Applying for universities

rhay · December 2019

I'm a grade 12 undergrad right now but will graduate this coming March 2020. I just want to know if i have to apply for universities before i go to australia or after arriving there and if i should start college there or start here in the philippines and continue in australia.

athelene · December 2019

@rhay said:
I'm a grade 12 undergrad right now but will graduate this coming March 2020. I just want to know if i have to apply for universities before i go to australia or after arriving there and if i should start college there or start here in the philippines and continue in australia.

Hi rhay. When are you planning to start your uni study in Australia? Semester 1 2021? If you're coming here to study at university, you'll need a student visa to enter Australia. To get a student visa, you'll need to be enrolled already at the university (meaning you've already paid your first semester tuition fee), so you do need to apply for university way before you go to Australia.

To answer your second question, it depends on you. If the Australian university that has your chosen program allows for Semester 2 entry (meaning your studies start in Semester 2, which is around July/August), you could start your studies next year. If they only allow Semester 1 entry, you'll have to wait until 2021 to start the program. Deciding whether to start your studies in Australia or Philippines can be influenced by a lot of factors, mainly cost because uni tuition is very expensive, as is the living costs.

If the degree you want is only offered in Australia and there's no comparable degree in the Philippines, maybe completing the entire degree in Australia might be better. If only some of the subjects are offered in the Philippines, you can first look into having the units transferred (but check the Australian university's policy on RPL or recognized prior learning on the limit of units they can credit). Do take note though, that Australian uni curriculum might not have the minor subjects like English/Literature, Math, Theology (subjects that are present in most PH degrees) so those might not be credited during the transfer. So check the curriculum of the program you're interested in (the uni website would have detailed description of the units and the course code) and compare it with the PH curriculum.