No need for panic over OP score

Griffith University Senior Admissions Manager, Ms Margaret Price

The release of OP scores for Year 12 students across the State can be a very emotional time for school leavers and their families.

Nearly 48,000 Queensland Year 12s received online notification of their school results on Saturday with the results also expected in the mail today.

Griffith University Senior Admissions Manager, MsMargaretPrice, said even if you didn’t get the OP score you had set your heart on there are still so many ways you can reach your career goal.

“If you fear you have missed out on your first preference there are a great many options available,” Ms Price said.

“By accepting a second or third preference and working hard you may be able to move across to your chosen degree program.

“If you do one year of study at university and simply pass you will have an OP 5 equivalent rank. A better academic result during that year and your OP will soar.”

Often students choose their university course just because they have an OP score high enough to get in, but it may not be a career to which they are suited.

“This is a critical point in a young person’s life in making decisions for their future. Even if you do get accepted into your first preference, you may find that is not your real calling,” Ms Price said.

“Many students find academic success once they discover where their interests lie and it may be an option they simply hadn’t considered at first.”

Griffith University’s Senior lecturer in Forensic Biology, Ms Kirsty Wright is also an internationally renowned DNA profiling expert, who is called upon to help identify victims of war or disaster, anywhere around the world.

Kirsty’s academic journey wasn’t straight forward. After finishing Year 12, she worked in a fast-food outlet for 4 years. It was then she decided she wanted something more so she undertook bridging courses because she hadn’t studied maths and science at school.

Kirsty completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science with Honours at Griffith University, but it was a one hour lecture on forensics which set her on the path of her future.

“It just clicked and from then on forensics was my passion. I couldn’t get enough information. It just felt right”

There is still plenty of time to change your preferences. The final date to change, add, move or delete preferences for QTAC’s main offer round is January 10, 2013. The closing date for UAC is 4 January, 2013.

For more information come to one of Griffith University’s Options Information Evenings being held from 3 — 6 pm on 18 December 2012 at both the South Bank and Gold Coast campuses.

Or talk to our Future Students team on 1800 677 728