Alternative pathways to university explained

These diplomas have lower entry requirements and for some diplomas (including engineering and architecture) 100 per cent of the coursework is transferable, effectively rolling over into students’ first year.

“They’ll basically have the same units as the faculty, but we’re just giving them a little more scaffolding,” he said.

“When they show up in the second year, there is no waste of time, no loss of money, and no loss of reputation.”

Other major Brisbane universities such as Griffith College and University of Queensland College offer similar branch programmes.

Most universities also offer a higher education preparation program, which can last one to two semesters and improves the student’s ranking.

“ATAR is not everything and it does not define you; you will be able to get to where you want to be without getting that high of an ATAR,” Beutel said.

Second-year UQ pre-med student Joshua Ryu said students stopped talking about their Year 12 scores soon after entering higher education.

“It’s actually like a stepping stone to trying to do better things in life,” he said.

“For students trying to get into college programs, you will receive a GPA [grade point average] there so this will replace your ATAR anyway.”

Ryu graduated from Brisbane State High School with an ATAR of 99.80 and received an outstanding academic achievement award from the Queensland curriculum board in 2023 for individual subject scores.

He said his score earned him two scholarships, but his success was mostly due to his answers to application questions and his resume of extracurricular activities.

“University is a really good place to learn that this single number doesn’t define you because, for example, my GPA is lower than my ATAR compared to other people, and it hasn’t negatively affected me in any way,” he said.

“There are so many more opportunities available to you after high school, and you just have to look for opportunities and really put yourself out there.”

Ryu and Meddows said their extracurricular activities are now at the forefront, with Ryu taking short study and internship trips abroad this year, including to San Francisco’s Silicon Valley, and both planning international exchanges before their degrees are finished.

Nearly 34,000 Queensland year 12 graduates will receive their ATAR scores at noon on Thursday, with the curriculum authority revealing on Tuesday that nearly a quarter received an ATAR of 90 or above.

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