Preference Western or register your interest at westernsydney.edu.au/earlyoffer to be informed when applications open and to find out more.

September. October. November. These are the months you might start thinking seriously about life after the HSC – about uni courses.

We know that it can be a stressful time; we were in your very position recently ourselves! But it needn’t be as stressful as you might think. Western Sydney University has just launched a pretty incredible program – it’s called HSC True Reward.

Get this: as part of the program, WSU might offer you a university place before ATARs are even released.

Yep, you heard that right. It’s the only program of its kind in New South Wales, and this is how it works.

 

HSC REWARD PROGRAM

Hard work deserves reward. That’s a pretty fundamental concept, and one that we believe very strongly.

So does WSU, which is great for you if you’re currently in Year 12.

As you know, ATARs don’t necessarily reflect how hard you’ve tried, or how much effort you’ve invested, or even if you were successful in your HSC. Basically, you could work hard all year but stumble at the final hurdle, and achieve an ATAR lower than you had hoped.

Luckily, WSU’s HSC True Reward program doesn’t really care about your ATAR. Instead, uni offers are made based on HSC subject band outcomes.

WSU considers this a much fairer approach, and if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense.

If you do well in your HSC, you can do it at uni, too. There’s no need for an ATAR to justify that potential, and an early offer saves everybody a whole lot of stress.

Offers will be made on December 14. That’s the same as the day your HSC results are released, before ATAR release, and earlier than any UAC offer rounds based on HSC outcomes.

Like we said earlier, hard work deserves reward – and an early offer to WSU is, truly, a big reward for your efforts.

 

Preference Western or register your interest at westernsydney.edu.au/earlyoffer to be informed when applications open and to find out more.

 

WHY WESTERN? THIS IS WHY!

A reduced emphasis on your ATAR makes a heap of sense, and will hopefully reduce the weight of your upcoming exams. But if you’re still on the fence about registering (which you shouldn’t be – what do you have to lose?), here are some pretty nifty things about WSU you should consider (with UAC preferences coming up, it’s good to be as informed as possible about potential unis).

 

CONTEXT

WSU is ranked in the top 3% of universities globally, which, objectively, is pretty fantastic.

It’s also the number one uni for first-degree students. That is, more first-time uni students in NSW choose WSU than any other uni.

Part of this may be due to the flexibility and convenience WSU offers. It has a range of campuses across the state, including but not limited to:

• Campbelltown
• Hawkesbury
• Parramatta (Parramatta South and the new Parramatta City)
• Penrith
• Bankstown
• The brand new Liverpool campus
• Sydney City
• Just to name a few of their many campuses!

 

Considering campuses is important. For many students, location is a big factor in uni selection, so having a big range of campus options is a huge benefit.

Why?

Because you have to consider travel time, and convenience. If you have to travel three hours a day, you have three fewer hours for other things in your life: hobbies, friends, family, work. It’s definitely a balancing act, but convenience of campus is certainly a factor. At the end of the day, you will be the one doing the travelling.

WSU has strategically placed its campuses with convenience in mind, too. They’re all close to public transport, to parking, to food and coffee. And trust us: coffee is important through uni.

In that sense, Western isn’t really a traditional sandstone uni; it’s a uni of, and for, the people. For students.

 

FACILITIES

Facilities: another thing you might like to consider. After all, you don’t want to spend 3-5 years frustrated by sub-par buildings and software.

WSU’s facilities are very swish, both on- and off-campus.

Much of it is discipline-specific, too. You can have a read about some of the facilities on offer here; they range from amazing new buildings, to additional practical experience in your field, to top-notch gyms and food options.

More academically, WSU offers computer labs, innovative social learning spaces, media and production facilities, and incredible research and clinical facilities.

Further, a lot of these facilities are built to ensure industry relevance. Indeed, WSU specifically helps students work with business partners and industry leaders to best prepare them for life after uni. You go, WSU.

 

CARE FOR STUDENTS

A lot of other stuff you should consider won’t be in any university handbooks.

For example, how prepared will you be for the workforce after your degree? What opportunities will you have through your time at that uni? What are the general vibes like (a seriously under-appreciated aspect of university life)?

And WSU is pretty great in this respect, if not already evident by its early offer program.

For example, Western offers students up to $800-worth of first-year digital textbooks for free. That’s seriously pretty neat – textbooks can really add up, particularly if they’re compulsory for your course. It’s stuff like this that you won’t necessarily read in course descriptions, but should definitely know before submitting your UAC preferences.

And if you’re interested in incorporating a bit of travel into your degree, WSU’s Global Mobility programs allow you to do just that. Options are varied; you can study overseas for a short time, for a longer time, or for an internship in no fewer than 300 destinations across the world. Amazing.

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So, as recently graduated students ourselves, that’s why we think you should register your interest in WSU’s HSC True Reward program. At the end of the day, your HSC efforts won’t necessarily be reflected by your ATAR – and WSU gets that.

This is a great opportunity (with literally no downside), so get around it!

Preference Western or register your interest at westernsydney.edu.au/earlyoffer to be informed when applications open and to find out more.

Learn more about Western Sydney University courses!