated!
3 Replies
Look at Open College and find a course you'd like to do, they'll give you all the information :) and no you don't need to finish year 12 to study.
I am just about to start a Bachelor of Biomedical Science and I turn 50 this year. I left school at the end of Year 11 in 1985 and haven’t studied for over 30 years. Most universities have a free preparation course which can be done over 2 years. I did this last year. When I started I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study, and changed my mind 3 times before settling on Bio Science. Doing the prep course was fantastic. I put off going to Uni for years because I thought I was too old. You are never too old. My degree is 3 years and I am HECSing it. This means the government pays the Uni up front and once you have finished your degree and start working you pay it back via your tax, or you can pay it back in full if your have the means to do so.
What you want to study is going to depend on what you need to do first. There are so many different pathways to study (ie if you wanted to be a nurse, you would likely need to do a TAFE qualification first, then transfer to a university degree). Most universities and TAFE's have open days where they can give you lots of information about the courses, how to gain entry into your chosen field, mature age studying and payment options. This is usually a great time of year to find these. Depending where you are, I would look at their websites or make contact with either your local uni or TAFE to see when they have their next open days. From my experience this gave me all the information of what you need to do to enter your chosen course. For example, I wanted to study a law degree, I had graduated year 12 however didn't have the OP required to gain entry that way. I had been out of school for about 15 years at that stage. I spoke with one of the people at the open day and they suggested that I go through a Bachelor of Arts which had a lower entry criteria and is an extremely broad degree when it comes to subjects. I was accepted into this course and for my first semester, I studied 3 first year law student courses. All I had to do was pass one and then I could transfer into the Law Degree which I did and I was no further behind to the other students who started their Law Degree at the same time I did as I was literally in the exact same classes! There is always a way and they are fantastic to talk to get help. If there are no open days, I would just rock up to one of the campuses and talk to someone!