Preparing from Year 10 and 11

The lead up to your final year of high school is an exciting time. In Year 10, you will select the courses that you will study for the next two years. In Year 11, you have the opportunity to lay the foundation for Year 12 and to start planning for your future after school.

UAC is looking forward to supporting you throughout your journey. Our Community Engagement team might visit your school, or you can catch up with us at higher education expos and uni info days. We're here to help as you make these important decisions and prepare to for undergraduate study.

Here are some ways you can start getting ready now.

1. Identify your end goal

Set aside some time to imagine what you would like to do after you finish school, whether you plan to work or study. To study at university, you must select courses in Years 11 and 12 that will make you eligible for an ATAR. Even if you’re not sure whether tertiary study is for you, selecting ATAR courses will allow you the flexibility to change your mind down the track.

ATAR eligibility

2. Consider your abilities and interests

Choosing HSC courses you enjoy and perform well in will give you the best chance of achieving a high ATAR and gaining access to university. Avoid choosing a course simply because it scales well. If you don’t get good marks, scaling won’t make much difference.

3. Explore career opportunities

It is important to select the degree you need to get the job you want. Career expos and university open days are an invaluable source of information on career choices, as is speaking to family, friends, teachers and careers advisers. Consider doing work experience in your area of interest so you can better assess whether a certain career path is a good match for you. If you’re not sure about the career path you want to follow, choose subjects that will keep several options open for you.

4. Research study options

The courses you choose in Years 11 and 12 should reflect the degree you want to study at university. UAC’s Steps to Uni for Year 10 Students lists the prerequisites, recommended studies and/or assumed knowledge necessary for entry to different degrees. This publication is distributed to all schools in NSW and is also available for free as a download.

Use the UAC course search to browse courses that interest you and read course descriptions. Attend Year 10 information evenings held by universities and find out which HSC courses will prepare you for the university degrees that interest you. Remember, when selecting HSC courses, it’s more important to consider your end goal, abilities and interests, than to think about how subjects will be scaled.

5. Get ready for Year 12 and beyond

Your studies in Year 11 do matter. They are the foundation for your Year 12 courses. Also, if you apply for an early offer to university through the Schools Recommendation Scheme then the institutions will base part of their assessment on your Year 11 results. Early offer schemes run by individual institutions often assess your Year 11 results, too.

Here are some things you can do now:

• If you are thinking of studying a law degree at UNSW Sydney, you can sit the Law Admission Test (LAT) in Year 11 because the results are valid for two years. If you’re not happy with your results, you can try again in Year 12.

• It’s a good idea to get to as many uni open days as you can before you make your final course preference decisions next year. Many are held on the same day or weekend, so take the opportunity to attend some open days while you’re in Year 11.