Should You Drop a VCE Subject?
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...
info_outline![How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses Part 3 [What Are You Really Good At?] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/item/36639765?height=50&width=50)
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...
info_outline![How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses Part 2 [What's Your Favourite Subject and What Do You Like About It?] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/item/36531590?height=50&width=50)
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...
info_outline![How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses Part 1 [Understanding How VCE Works] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/item/36453390?height=50&width=50)
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outlineWhat 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 (https://www.roadmapeducation.com/parents-guide), 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 schools in Victoria from early childhood through to VCE (including creating VCE study designs), organise the external exams at the end of Unit 3 and 4 subjects, and calculate a student’s study scores for their subjects.
7:00 What is VTAC and what do they do?
VTAC is the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre and they facilitate the transition between high school and tertiary education. They get students raw study scores from VCAA, use them to calculate students’ ATARs, and manage the offer process for tertiary institutions. Keep an eye on their website for important dates for VTAC applications and offers, and also for all of the University and TAFE Open Days (links below)
8:15 What is VCE?
VCE stands for Victorian Certificate of Education, and it is the secondary qualification for students in Victoria. It now includes the VCE - Vocational Major which has replaced VCAL and allows students to explore vocational studies as part of their secondary education.
9:50 What is a SAC?
SAC stands for School Assessed Coursework. They are set out by the VCAA in the subject study designs which can be accessed on the VCAA website, and a student’s ranking after all of the SACs are completed in a subject is used as part of the calculation of the study score for the subject. Not all assessment completed in Year 12 is a SAC.
11:49 What is a study score?
A study score is the result that students get for each of the Unit 3&4 subjects they complete. It is a number out of 50 and it’s a ranking showing where you sit compared to everyone else who completed that subject in the same year. VCAA calculates the raw study score for each student, and then study scores are scaled depending on how well each cohort of students has done well across all of their subjects to be used in the calculation of each student’s ATAR.
14:38 What is an ATAR?
ATAR stands for Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank and it is a ranking showing how well each student did in VCE compared to all other students who completed VCE in the same year. The highest ATAR a student can get is 99.95, which means that they’re in the top 0.05% of the state. It only exists because it is the most efficient way for students to get an offer into (a lot of) university and TAFE courses. It is not the only way of getting into tertiary courses, and as a society we need to stop giving it so much power.
17:28 What is SEAS?
SEAS stands for Special Entry Access Scheme and it is the way that students can get extra points added to their selection rank if they have had any type of disadvantage in VCE compared to their peers, such as financial difficulties, health issues and other difficult circumstances. The focus of a SEAS application is how the issue has affected the student’s ability to perform at their best in VCE. A SEAS application will only ever be used to your child’s advantage.
Links mentioned:
Work with me: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/services
Free Download - The Parents’ Guide to VCE: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/parents-guide
How are ATARs Calculated? https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/58
What Happens If You Do An Unscored VCE or VCE-VM? https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/87
VTAC dates: https://vtac.edu.au/dates.html
University and TAFE Open Days (Please note that at the time of publishing this page still has dates from 2024, but it will be updated closer to July 2025): https://vtac.edu.au/opendays.html?highlight=WyJvcGVuIiwiZGF5cyJd