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Has anyone here done SIBT? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter robbie13
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anthony_wheels
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Hi Robbie,
Two of my sisters have been through the SIBT Program/Course. Sure, it is fairly expensive, but in the long run it is definitely worth it in the long run. For example, a few years ago my sister was only receiving a very low salary in the occupation which she was in at the time. Last week she secured a job at CBA with a salary of 110k plus super. That being said, they still had to work hard at Uni, etc... Going to SIBT does not ensure a good job in the future (like with an education or training) however it can be very beneficial process.
Two of my sisters have been through the SIBT Program/Course. Sure, it is fairly expensive, but in the long run it is definitely worth it in the long run. For example, a few years ago my sister was only receiving a very low salary in the occupation which she was in at the time. Last week she secured a job at CBA with a salary of 110k plus super. That being said, they still had to work hard at Uni, etc... Going to SIBT does not ensure a good job in the future (like with an education or training) however it can be very beneficial process.
Thank you for the reply Anthony. How did your sisters find the SIBT Program/Course? I can understand the fairly large costs for the program as it is very well enhanced with plenty of student assistance. Wow! $110k+super is fantastic achievement!
Were they offered anything else before SIBT?
Were they offered anything else before SIBT?
anthony_wheels
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Ahh, to be honest, I'm not really sure how they found SIBT, but it didn't really matter. The purpose of SIBT was to simply just get them into their desired university degrees.
anthony_wheels
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Oh, and they weren't offered anything (well, I don't think so anyway). I'm pretty sure they applied for the course/program.
i did SIBT first year, now in 3rd year commerce degree. Can answer anything you need to know.
As for your above question there is a few things to take into consideration
SIBT in general is easier (in commerce anyway) than uni courses. They are catered to international students so alot of things are "dumbed down" to allow easier understanding (which I enjoyed as i was a nervous first year student anyway). You learn the same stuff but the lecturers have the mindset that english is everyone's second language and they need to use simpler language and/or explain things in simpler ways. With good reason too - some classes of 30ish i was the only local/aussie student. Another thing making it easier is that attendance is required and recorded, so you are forced to attend and forced to learn. Also lectures in SIBT are 3 hours instead of 2 hours in uni. This all makes SIBT easier to pass (the final exams are probably very similar to uni final exams except SIBT makes sure you are better equipped). Also with the "english is a second language" mindset, as a local student you will probably naturally get higher marks in SIBT than you would in uni for the same presentation.
The other upside to SIBT is the fact that all you need is pretty much the ability to pay for the course and a pass in HSC maths and youre in to SIBT. Was really easy to sign up and didnt have to go through hassles of trying to get into UNI. As someone applying years after my HSC, i didnt want to have to deal with the unpredictability of being accepted as a mature age student (i applied at age 23) where all i had to do was fill out a few forms to get into SIBT, guarantee my spot and not waste any time because the 1 year in SIBT put me straight into 2nd year UNI. I wouldnt really worry about the GPA requirement to move to uni, its a really easy benchmark.
Downside to the decision is definitely the cost. the GVT does not allow SIBT on HECS but allows it in FEE-HELP instead. I dont remember the difference, but FEE-HELP was way worse than HECS, so much so that i paid the 20k or whatever per semester upfront instead of putting it on FEE-HELP (i would have gone on HECS if it was available and i am on HECS for 2nd and 3rd year)
So therefore if the cost is a concern for you, do the arts degree and transfer. If you want to have an easier first year and pretty much a guaranteed entry to 2nd year commerce at MQ, do SIBT.
As for your above question there is a few things to take into consideration
SIBT in general is easier (in commerce anyway) than uni courses. They are catered to international students so alot of things are "dumbed down" to allow easier understanding (which I enjoyed as i was a nervous first year student anyway). You learn the same stuff but the lecturers have the mindset that english is everyone's second language and they need to use simpler language and/or explain things in simpler ways. With good reason too - some classes of 30ish i was the only local/aussie student. Another thing making it easier is that attendance is required and recorded, so you are forced to attend and forced to learn. Also lectures in SIBT are 3 hours instead of 2 hours in uni. This all makes SIBT easier to pass (the final exams are probably very similar to uni final exams except SIBT makes sure you are better equipped). Also with the "english is a second language" mindset, as a local student you will probably naturally get higher marks in SIBT than you would in uni for the same presentation.
The other upside to SIBT is the fact that all you need is pretty much the ability to pay for the course and a pass in HSC maths and youre in to SIBT. Was really easy to sign up and didnt have to go through hassles of trying to get into UNI. As someone applying years after my HSC, i didnt want to have to deal with the unpredictability of being accepted as a mature age student (i applied at age 23) where all i had to do was fill out a few forms to get into SIBT, guarantee my spot and not waste any time because the 1 year in SIBT put me straight into 2nd year UNI. I wouldnt really worry about the GPA requirement to move to uni, its a really easy benchmark.
Downside to the decision is definitely the cost. the GVT does not allow SIBT on HECS but allows it in FEE-HELP instead. I dont remember the difference, but FEE-HELP was way worse than HECS, so much so that i paid the 20k or whatever per semester upfront instead of putting it on FEE-HELP (i would have gone on HECS if it was available and i am on HECS for 2nd and 3rd year)
So therefore if the cost is a concern for you, do the arts degree and transfer. If you want to have an easier first year and pretty much a guaranteed entry to 2nd year commerce at MQ, do SIBT.
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I can't thank you enough Chris for sharing all that information with me about SIBT. Thanks, much appreciated.
How are you finding your 3rd year? One part I didn't understand is you said you have to pass in HSC Maths. Can you explain that bit? I was told that the GVT allow FEE-HELP which is pretty much the same thing as HECS from what I was told. Do I have to pay upfront? Hmmmm... If you can rephrase what you said that would be great.
Would you say the B.Arts and transfer would be a better option?
Anymore information you can share from your experience would be awesome. I still haven't made my mind up and will give it a long hard think over the Christmas break.
How are you finding your 3rd year? One part I didn't understand is you said you have to pass in HSC Maths. Can you explain that bit? I was told that the GVT allow FEE-HELP which is pretty much the same thing as HECS from what I was told. Do I have to pay upfront? Hmmmm... If you can rephrase what you said that would be great.
Would you say the B.Arts and transfer would be a better option?
Anymore information you can share from your experience would be awesome. I still haven't made my mind up and will give it a long hard think over the Christmas break.
Im pretty sure if you got 50 in the HSC in 2u maths thats the requirement to get into SIBT commerce. I got 57 in 2u maths so if u beat me than its not a problem (yea i really didnt care about the hsc lol)
not really an expert on this but from what I understand
The amount you borrow from FEE HELP will be more than HECS because SIBT is not subsidised by the gvt
FEE HELP has a 25% loan fee whereas HECS i dont think has a fee (could be wrong)
You dont have to pay upfront but there are discounts and benefits if you make a contribution. You should probably check out the paperwork yourself on that stuff.
If you are confident academically and are able to just choose all of the first year commerce units whilst enrolled for the arts degree, I would do that. I was happy doing SIBT though as it allowed me to ease back into education easier. If for any reason (that i cant think of) you are forced to do some random units in the arts degree that wont contribute to the commerce degree then i'd probably go to SIBT because you might be wasting money doing random units you dont need anyway
not really an expert on this but from what I understand
The amount you borrow from FEE HELP will be more than HECS because SIBT is not subsidised by the gvt
FEE HELP has a 25% loan fee whereas HECS i dont think has a fee (could be wrong)
You dont have to pay upfront but there are discounts and benefits if you make a contribution. You should probably check out the paperwork yourself on that stuff.
If you are confident academically and are able to just choose all of the first year commerce units whilst enrolled for the arts degree, I would do that. I was happy doing SIBT though as it allowed me to ease back into education easier. If for any reason (that i cant think of) you are forced to do some random units in the arts degree that wont contribute to the commerce degree then i'd probably go to SIBT because you might be wasting money doing random units you dont need anyway
As for other information from my experience:
Most courses involve group work and as most students are internationals, you will learn from experience that it can be very frustrating working with the internationals. As a student searching for 85+ in each course alot of the time it meant that you are better off just doing the work yourself. This can be the same experience in uni though, although uni has more local students theres still a very high percentage of internationals. Its mean saying this but most of the time they drag you down (although some locals can drag you down and dedicated internationals can be very helpful) so most of the time i was searching for other local students to team up with in SIBT so I didnt have to do the assignments myself and/or didnt have to REDO their work.
in SIBT in the accounting and finance courses they have made dedicated workbooks that no one receives in uni. They are much easier to learn from (lecture material and examples/homework/tutorial work all in the same book). In uni all the content would be mixed up between lecture slides and a textbook whereas with SIBT you knew everything in the final exam came from this one book that you could solely study from. Although the SIBT exams were probably similar in content to the UNI exams, it meant the SIBT exam was easier because SIBT narrowed down what you had to study whereas generally in uni courses they probably tell you to study the whole relevant chapters in the textbook.
I understood lectures much easier in SIBT than in uni. Firstly the lectures are 3 hours instead of 2 hours in uni, meaning they can do it at a slower pace, use more examples, and make sure everyone understands. In uni, lecture theatres hold hundreds of people, in SIBT i think its 40 people max. It actually makes quite a difference. eg if you dont understand something in uni, you might feel awkward holding up a 150+ lecture theatre full of people just because you didnt understand something. If its 40 people i never hesitated to ask the lecturer to explain something again and also as a local student if you didnt understand it, chances are the rest of the SIBT class didnt understand it.
The big downside to my experience was the perception that SIBT students are "lower class". Although learning was easier i couldnt wait to move to uni so that i could call myself a uni student. Felt a little embarrassed saying i went to SIBT. Alot of the internationals feel the same way. At the start of the semester they give out free SIBT shirts to students. You rarely saw anyone wearing them, ever.
Most courses involve group work and as most students are internationals, you will learn from experience that it can be very frustrating working with the internationals. As a student searching for 85+ in each course alot of the time it meant that you are better off just doing the work yourself. This can be the same experience in uni though, although uni has more local students theres still a very high percentage of internationals. Its mean saying this but most of the time they drag you down (although some locals can drag you down and dedicated internationals can be very helpful) so most of the time i was searching for other local students to team up with in SIBT so I didnt have to do the assignments myself and/or didnt have to REDO their work.
in SIBT in the accounting and finance courses they have made dedicated workbooks that no one receives in uni. They are much easier to learn from (lecture material and examples/homework/tutorial work all in the same book). In uni all the content would be mixed up between lecture slides and a textbook whereas with SIBT you knew everything in the final exam came from this one book that you could solely study from. Although the SIBT exams were probably similar in content to the UNI exams, it meant the SIBT exam was easier because SIBT narrowed down what you had to study whereas generally in uni courses they probably tell you to study the whole relevant chapters in the textbook.
I understood lectures much easier in SIBT than in uni. Firstly the lectures are 3 hours instead of 2 hours in uni, meaning they can do it at a slower pace, use more examples, and make sure everyone understands. In uni, lecture theatres hold hundreds of people, in SIBT i think its 40 people max. It actually makes quite a difference. eg if you dont understand something in uni, you might feel awkward holding up a 150+ lecture theatre full of people just because you didnt understand something. If its 40 people i never hesitated to ask the lecturer to explain something again and also as a local student if you didnt understand it, chances are the rest of the SIBT class didnt understand it.
The big downside to my experience was the perception that SIBT students are "lower class". Although learning was easier i couldnt wait to move to uni so that i could call myself a uni student. Felt a little embarrassed saying i went to SIBT. Alot of the internationals feel the same way. At the start of the semester they give out free SIBT shirts to students. You rarely saw anyone wearing them, ever.
The exact information I was looking for, appreciate you clearing up on the FEE-HELP/HECS. Thanks heaps Chris. How do I know what is going to be the first year Commerce units? I'd be guessing off the top of my head to be honest. I don't want to do the Arts degree and find out that it wasn't beneficial in my major transfer to B.Com.
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Youll want to do
Finance (ACST101)
Marketing (MKTG101)
Accounting (ACCG100 or ACCG106)
Business management (BBA102)
Microeconomics (ECON111)
The other first year units depend on your degree. For example with accounting i would round out my 8 first year courses with Accounting level 2, statistics and an elective.
what were you looking to major in?
Finance (ACST101)
Marketing (MKTG101)
Accounting (ACCG100 or ACCG106)
Business management (BBA102)
Microeconomics (ECON111)
The other first year units depend on your degree. For example with accounting i would round out my 8 first year courses with Accounting level 2, statistics and an elective.
what were you looking to major in?
look at http://courses.mq.edu.au/undergraduate/degree/bachelor-of-commerce/major-in-international-business
First year you will need to do
ACST101
BBA102
ECON111
MKTG101
ACCG100 or 106
STAT170
2 electives
So i dont know how long u need to do the arts degree in order to transfer but you can just save the accounting unit until you transfer to commerce
First year you will need to do
ACST101
BBA102
ECON111
MKTG101
ACCG100 or 106
STAT170
2 electives
So i dont know how long u need to do the arts degree in order to transfer but you can just save the accounting unit until you transfer to commerce
Ok thanks, will do. Had a look at the 100 level units as I am well aware they need to be done (pre-requisites) before the 200 level units can be studied. What do you mean by the 2 electives? Is that the People and Planet units?
Will get back to you on the last question!
Cheers,
Will get back to you on the last question!
Cheers,