In Summary

My ATAR score wasn’t as good as I was expecting… but it all worked out in the end.

It’s that time of the year when many year 12’s are considering what they will study next year. We’ve been speaking with Swinburne students to find out what advice they have for the next generation of university students. 

Jamie might not have received the ATAR score he expected, but he didn’t let that stop him from pursuing his dream of being an engineer.

‘When I got my VCE results, my final score for English was not quite as high as I needed it to be. It meant that I was no longer eligible for the course I had originally preferenced.' 

But Jamie wasn’t deterred. Instead, he assessed his options and enrolled in Swinburne’s Advanced Diploma of Mechanical Engineering

‘My advanced diploma allowed me to progress directly into the second year of a bachelor degree and soon I will be graduating from Swinburne with honours.' 

Jamie has used his time at Swinburne to gain real-world mechanical engineering experience. 

‘I’m now in the third year of my course and I’m the captain for Team Swinburne, the student-based Formula SAE Racing Car team. 

‘Every year we design, manufacture, assemble and then race our car against university teams around Australia, New Zealand and Japan. 

‘Throughout my time at Swinburne I have had a number of opportunities to use my engineering skills on real-world projects.  These have set me up well for life after university.

‘Be confident. Your ATAR score is not the end of your journey.’