Yes. They are good.
Enabling courses, like Uni Prep, are delivered in schools in partnerships between the school and a university.
Students who go to uni from an enabling course do almost as well as those who do ATAR.
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At university, students who had done an enabling course had an average pass rate of 76%. Recent school leavers who entered uni with an ATAR had an average pass rate of 88%. (Increasing access and opportunity: Nesting enabling programs in senior schooling)
If alternative pathways are so good, why do ATAR?
The traditional way from school to uni is via ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) which is based on results achieved across ATAR subjects in years 11 and 12.
ATAR is the best pathway to uni if you want to go into competitive degrees like medicine, law, engineering or specialist science programs.
Case Study of One
If you study any ATAR subject, you will have an advantage if you study that subject at university. I studied economics at school, loved it, so chose to study it at university. From day one, I was off to a great start.
Essential V Desirable ATAR Subjects
Some courses have essential ATAR prerequisites, like Math Methods, Physics, and/or Chemistry. You can check out the prerequisites required for 2028 in the University Admissions Guide.
Scholarships for ATAR Students
Most unis provide academic scholarships for students who do well in their ATAR scores. Academic superstars can be successful in their applications for several scholarships.
Alternative Pathways
ECU’s UniPrep, Curtin’s UniReady, Murdoch’s On Track and Notre Dame’s UniPath are non-ATAR entry pathway to uni that many schools offer.
They all build academic skills, such as time management, research, academic reading and writing and maths. They can also focus on discipline-specific knowledge and on skills such as confidence and critical thinking.
