Does the subjects i take for my hsc determine my entry into Uni? (1 Viewer)

bb//1

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I'm currently in year 10 and taking up standard english, standard maths, economics, legal studies and industrial multi media next year.
I am hoping to study bachelor of economics or something along the lines of that at UNSW.
I tried searching if there were any pre-requisite required and there's something called "assumed knowledge" but wasn't very clear for every course.

Even while doing general maths is there an opportunity for me to get into UNSW, not even for economics just at all.
Do the subjects i do now determine my chances of getting into UNSW? or is it purely on my ATAR.

i'm big time stressing plz help thanks!
 

jimmysmith560

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The difference between a prerequisite and assumed knowledge is that the former is required, meaning that if a subject is a prerequisite, completion of that subject is required for you to be eligible to study a particular degree. Assumed knowledge on the other hand isn't strictly required to study a particular degree. With respect to assumed knowledge, a student is assumed to have passed a relevant subject in the HSC. For example, if a Bachelor of Economics states that HSC Economics is assumed knowledge (which I don't believe would be the case), it means that it is advised that you have completed HSC Economics prior to studying this degree, but you can still enrol in the degree even if you haven't completed HSC Economics.

There is definitely an opportunity for you to get into UNSW even while doing Mathematics Standard. While UNSW assumes you have completed Mathematics Advanced, you can still study this degree even if you have done Mathematics Standard (and maybe even no maths at all).


UNSW also specifically states:

At UNSW, we don’t have prerequisite courses. Instead, we have assumed knowledge.

This means that your academics will teach you assuming that you have studied certain subjects (or equivalent); receiving your offer is not dependent on you having studied that subject. For example, Advanced Mathematics is the assumed knowledge for the Bachelor of Commerce. If you haven’t done this level of mathematics, you will still be eligible for an offer to Commerce, however it is up to you to bridge your knowledge gap.



To sum up, unless the university you wish to attend specifically requires that you have studied a particular subject in order to be eligible to study a particular degree, your ATAR is the main thing that the university will assess, which is the case of UNSW and its Bachelor of Economics.

I hope this helps! 😄
 

bb//1

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The difference between a prerequisite and assumed knowledge is that the former is required, meaning that if a subject is a prerequisite, completion of that subject is required for you to be eligible to study a particular degree. Assumed knowledge on the other hand isn't strictly required to study a particular degree. With respect to assumed knowledge, a student is assumed to have passed a relevant subject in the HSC. For example, if a Bachelor of Economics states that HSC Economics is assumed knowledge (which I don't believe would be the case), it means that it is advised that you have completed HSC Economics prior to studying this degree, but you can still enrol in the degree even if you haven't completed HSC Economics.

There is definitely an opportunity for you to get into UNSW even while doing Mathematics Standard. While UNSW assumes you have completed Mathematics Advanced, you can still study this degree even if you have done Mathematics Standard (and maybe even no maths at all).



UNSW also specifically states:



This means that your academics will teach you assuming that you have studied certain subjects (or equivalent); receiving your offer is not dependent on you having studied that subject. For example, Advanced Mathematics is the assumed knowledge for the Bachelor of Commerce. If you haven’t done this level of mathematics, you will still be eligible for an offer to Commerce, however it is up to you to bridge your knowledge gap.



To sum up, unless the university you wish to attend specifically requires that you have studied a particular subject in order to be eligible to study a particular degree, your ATAR is the main thing that the university will assess, which is the case of UNSW and its Bachelor of Economics.

I hope this helps! 😄
thank you so much for this this helped alot and helped with so much stress
 

bugra

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I'm in a similar situation, I'm want to do UNSW Law/Science and study biology or ecology, but the assumed knowledge says the Chemistry is assumed. I know I cans still gain admission, but is chemistry necessary?
 

jimmysmith560

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I'm in a similar situation, I'm want to do UNSW Law/Science and study biology or ecology, but the assumed knowledge says the Chemistry is assumed. I know I cans still gain admission, but is chemistry necessary?
Having taken and completed Chemistry might be necessary for your first year of study, during which I believe you will be taking units that explore different scientific areas on a general level, one of which will be Chemistry. Concepts that will be covered within such units are likely to be linked to what you would've learned in year 11 and 12, had you completed Preliminary and HSC Chemistry. Based on this, your lecturers may assume that you have already studied/developed a good understanding of a number of those concepts. Beyond your first year of university, your area of study (whether that's biology or ecology) will become much more relevant (i.e. will become the focus of your units), meaning the Chemistry assumed knowledge may no longer be useful beyond first year.
 

icycledough

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I'm currently in year 10 and taking up standard english, standard maths, economics, legal studies and industrial multi media next year.
I am hoping to study bachelor of economics or something along the lines of that at UNSW.
I tried searching if there were any pre-requisite required and there's something called "assumed knowledge" but wasn't very clear for every course.

Even while doing general maths is there an opportunity for me to get into UNSW, not even for economics just at all.
Do the subjects i do now determine my chances of getting into UNSW? or is it purely on my ATAR.

i'm big time stressing plz help thanks!
Yeah the UAC page for the Bachelor of Economics states that Mathematics Advanced is assumed knowledge with recommended knowledge in Mathematics Extension 1 and English Advanced. This means all these subjects aren't compulsory, but if you haven't done Maths Advanced, then you will have to learn it in your own time before or during university. For the later subjects, it may help having studied ME1 and English Advanced but won't make an impact in the course.
 

quickoats

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I'm in a similar situation, I'm want to do UNSW Law/Science and study biology or ecology, but the assumed knowledge says the Chemistry is assumed. I know I cans still gain admission, but is chemistry necessary?
You will not be denied entry on the basis of not having done chemistry.
 

Eagle Mum

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I'm in a similar situation, I'm want to do UNSW Law/Science and study biology or ecology, but the assumed knowledge says the Chemistry is assumed. I know I cans still gain admission, but is chemistry necessary?
Assumed knowledge just means that the lecturers/tutors of the course will not spend any time explaining the concepts covered in high school, so if students don’t acquire this set of knowledge & skills before starting the course, they might struggle and fall behind. It should be possible to work through a HSC text book, learn through Khan Academy etc or enrol in one of the bridging courses offered by the Uni.
 

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