Admission Procedure to Study in Australia

Intakes to Study in Australia

While planning to study in a foreign country, the first question that pops us is ‘where do I begin’? If studying in Australia has always been your dream then you must be thinking the same - How to apply to universities in Australia? Sometimes finding the answer to the question can take a lot of your time and might leave you confused. The whole process of admission, from finalising a programme to getting enrolled, could be a daunting experience. To save you from all the hectic work of internet surfing and intimidating experience, we have mentioned the detailed step-wise admission process to Australian universities. 

Before you start applying at the universities in Australia you must know about various intakes for international students in the country and timeline for each of the terms. There are two main Intakes in Australia for international students i.e February Intake and July Intake. Most universities enrol students for undergraduate and postgraduate courses under these February and July intakes. However, some universities especially TAFE institutes that offers vocational courses also have intakes for January, May, September and November.

Refer to the following table for important dates related to February and July intakes in Australia:

Check the links given below for detailed Timeline For February 2021 Intake In Australia and Timeline For July 2021 Intake In Australia.

Admission Process for Undergraduate Courses in Australia

Pre-Application Steps

You can start applying to an undergraduate course at an Australian university once you have completed your research about things like lifestyle, living cost, universities, courses among other things. Following are the steps that you can follow before you being your application:

Choose a University

There are many factors that need to be taken into account while selecting a university. You will have to do proper research on a university’s history with respect to its success rate. Make sure you check if the ROI (Return on Investment) is high.

While gathering information about the universities, you must check their approach to education. Check how beneficial it is for international students and if the faculty at the university provides their students with the best training.

Finance is one of the important factors that help you finalise a university. Check if the tuition fee fits your budget and explore the scholarships offered by the university.

Finalise Programme(s)

For your chosen university, you can check the details of all the courses from the programme catalogue web page.  Check all the details and curriculum of the programmes and shortlist the ones that fit your preference(s).

On the course catalogue web page, Australian universities provide alphabetic, stream-wise, specialisation-wise and school-wise filters that you can look for easily.

Check Entry Requirements

Entry requirements determine whether you are eligible to apply for the particular Bachelor’s degree at the university or not. If you fall short of standardised test scores and fail to meet the requirements, you will have to take up other options. Every university mentions separate entry requirements for international students that may or may not match the requirements for domestic students. Here are the general academic and English language requirements that you as an international student should fulfil to take up an undergraduate course in Australia:

• An applicant must have completed a secondary school qualification equivalent to an Australian Year 12 certificate.

• An applicant must meet the specified English language requirements.

Step-by-step Application Process

The application process is a crucial step in the admission process. One must be very careful while following every step in the application. Every detail filled in the application form by you will be used for application assessment, basis which, you will be made an offer. Every university has its personal application portal through which, international applicants can apply.

Registration

If you are a new user, you will have to create an account on the university application portal for which you will be required to enter your personal details and enter a user name and password. Once you submit the form, you will have an applicant’s account on the website. You can use those very credentials to log in to your account and apply for admission.

Apply Online

Once you log in to the application portal, you will be redirected to the online application form.
Start entering the required information and fill in as many fields as possible using the official documents you have. Many universities let students save their application in the middle of the process and continue filling the rest of the form in phases.

Pay Application Fee

To submit the application form after completing it, you will be required to pay an application fee which is usually non-refundable. The international application fee charged by Australian universities can range from AUD 50 to AUD 100 that can be paid online using debit or credit card. Some universities may also provide other modes to pay the application fee. You will have to check with the university website for more information.

Submit Documents

Supporting documents are indispensable for every application. You should provide as many documents as possible, as long as they are relevant. The requirements of supporting documents may vary from university to university and programme to programme but, here are some common documents that you must have at the time of the application process to apply for Bachelor’s degrees offered by Australian universities:

• Academic transcripts

• Official English translation of academic transcripts (if needed)

• The grading system of the country or board

• Test results to prove the proficiency in the English language

• Letter(s) of recommendation

• Advanced Standing application (if the candidate needs to reduce the duration of the degree)

• A valid passport

• Statement of Purpose (SOP)

• Documents to prove financial competency

Post-Application Steps

After submitting the application along with supporting documents, you will have to proceed towards the post-application steps which include the following:

Application Assessment

Within 24 hours of the application submission, most of the universities send you an acknowledgement email to confirm the submission, provided you submitted the application on a working day. Every university in Australia has an Admissions team that assesses all the submitted applications. Your application will also be assessed after submission that can take up to four weeks.

Receive an Offer

After two to four (or more) weeks from the date of submission, you will receive a decision from the university. The offer could be unconditional (indicating that you have been reserved a seat in the intended course) or conditional (indicating that you still need to meet certain criteria and only then you can proceed with the enrolment). You can either accept or decline the offer within 24 hours of the corresponding mail. You will also be informed if you fail to meet the requirements and are not accepted at the university.

Apply for an Australian Student Visa

Once you are enrolled at the university of your choice, you can begin applying for an Australian Student Visa.

Also Read: International Student Hub in NSW Launched

Admission Process for Postgraduate Courses in Australia

Pre-Application Steps

Here are the steps you need to follow before applying for a Master’s degree in Australia:

Research and Shortlist

Before applying for a postgraduate course offered at an Australian university, you should consider a number of factors such as education standards, tuition fee, scholarships, the reputation of the university, accreditation, ranking, ROI, among others.

After thorough research, shortlist a few universities that offer your chosen Master’s degree program and keep a note of their application deadlines.

Finalise Programme(s)

Find the program of your choice, its program content and find out if it matches your requirements. If they do, finalise the programme(s) and move on to the next step.

Check Entry Requirements

Every applicant is required to meet the mentioned criteria for a particular Master’s program offered by an Australian university. Although the same may vary from one program to another, one university to another, given below are the general eligibility criteria that you should meet:

• An applicant must have completed an undergraduate qualification equivalent to an Australian bachelor, honours degree or graduate diploma.

• An applicant must meet the specified English language requirements.

• Some programs may require students to have relevant work experience.

Step-by-step Application Process

The application process for a postgraduate program in Australia has been mentioned below in detail:

Registration

Visit the official website of the university you have shortlisted and register on their admissions portal. Enter the required personal details, a username and password. After the account has been created, use the credentials to log into your account and apply for admission.

Apply Online

Fill out the application form with the required information as provided in your original documents. It is better to complete the application process in one go although you can do so in phases if the university allows.

Pay Application Fee

Every university charges a different application fee ranging between AUD 50 and AUD 100. You must pay the same in order to complete the application process.

Submit Required Documents

Here is a list of general documents that you are required to submit to apply for a Master’s degree in Australia:

• Academic transcripts

• Official English translation of academic transcripts (if needed)

• The grading system of the country or board

• Test results to prove the proficiency in the English language

• Academic or employer references (if required)

• Letter(s) of recommendation

• Advanced Standing application (if the candidate needs to reduce the duration of the degree)

• A valid passport

• Motivation letter

• Documents to prove financial competency

• Documents supporting work experience

Post-Application Steps

After a successful application to the university, here are the next few steps you need to follow

Application Assessment

The Admission committee at the university will assess the application of each student, their qualifications, documents and so on. An acknowledgement email will be sent to you within 24 hours of submitting the application.

Receive an Offer

Within the next two or three weeks, an admission decision will be sent to you at the registered email address. You can either accept or decline the offer within the stipulated time as mentioned in the email.

Apply for an Australian Student Visa

Once you have accepted the offer for your postgraduate study at the Australian university, the next step is to apply for a student visa.

Also Read: Successful COVID Vaccine Rollout May Open Australia’s Borders for Int'l Students

Standardised Test Requirements to Study in Australia

Unlike the US, (most) universities in Australia do not require Indian students to take the SAT and ACT. But, for some postgraduate programmes, you might be required to provide the scores of some subject tests.

Here is a list of subject tests and language tests required at universities in Australia.

• GRE (Graduate Record Examination)

• GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test)

• IELTS (International English Language Testing System)

• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) - Paper-Based and Internet-Based

• PTE (Pearson Test English) Academic

•  Cambridge English scale for Cambridge English

NOTE:

•  The scores required for admission may vary for different programmes and universities.

•  Some universities may not accept some of the tests mentioned above or some may require additional tests.

•  Make sure to check the specific programme requirements.