Frequently Asked Questions

At the very least you should attend the Year 12 university talks in your school; university open days; and maybe one large expo (such as The Career Choices Expo at Burswood or the Careers and Education Expo at the Convention Centre)

The Admissions staff at all universities examine all qualifications submitted, and calculate an equivalency table for them. Such qualifications as British A levels, TAFE Diplomas, American SAT's, etc, are given a nominal equivalent in TER terms, enabling universities to evaluate local school leavers against all other applicants.

Students who complete five or six TEE subjects tend to perform much better then those who take only four. Hence, students taking four TEE subjects are strongly advised to have a 'backup plan' such as TAFE and the private colleges. You should choose the subjects you would like to do, the ones you can do well in, the ones which are pre-requisites for certain university courses, and lastly choose enough TEE subjects to maximise your chances of university entry.

1. When studying, remember the average person has an attention span of about fifteen minutes. Therefore study time that is structured to include regular breaks to refresh the mind can be more useful than long periods of study on one topic.
2. Get enough sleep, but not too much. 7-9 hours per night is enough. And most importantly, DON'T change your sleep patterns just before the TEE.
3. Don't rely on artificial stimulants to keep you alert. Things like chocolate and coffee can actually put some people to sleep. Far better is a complex carbohydrate like a bowl of rice or pasta.
4. Do the COMPULSORY questions, or the EASIER questions first. That will get them out of the way, and boost your confidence. Be careful not to spend to long on any one question at the expense of time left for other question/s
5. During reading time, work out how long to spend on each question.
6. In essay questions, ANSWER the question, don't go off on irrelevant tangents. For example, if the question is "What is tragic about Othello?" don't give the life story of William Shakespeare.
7. Often, memorising things with flash-cards works well. Using these you can summarise the 3 or 5 or 6 major points about:
   - Australian trading partners
   - verbs in the past tense
   - rules for harmony
   - most famous treaties, etc.
   You can then sit anywhere, anytime and study.

We won't know the exact cut offs for courses until First Round Offers, but the minimum eligibility score for ECU is 55. If your TER is at or above this level, you are eligible to apply for most ECU courses. If your TER is between 50 and 54.9 it may be an idea to consider our UPC (University Preparation Course) or consider submitting a Portfolio application. For more information on the Portfolio Entry Pathway click here.

Entrance into a course is never guaranteed until a formal offer is made by the University but if your TER is equal to or above the cut off for that course, and you have passed the pre-requisites and have English competency, you should keep it as a preference.

No, only the ECU Admissions staff can process your application. Faculties have no role in the selection of undergraduate students.

If you are unable to find six courses that you are interested in, you DO NOT have to fill in the six preferences. It is important however that you give yourself a good chance of getting into a course you are interested in, so try and choose 2 or 3 so that you have a back up course if you do not receive your first preference.

There are many alternative entry pathways in place such as the Portfolio Entry Pathway, for more information click here OR you may like to apply for the University Preparation Course, for more information click here. You can also consider completing a Certificate IV or Diploma from TAFE or a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) such as one of the Private Colleges (PIBT etc.). Prerequisites still apply to some courses, and your eligibility may still be affected by the prevailing supply and demand factors.

There are many alternative entry pathways in place such as the Portfolio Entry Pathway OR you may like to apply for the University Preparation Course. You can also consider completing a Certificate IV or Diploma from TAFE or a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) such as one of the Private Colleges (PIBT etc.). Prerequisites still apply to some courses, and your eligibility may still be affected by the prevailing supply and demand factors.

Secondary Graduation is necessary at UWA, and 'highly desirable' at Curtin, ECU and Murdoch. Therefore you may still get an offer from ECU, Murdoch or Curtin without having Secondary Graduation. From 2009 Secondary Graduate will be if you wish to enter any Western Australian university.

Applications can still be submitted to TISC until late January. You will need to take your school results (or other qualifications) and apply directly to TISC.

At this time ECU does not have a time limit on year 12 TEE results.

You might be referring to the University Preparation Course . This is a bridging course which lasts six or twelve months and students have to pass that before getting into a university degree. In other words, a school leaver who is already slightly below university standard, and then fails the bridging course, will not be able to gain entry to a degree at ECU.

You may also be referring to someone who gained entry via the Portfolio Pathway because they did a combination of TEE and Wholly School Assessed subjects. The Portfolio Pathway may still be available to your son/daughter if there school assessed grades were good.

You'll need to contact the Curriculum Council on 9273 6377.

A person who is aged 20 years or over by the 1st March in the year they wish to enter university or by the 1st August if they wish to commence in 2nd semester.

If they wish to start at the beginning of the year, they should apply through TISC (unless applying through the Mature Age Portfolio Pathway in which case they apply directly to ECU). If they wish to start in the middle of the year they should apply direct to ECU.

Yes. In fact our average student is aged 27.8, indicating that there are many mature people studying at ECU.

The UPC is designed for:
1. School leavers aged under 20 who took fewer than four TEE subjects during Year 12, but gained good grades
2. School leavers aged under 20 who completed four or more TEE subjects, but narrowly missed university entry (TER between 50.0 and 54.9)
3. Mature age applicants who sat the STAT test and narrowly missed university entry (STAT Written English >= 125 and Verbal or Quantitative >= 125)
4. Mature age applicants who hold a certificate III from TAFE or a Registered Training Organisation.

When you have completed the UPC, and passed all units, you will be able to apply for entry to an ECU degree. . Prerequisites still apply to some degree courses, and there is no guarantee that you will automatically receive an offer. Some degrees can be commenced in Semester 2, however many UPC graduates (e.g Teaching, Nursing, Communications) usually gain entry to their degrees in Semester 1 of the following year due to the large numbers of students enrolled in those degrees.