Studying in Australia?

Hey,

I have always been a very hands-on person with many extra-curriculars, I am also a very bad test taker, and that couple has adversely affected my grades.

I am currently a senior attending high school, and it seems like I’m headed to a California Community College which I can eventually use to transfer to a school such as UC Irvine or Davis.

Now, I took a whim and applied to UNSW (after seeing all the ranks), and I got a preliminary acceptance.
I have been to Sydney and it is definitely a beautiful place.

I have to make a decision, should I continue my Community College route or should I take the leap to complete my degree abroad?

What I’m personally looking for is a way to get a degree as a credential and a gateway. I want to Computer Science/Engineering - an ever-changing field.

Letters from other American universities have not come yet, but I am keeping UNSW as a backup college.

My degree will be Engineering Honours with a focus in Computer Engineering.

GPA: 2.7
ACT: 30

Thank you

Australia is very expensive, can you actually afford it, you understand the $$ requirements of just landing in Oz ? is the place conditional? Why the GPA? http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/nsw-universities-taking-students-with-atars-as-low-as-30-20160125-gmdvr6.html#mindthegap

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It sounds very expensive. It might depend on where your goal is to end up living – I don’t know anything about the Australian educational system.

@Sybylla That’s insane. MY ACT Puts my converted ATAR to 92.00. MY GPA suffered for a combination of reasons. I left to see my family in Dubai for quite some time, we had a family emergency there in 10th grade. And overall I’m a bad test taker. I can do very well in learning the subjects, but I cannot take a test. I forget everything. Especially in French.
As for money, that’s not an issue really. I would have more of a concern if I wasn’t doing something in Computers. The industry pays well enough for loans to not be an issue, and my family makes enough to be okay with the expense. That is a huge deciding factor.

@CorpusChristi It will be, but Like said, It’s not as big a deal since I’m going into computers, which has a high base salary.

If you are in a California public high school, you may want to consider requesting an evaluation for learning differences before you graduate. Consistent underperformance on tests is a concern. If there is something that can be done to improve your testing performance, you would want to know that before you head to college.

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@siliconvalleymom

How would I do that? I was recommended for ADD testing and medication back in elementay school, bit my parents refused to take me to a specialist. I’ve learned to get over it, but testing and studying is still very difficult.

Your weaknesses your GPA. the ACT is the outlier. So you actually did OK on the test bit. How will engineering go for a poor test taker? I expect Aus unis are more like UK schools with little nurturing and greater expectation of self reliance. Heck, in the US, aren’t; end of semester grades pretty much based on tests?
The point of the article is to look at this institution carefully, there are a few top notch Aus universities, getting into one of those would be terrific, give that a try, but getting into a school that seems happy to take money from low stats kids by their own standards, is no great feat. Cash cow and hecs debt is something akin to dodgy privates exploiting students in the USA. Packaging education for foreigners is something Aus does and will do more and more as the recession bites, historically the price of a degree has all but guaranteed Aussie citizenship. That is a big deal to many Asian students with no US/handy dual citizenship.

@opvcsocal Here’s a link that explains the process in California, which starts with a letter to the school district:
http://www.courts.ca.gov/1106.htm

It might be helpful for your parents to know that there are many accommodations available that could help you, including extended time on tests, the ability to take more breaks during testing, or a seat close to the front of the class so you don’t miss anything. You and your parents will decide together with the IEP team which accommodations are appropriate for you. The learning evaluation should be conducted without charge by the public school district.

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