What if your child hasn’t applied for a university or TAFE course for 2020? Is it too late to apply? The short answer is a resounding NO! Have a look at the quick reference table published by the admissions centre, VTAC.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that they have missed out on the early application fee. You can see from the table that it is much more expensive to be applying for tertiary courses quite so late in the year.

Of course there is another solution and that is that you do not apply through VTAC, but apply direct to the institution. This is the method a lot of “mature students” use to apply for higher education courses. This is because they might be a bit clearer about where and what they want to study and so are only putting in for one or two courses at one or two universities of TAFEs. But a recently graduated year 12 student can do this too, but only if you have missed the deadlines for VTAC. Applying direct means you would need to do some research and make a couple of choices of courses only, otherwise it will be very time consuming. Applying through an admissions centre means that it is all administered for you. Applying on your own means having to upload documents into each university’s online applications platform.

Another solution to a very last minute idea to study in 2020 is to wait and apply mid-year. This way he/she can spend a little time considering and perhaps seeking support in deciding upon what courses they might like to apply to. In the meantime they can gain employment so as to develop some skill-sets and real work/life experience. The money can also come in handy to help pay for the application process mid-year.

For all questions related to applying for courses either direct to institutions or through admissions centres, such as VTAC, please contact me at [email protected]