pythagoras112
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2024
- Messages
- 1
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- Female
- HSC
- 2024
I dont want to sound arrogant or ignorant, as a student myself applying for uni next year with my own financial disadvantages. My family happen to be lucky enough to be able to get DCJ government social housing in inner west sydney hence my local public school is one that is quite reputable. Yet the gateway and mysydney entry scheme the systems designed to help students facing financial and social disadvantages don’t seem to take into account all relevant factors.
Both UNSW and USYD consider individuals in "25 percent of the Socio-Economic Index for Areas (SEIFA) Index of Education and Occupation (IEO)" and UNSW offers "gateway schools" a reduced atar, early offers or funding into most to almost all available courses. On top these students will still receive adjustment factors from the EAS Scheme through UAC. Take the pharmacy course at usyd, normal selection rank is 90 which is quite high now the reduced at is 80. Which is a significant reduction, in my opinion. The UNSW gateway ATAR adjustments are even more significant, almost all courses reduced by approx. 9-12 ranks from the original.
So its a lot of missed opportunities for so many students who dont fit their criteria but are signifcantly disadvantaged financially.
One major flaw of the SEIFA IEO is that it considers the average socio-economic conditions of an area rather than individual circumstances. This means that a student living in social housing in a relatively affluent area might be overlooked, despite facing significant financial and social challenges. Conversely, a student living in a low SEIFA IEO area might have access to more resources and support if their family is relatively well-off and they live comfortably. For all I know you could be living in a beautiful mansion your parents own somewhere in south-west sydney and can be accepted to the course or your dreams. I recognise that there are cases we these schemes would be most helpful for those living in most rural areas of sydney, then again a person financial disadvantage outweighs a person geographical location.
Moreover, the same idea for UNSW gateway program, with its list of gateway schools. I don't see where there is a strong correlation between going to a "low socio economic school", to your financial position, to your economic disadvantage, to how that inherently affects your ability to acheive a good atar. In comparison to a student who is directly financial disadvantaged and can outline who this has affected their school experience. So much wasted potential ig.
The current system, while attempting to be inclusive, often ends up excluding deserving students who don’t meet the strict criteria set by these institutions. This lackunderstanding of individual circumstances is frustrating for students like myself, who are striving for higher education despite significant obstacles. In summary, i am annoyed with these entries to the best schools for the "economically disadvataged" as they do not recognise diverse realities of students' lives.
Both UNSW and USYD consider individuals in "25 percent of the Socio-Economic Index for Areas (SEIFA) Index of Education and Occupation (IEO)" and UNSW offers "gateway schools" a reduced atar, early offers or funding into most to almost all available courses. On top these students will still receive adjustment factors from the EAS Scheme through UAC. Take the pharmacy course at usyd, normal selection rank is 90 which is quite high now the reduced at is 80. Which is a significant reduction, in my opinion. The UNSW gateway ATAR adjustments are even more significant, almost all courses reduced by approx. 9-12 ranks from the original.
So its a lot of missed opportunities for so many students who dont fit their criteria but are signifcantly disadvantaged financially.
One major flaw of the SEIFA IEO is that it considers the average socio-economic conditions of an area rather than individual circumstances. This means that a student living in social housing in a relatively affluent area might be overlooked, despite facing significant financial and social challenges. Conversely, a student living in a low SEIFA IEO area might have access to more resources and support if their family is relatively well-off and they live comfortably. For all I know you could be living in a beautiful mansion your parents own somewhere in south-west sydney and can be accepted to the course or your dreams. I recognise that there are cases we these schemes would be most helpful for those living in most rural areas of sydney, then again a person financial disadvantage outweighs a person geographical location.
Moreover, the same idea for UNSW gateway program, with its list of gateway schools. I don't see where there is a strong correlation between going to a "low socio economic school", to your financial position, to your economic disadvantage, to how that inherently affects your ability to acheive a good atar. In comparison to a student who is directly financial disadvantaged and can outline who this has affected their school experience. So much wasted potential ig.
The current system, while attempting to be inclusive, often ends up excluding deserving students who don’t meet the strict criteria set by these institutions. This lackunderstanding of individual circumstances is frustrating for students like myself, who are striving for higher education despite significant obstacles. In summary, i am annoyed with these entries to the best schools for the "economically disadvataged" as they do not recognise diverse realities of students' lives.