A BATHURST student has credited his ability to get into university to TAFE NSW, after it helped to prepare him for the next step in his education.
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Luke Schupfer came to TAFE's Bathurst campus in 2018 after completing his Higher School Certificate and not quite getting the results he hoped for.
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At TAFE, he studied a Certificate IV in Tertiary Preparation, which aims to equip students with the skills they need to be accepted into university and succeed once they are there.
"My sister suggested I do the course because my HSC wasn't bad, but it wasn't amazing," Mr Schupfer said.
"Because I didn't really know where I wanted to go at that point, I figured I could come do this course for a while and over the course of that figure it out."
Mr Schupfer attended classes around four days a week.
He said he enjoyed the relaxed learning environment of TAFE, finding it suited him more than school.
"It was kind of like Year 12, but there was so much less stress," he said.
The course introduced him to a lot of new skills, including academic writing and how to reference.
"It can be a really rude shock if you get to uni and all of a sudden you have to reference perfectly, so it's a really good stepping stone because I had never done it before," Mr Schupfer said.
He was accepted into university for classes in 2019.
His interests have now changed and he has switched courses to study information technology at Charles Sturt University (CSU) this year.
"It's more my forte. I'm just interested in computers and stuff like that ... and it's a growing field, so there's more people needing people who are good at I.T.," Mr Schupfer said.
He's still deciding what job he wants in the industry, but cyber security is a front runner at this stage.
Mr Schupfer said he would encourage others to consider TAFE has a pathway to tertiary education if they don't get the marks they need while in high school.
Head teacher of the Bathurst, Cowra and Grenfell Career Pathways and Employability Skills, Jennifer Polk, shares the sentiment.
"These courses really teach you the skills to be successful, not only to get into the program, but to successfully complete the program," she said.
"It's great for those who don't get that ATAR they were hoping for, or mature age students who are thinking about going to university but may lack some confidence."
People who would like to learn more about this course or any others at TAFE can come along to InfoFest next Thursday.
Students can call in to the Bathurst campus, attend an online session and finalise their enrolments.
The community is also invited to a free barbecue lunch from 12pm to 1pm.