Unless your child has a very clear sense of their future goals, choosing the right course can be very difficult. It’s also very important, as a crucial key to university success is choosing a course that matches the student’s interests, goals and abilities.
Students appreciate their parents’ advice and guidance while deciding on a course, so long as this does not become pressure to follow a particular path. Students are more likely to stay focused and motivated in their study when the final decision is their own, and they know what they want to achieve.
Your child should research in depth any courses that interest them, including subjects offered, course structure and possible career outcomes. This kind of information is available from school Careers Advisers, career centres and universities. Your child might have the opportunity to take part in university experience programs while still at school. This involves visits to the university during semester time, to get an idea of what it’s actually like to be at university. This helps school students see the university in action and get a feel for their chosen course and the actual campus.
“Choose subjects in year 11 that you know you’re going to like and see where that leads you.” Current student
“The open days at uni were an invaluable resource in determining my future course of study.” Second year student
“I went by myself to open days and caught public transport so I could see how easy it was to get to each university. The open days were great because I got to talk to current students and lecturers. Importantly, I also got ‘a feel’ for each university.” Recent graduate