University Entrance

The University of Western Australia, Curtin University, Edith Cowan University and Murdoch University use a relatively common selection system.
To be considered for university admission as a school leaver an applicant must:

• Achieve the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE), and
• Achieve competency in English as prescribed by the individual universities, and
• Obtain a sufficiently high Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) for entry into a particular institution and/or course, and
• Satisfy any prerequisites or special requirements for entry into particular university courses.

1. WESTERN AUSTRALIAN CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION (WACE)

It is essential for students to satisfy the requirements of the WACE to enter all four public universities.

2. COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH

The competence in English requirement will normally be met by a scaled mark of at least 50 in the ATAR English courses or a scaled mark of at least 50 in Literature. Please note, however, that individual universities may have their own specific requirements. This information is available from the TISC website.
Concessions
Each university has provided some concessions where competence in English has not been met. Visit the TISC website on www.tisc.edu.au for further details.

3. THE AUSTRALIAN TERTIARY ADMISSION RANK (ATAR)

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank is the basis of admission to most university courses. You are ranked in order of merit based on your ATAR.

What is your ATAR?
The ATAR ranges between zero and 99.95. It reports your rank relative to all other WA students of Year 12 school leaving age and takes into account the number of students with a Tertiary Entrance Aggregate (TEA) as well as the number of people of Year 12 school leaving age in the population of this State. For example, an ATAR of 75.00 indicates that you have an overall ranking equal to or better than 75% of the eligible Year 12 school leaving age population in Western Australia.
The ATAR is derived from the Tertiary Entrance Aggregate (TEA).

• The TEA will be calculated by adding the best four scaled scores in WACE Courses, providing that for school candidates, at least two different units of the Course have been completed. No course can be counted more than once.
• In calculating the scaled score for WACE Courses, equal weight is given to the final school score and the final external examination score, except where courses are taken as private candidates.

TEA to ATAR

TISC have constructed a WA ATAR calculator to estimate your ATAR. The calculator takes into account the number of students with a TEA and the number of people of Year 12 school leaving age in the State. This calculator is updated annually.

4. PREREQUISITES

Students need to ensure that they satisfy the prerequisites for admission to the university course of their choice. Prerequisites are courses or special requirements that must be successfully completed for entry to particular university courses. This will generally be a scaled mark of at least 50 in specified non-mathematics courses at ATAR level. Mathematics prerequisites differ across university courses.
For some university courses the special requirements may include bridging/special course units, interviews, auditions, folio presentations, manual dexterity tests, aptitude tests, fitness requirements etc. Information regarding any special requirements is only partly provided on the TISC website. Detailed information is available from the individual universities.

THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME AUSTRALIA (UNDA)

The enrolment procedures for the University of Notre Dame Australia differ from those of the four public universities in Western Australia. NDA utilises a comprehensive admissions process that goes beyond the use of a single score.
The admission process considers:

• WACE
• Personal qualities and motivation
• Contribution to school and community life
• Academic record (school assessment / ATAR)
• Admissions interview

A scaled mark of 50 or more in the English Course or Literature Course will be required in order to meet the English Language Competence requirement.

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