Rock-bottom grades and language scores, but still get into a top university for a flagship programme! Foundation programme GPA under 6.0? You can still reach the ‘pinnacle of life’!

Macquarie University was founded in 1964 and is located in Macquarie Park, Sydney’s answer to Silicon Valley. It is a highly creative Australian university renowned at home and abroad for the quality of its teaching and research.Its business school is very well known in Australia, especially its accounting programme. Graduates of Macquarie University also rank among the best in Australia for salary outcomes, achievements and employment rates.Macquarie University has long attracted outstanding students from around the world with its excellent academic results and flexible education system.It was ranked 214th in the latest 2021 QS rankings.

Programme overview and entry requirements

It offers 4 categories of accelerated first-year programmes, namely:

Diploma of Arts media and Communication

Diploma of Commerce

Diploma of Engineering

Diploma of Information Technology

Foundation programme entry requirements

Foundation programme GPA above 5.0, plus a foundation English result of D/50%

Intake dates: four intakes per year — February, March, July and September — after whichstudents can progress into the second year of the bachelor’s degree.

Western Sydney University (WSU) is located in New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1989,it was Australia’s first federation university and has the largest campus network in the country.Among all universities worldwide,Western Sydney University ranks in the top 2%, and its international reputation continues to grow for its research-led, student-centred approach to teaching.Over the past decade, the university has built a strong domestic and international reputation through its high-quality learning environment and professional grounding. It has also established outstanding research strengths and maintains extensive ties with domestic businesses and commercial organisations.

Foundation programme entry requirements and course structure

As long as your foundation programme GPA reaches 5.6 and your English is equivalent to an IELTS 6.5,you cango straight intoa number of Western Sydney bachelor’s degree programmes, includingthe popular business, engineering, IT,  teaching,  social work, data science,  property and translation, among others.

The University of Adelaide was founded in 1874 and is located in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It is a world-class, top-tier comprehensive institution of higher education,a member of the Group of Eight (Go8), the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Universitas 21 network, among other university groups, and one of Australia’s six sandstone universities. It is ranked 106th in the latest QS rankings — a five-star Australian university.It is the third university established in Australia’s history and the oldest university in South Australia, and is also one of the representative classical Commonwealth universities.

As one of Australia’s leading research-intensive universities, the University of Adelaide has first-class research facilities and environment, along with a comprehensive and well-developed research training system,and holds a strong position in fields such as medicine, life sciences, law, education and engineering.Its business school holds AACSB accreditation,and its business disciplines such as accounting and finance also rank among the world’s top 100.

The University of Adelaide Collegeoffers

Degree Transfer Extended(DTE)

Degree Transfer Standard(DTS) 

Degree Transfer Accelerated(DTX)

three pathway programmes, each with different streams, includingbusiness, IT, engineering, science and economics, ranging in length from 9 to 15 months. On completion, all that’s required is an average mark of 50%,and you can go straight into Year 2 of the bachelor’s degree.

Foundation programme entry requirements

Let’s takethe one-year DTSas an example,as long as your foundation programme result is GPA 5.1 or above, you can apply,and if you meet this GPA there is no additional English requirement!

As for theslightly longer (15-month) DTE,,its entry GPA requirement is as low as around 4.8!

The University of Canberra is one of Australia’s emerging comprehensive universities and a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. Founded in 1967, it is located in Canberra, Australia’s capital. The University of Canberra is well known for its strong focus on professional needs in applied research and teaching. Its teaching model is flexible and varied, and its degree programmes are internationally recognised, includingaccounting, business administration and information technology, among other disciplines.

The University of Canberra is renowned across Australia for its rock-solid teaching quality and has maintained rapid growth momentum.It was ranked 184th in the 2021 THE World University Rankings, 18th in the 2020 THE Young University Rankings, and 456th in the 2021 QS World University Rankings — placing it in the top 10 in Australia and among the fastest-rising universities in the world rankings.

Course structure and entry requirements

For the vast majority of bachelor’s degree programmes (such as popular majors like IT),successful completion of the foundation programme is all that’s required, while some more competitive programmes assess admission flexibly based on average marks.

International College of Management and Commerce

The International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) was founded in 1996. Its campus culture emphasises innovation and entrepreneurship, combining management theory with practical training.

ICMS is located on Sydney’s northern beaches in New South Wales. Its garden-castle-style campus covers 20 hectares and features a Gothic-style main building and central clock tower, from which you can look out over Sydney Harbour and the blue Pacific Ocean. From the campus you can also look down over Manly Beach.

ICMS is best known for its management programmes. It has top scholars from around the world and offers some of the best business and management courses in Australia, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, includingbusiness management, hospitality management, events management, sports management, international tourism, property management, business management (fashion and global brand management stream) and business management (accounting stream).Most importantly, students at every stage are provided with correspondinginternship placements.

ICMS has a strong network of industry relationships,with long-term partnerships established with more than 1,000 industry partners, and with the support of these partners,ICMS offers a wide range of substantial scholarship programmes.Among these,nearly 90% of graduatesare able to find suitableemployment opportunities in their own field of study before they even graduate.

Course structure

ICMS offers foundation programmes in various business and management streams,and as long as you pass the foundation programme, you can apply.Among these, once you complete the Diploma of Business you can go straight into the second year at UTS,with all credits transferring across — not a bad Plan B at all!