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Should You Study a Bachelor of Science?

Release Date: 04/30/2024

Course and Career Chat

What we’re talking about: It’s nearly the end of Term 2, and I’ve had a lot of conversations with students lately where they’ve been trying to decide whether or not to drop a VCE subject that they’re studying. To make an informed decision, there’s a few things you need to consider - do you know what you want to do when you finish school? Is this subject a prerequisite for that course? Can you support yourself to feel more confident in the subject with some extra help? Could you look at similar courses that don’t need it as a prerequisite? Is not liking the subject a clue that...

How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses Part 3 [What Are You Really Good At?]

Course and Career Chat

What we’re talking about: In this third part of my mini series “How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses” I’m diving into another question that I’d love for you to consider - What are you good at? I don’t mean what subject you’re good at (although I did talk about that in episode 102), but instead what is something that comes naturally to you that you use in your everyday life that could be applied to any career you choose? Knowing this can help you see how you can bring key parts of yourself to any role you choose to take in the future. Links mentioned: Work...

How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses Part 2 [What's Your Favourite Subject and What Do You Like About It?]

Course and Career Chat

What we’re talking about: In this episode, I continue the mini-series on feeling confident about VCE and choosing tertiary courses. Instead of jumping straight to career titles, I encourage you to reflect on your favourite subjects and, more importantly, what you enjoy about them. This approach can provide valuable insights into courses and careers that will allow you to do more of what you actually like. 0:45 – Recap of Episode 100 and the importance of understanding VCE In the last episode I shared some episodes where I explain key aspects of VCE so that you can really understand the...

How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses Part 1 [Understanding How VCE Works]

Course and Career Chat

What we’re talking about: Thanks for joining me for the 100th episode of Course and Career Chat! This episode is Part 1 in a series I’m calling How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses, and in this episode I want you to think about what is stressing you out about VCE so that you can get your questions answered. I’ve created a list of past episodes of Course and Career Chat where you can find the answers to common questions I get when I’m working with my students and their parents, and if I haven’t answered your question yet, please send me a DM on Instagram to...

How Will AI Affect Your Career Choices?

Course and Career Chat

What we’re talking about: AI is everywhere at the moment, and there’s a lot of discussion about how it will change jobs and career pathways. Many students (and parents) are wondering—will AI replace certain jobs? Will the careers that seem like a great option now still be relevant in 5 or 10 years? In this episode, I break down what AI actually is, the ways it’s already affecting different industries, and how students can make career choices that will set them up for success in an AI-driven world. 2:40 – What is AI, and why is it such a big deal? AI is already part of our daily...

Should You Take a Gap Year After Year 12?

Course and Career Chat

What we’re talking about: Should you take a gap year after Year 12? It’s a big decision, and in this episode, I break down the benefits and drawbacks of taking a year off before further study. I also share practical advice on how to keep your options open, even if you're unsure about your next steps. 1:09 Common concerns about taking a gap year I’ve had a lot of conversations with parents recently about whether a gap year is the right choice for their child. Many students don’t know whether they should still apply for courses through VTAC, or if taking a gap year will impact their...

How To Motivate Yourself To Study in VCE

Course and Career Chat

What we’re talking about: 1:43 My observations around motivation as a Maths teacher I share my experience of teaching a particular class who were really focused, willing to learn, with high aspirations for their VCE results. Most people would assume that there’s not much a teacher of a class like that needs to do to in terms of motivation, but what I actually found was that in the second half of the year, these students were feeling really stressed and losing motivation despite the fact that they were doing everything “right” and still doing well on their SACs. I found that by helping...

How Do SACs Work in VCE?

Course and Career Chat

What we’re talking about: Let’s talk about how SACs work in VCE so that you know what they are, how they’re used, and to bust some of the misconceptions around them that often come up throughout the year so that you can feel really confident as you move through VCE. 1:32 What is a SAC? Throughout your time at school from prep through to Year 12, you do different types of assessment. SAC stands for School Assessed Coursework and it’s called that because it is one of the assessment types that is used to calculate your study score for your VCE subjects, but it is written by your teachers...

The Parents' Guide to VCE

Course and Career Chat

What we’re talking about: This episode is all about explaining how VCE works and translating the jargon around VCE so that you can understand it more clearly and feel more confident supporting your child. Grab the free download The Parents’ Guide to VCE to have on hand (), and listen up as I clarify what the key organisations like VCAA and VTAC do, what all the acronyms mean, and tell you what you need to focus on and what you can ignore as white noise. 5:22 What does VCAA stand for and what do they do? The VCAA is the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. They set the curriculum...

For Parents: How To Help Your Child Succeed in VCE

Course and Career Chat

What we’re talking about: After working with parents first as a teacher and now as a career counsellor, and now being a parent myself, I know how hard it can be to navigate that line between allowing your child to have their independence and also wanting to support them as best you can. In this episode I share how you can best support your child through the decision making process around VCE subject selection, tertiary course exploration and applying through VTAC. 2:01 Where is the responsibility? Knowing where your responsibility for your child’s studies ends and theirs begins is a bit of...

More Episodes

What we’re talking about:

2:50 Don’t assume you know what you can study in Bachelor Science

I did all maths and science subjects in VCE, and never even considered a Bachelor of Science. Why? Because I felt like I wasn’t that good at Chemistry or Physics, and I didn’t realise that I could do a Bachelor of Science and major in Maths or something similar (which was clearly my strength and something I loved to explore). Don’t make assumptions - check the majors so you know what a course is actually about so you can make an informed decision.

5:23 What types of majors can you study in a Bachelor of Science

If you’re considering a Bachelor of Science, you really want to check what majors are offered at the university you’re looking at to see if they focus on the types of areas you’re interested in. Start by asking yourself questions about what you already know you like. What science subject at school do you like best? What topics do you like within that subject? If you’re not sure, hop onto the websites for the different unis and read through the majors offered to see which one has a couple of majors that you could see yourself studying, and then explore them in your first year before you choose which one to focus on.