Should I repeat year 12 or transfer in uni? (1 Viewer)

[random93810938]

Hi, question is the title.

I know from different posts that generally it is not advised to repeat year 12 but please hear me out because it would be good to get more opinions tailored to my circumstances. I was told that repeating will not improve atar that much but I think that it may in my case (more reasoning below) but not too sure. So basically what happened was:

1. Went full sweat from year 7-10, got decent results (consistently predicted around 99 atar from rank compared to previous year hsc cohorts, but can obviously vary)
2. Already had anxiety (not tested but was sure) which was greatly exacerbated by the stress to the point where during a completely different appointment, she wanted to refer me to a psychologist for suspectd anxiety
3. Got burnt out in year 11, lost all motivation, basically did no study and homework.
4. Expectedly got terrible results (top 3 --> bottom 20)
5. Always had high expectations and unaccustomed to the shame and sudden failure , got depressed (been leaning on pessimism even before)
6. In year 12 have done basically no study and homework, looking at 60 atar

I want to study law in uni but my grades seem not so acceptable. So I am thinking of repeating but fixing mental health first so I can go back to before where I actually was motivated and even enjoyed studying for 50-60 hours a week and hopefully an atar that I can have without being embarrassed about. If I can fix my mental health, I am confident that I can get an 95+ atar at least as it was the only hinderance. However, if not, then I basically waste a whole year. I think I can also get early entry into various unis with uow and wsu, maybe mcq.

Conversely, if I go to some random uni course and transfer, would it be more advisable? I researched endlessly on internal and external transfers for different unis and have limited information. Do you guys know whether atar or wam is used for transfers (I can only find UNSW but not other unis) and what the requirement is for different unis and if it is hard?

Wondering if you guys have similar experiences and redemption arcs that can help.
Anyways not too sure what I should do so if you guys on the site are always helpful so please do share your opinions it would be great

 

[dav53521]

I'll just like to say while it is possible to get your motivation back and repeat what's stopping you from crashing and burning again as you're likely going to place a lot of pressure to perform in your second year and will likely get stressed out and burn out again.

Also if you go into a random course you're probably going to get bored and not do so well as I would assume that law requires a high GPA/WAM and the best way to know whether a uni takes WAM/GPA or ATAR or both depending on which one is higher as some unis do that uni but ask.

Overall I don't think there's one correct answer and it really depends on what you believe will be the best for you as you likely know how each path will affect you better then anyone else so choose the option you believe is best and make sure you truely understand the pros and cons of each option throughly before making a decision as there's no point jumping head first into an option just to find out that it was not the best decision.

 

[random93810938]

I'll just like to say while it is possible to get your motivation back and repeat what's stopping you from crashing and burning again as you're likely going to place a lot of pressure to perform in your second year and will likely get stressed out and burn out again.

Also if you go into a random course you're probably going to get bored and not do so well as I would assume that law requires a high GPA/WAM and the best way to know whether a uni takes WAM/GPA or ATAR or both depending on which one is higher is to ask the uni.

Overall I don't think there's one correct answer and it really depends on what you believe will be the best for you as you likely know how each path will affect you better then anyone else so choose the option you believe is best and make sure you truely understand the pros and cons of each option throughly before making a decision as there's no point jumping head first into an option just to find out that it was not the best decision.

thanks for the response, I do wish to redo the hsc as not to regret later in life but I'll email unis to make a more educated decision.

 

[jimmysmith560]

Generally speaking, repeating year 12 should only be considered as a last resort, given that this is a costly option that offers no guarantees. It is costly because you would be losing an additional year, which you could be instead spending as a first-year university student, and offers no guarantees because you still need to regularly study and prepare for your assessment tasks/exams to the best of your ability. On the other hand, studying a Bachelor of Laws at a different university or another degree at the university that you are more interested in attending, then transferring to the Bachelor of Laws is a better course of action for the following reasons:

• You would be a university student. The HSC would finally be behind you and you can take the time that you need to focus on your mental health, which is more possible given the added flexibility that comes with studying a Bachelor's degree compared to the HSC.
• If you choose to study a Bachelor of Laws at a different university, then your worst case scenario becomes not being able to study law at your preferred university, as opposed to not being to study law at all. The latter becomes a possibility if you choose to repeat year 12.

Universities such as UoW, WSU and MQ still require rather high ATARs for their respective Bachelor of Laws (ranging from 90 to 96). If you believe that you may not be able to perform at this standard this year given your circumstances, you may wish to consider ACU's Bachelor of Laws, which requires a lower ATAR of 75. I think that you may find this to be a reasonable goal, not to mention the possibility of having adjustment factors applied to your selection rank, which increases your chances of receiving an offer. You can view the subject list and thresholds using here. I also agree with the above comment that studying a Bachelor of Laws should be prioritised over a different degree as there is a higher chance of having studied similar subjects to those within the Bachelor of Laws at a different university, resulting in more credits for previous study being recognised.

Subsequently, you will be able to do your utmost to achieve favourable results at the university that you end up attending (should you choose this path) and later initiate a transfer to your preferred university. USyd, UNSW and UTS essentially have identical requirements, that is, to have your university studies considered for admission, you must complete at least one year of full-time study (or part-time equivalent).

I hope this helps!

 

[random93810938]

Thanks so much for the response guys, they are really helpful. With the gpa/atar conversion being favourable, it is quite appealing to do a bachelor first.

I am going for a bachelor of business and law degree. Would it be ideal to study business at a preferable uni like UNSW and transfer to bus/law (some unis have reserve spots for existing students), for do law at a less competitive uni. The reason is, being the anxious person that I am, I am afraid that going to a less competitive (hence lower entry requirement) uni would have adverse effects when doing group work/assignments with apathetic students (which brings back major ptsd from junior high), thus lowering gpa and decreasing employment opportunity from an overly saturated job market of lawyers. On the other hand, doing a less demanding degree from a preferred uni would likely have harder marking and tests, leading to lowered marks, and if unable to transfer, stuck with a degree that cannot help in achieving my desired job.

I know I may be stressing too much though...

Thanks again

 

[jimmysmith560]

Thanks so much for the response guys, they are really helpful. With the gpa/atar conversion being favourable, it is quite appealing to do a bachelor first.

I am going for a bachelor of business and law degree. Would it be ideal to study business at a preferable uni like UNSW and transfer to bus/law (some unis have reserve spots for existing students), for do law at a less competitive uni. The reason is, being the anxious person that I am, I am afraid that going to a less competitive (hence lower entry requirement) uni would have adverse effects when doing group work/assignments with apathetic students (which brings back major ptsd from junior high), thus lowering gpa and decreasing employment opportunity from an overly saturated job market of lawyers. On the other hand, doing a less demanding degree from a preferred uni would likely have harder marking and tests, leading to lowered marks, and if unable to transfer, stuck with a degree that cannot help in achieving my desired job.

I know I may be stressing too much though...

Thanks again

If you are confident that you will succeed in transferring to the double-degree program through the reserve path, you can study a Bachelor of Commerce, do your best to achieve the highest possible results, then initiate an internal transfer to the Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Laws. Of course, this path still carries the risk of not being able to transfer, although this does not suggest that transferring is impossible.

On the other hand, if you insist on ensuring that you have a relevant qualification that will allow you to work in law, then you should prioritise studying the degree that will ultimately enable you to do so rather than the university. If you choose to study law at a less competitive university, you will have ensured that at the very least, if you do not succeed in transferring to the law program at UNSW, you will still graduate with a Bachelor of Laws, allowing you to start a career in law. While it is true that there are not as many academically capable students in less competitive universities as in more competitive universities, this does not mean that there will not be any at all. It just means that you might need to be more selective in terms of the students with whom you would like to work on group assignments, so that you ensure that you end up working with like-minded students who also care about achieving favourable results. With that being said, keep in mind that a significant component of assessment at university will also be individual, giving you an opportunity to do your best and hopefully maximise your grades in preparation for your transfer to your preferred university.

 

[nsw..wollongong]

my mate got a 83 ATAR and is now doing doctor med in western Sydney, cus he transferred over from his medical science course with his over 6 GPA.

heyy can u pls elaborate on this? when did he transfer? just tryna gather options for myself too )

 

[carrotsss]

Thanks so much for the response guys, they are really helpful. With the gpa/atar conversion being favourable, it is quite appealing to do a bachelor first.

I am going for a bachelor of business and law degree. Would it be ideal to study business at a preferable uni like UNSW and transfer to bus/law (some unis have reserve spots for existing students), for do law at a less competitive uni. The reason is, being the anxious person that I am, I am afraid that going to a less competitive (hence lower entry requirement) uni would have adverse effects when doing group work/assignments with apathetic students (which brings back major ptsd from junior high), thus lowering gpa and decreasing employment opportunity from an overly saturated job market of lawyers. On the other hand, doing a less demanding degree from a preferred uni would likely have harder marking and tests, leading to lowered marks, and if unable to transfer, stuck with a degree that cannot help in achieving my desired job.

I know I may be stressing too much though...

Thanks again

I would only do that if you’re okay with the possibility of not getting a transfer and just getting the business degree and working in that field, because it is a possibility and you really don’t want to end up stuck doing in that field if you don’t like it

 

[idkkdi]

firstly, with your current amount of stress/anxiety, it would be hard to thrive in usyd and unsw law. please fix your mental health. 'Always had high expectations and unaccustomed to the shame and sudden failure' - the second part of this statement will happen in law, unless you are part of a very small few, and you need to be able to trudge through it.

as for transferring, i think most unis with the exception of usyd have somewhat lax requirements for transferring into law. if you aren't able to transfer in, sometimes maybe it just means you wouldn't cope well in law.

finally, i think do what you wont regret.