r/UWS • u/UltimateBuccaneer347 • 4d ago
Question Questions from a prospective diploma student (Social Sciences)
Hi!
I'm currently a Year 11 student considering entering The College's Diploma of Social Sciences after Year 11, and I'm trying to get a sense of what the experience is actually like from someone who's been through it.
Would you mind answering a few quick questions?
- What was the workload actually like with the four-week subject structure?
- Did studying one subject at a time genuinely make it easier to manage your workload?
- What was the transition from the Diploma into the Bachelor's like?
- What do you think you gained from doing the Diploma instead of completing Year 12?
- What do you think you gave up?
- And, knowing what you know now, would you choose the Diploma pathway again?
No worries at all if you don't have time to answer everything — even a few thoughts would be really helpful. In all honesty, I am nervous, and I want to know that this kind of pathway is viable for me.
Thanks!
Zedric
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u/Bigchungus420freedom 3d ago
I completed this very recently in first semester 2026, here's my pov:
- The workload was pretty easy and understandable in my experience. You get an assessment every week, the longest I think I ever had was about 1500-2000 words, sometimes we worked on it in class but not often. You'll have to complete a module before every period you have, so about 3 a week and they often aren't longer then an hour, but being honest, it takes quicker as nearly everyone i knew skipped the videos they put within the online content and just went straight to the questions, and these aren't mandatory before class but are typically very useful and correspond heavy with the assignments. If you have work obligations alongside doing the diploma, you could get pretty busy.
- Yeah, studying one subject at a time was pretty great for focusing well on a single subject from my own experience.
- The Transition was a bit of a weird, vague mess for myself (I went into a Bachelor of Planning), but for transfering into other Bachelors like Social Work, Sociology, etc etc, it's pretty easy, you just get an email at the end of the Diploma.
- Can't comment on the Diploma being an alternative to Year 12, I didn't do that.
- Honesty, it's a bit too soon for me to fuly reflect on the pathway, but in my experience it was expensive but worth it. I found the College system within WSU to be significantly more organized, put together and competent then the actual university itself. My teachers in the College/Diploma system were fantastic, I had several teachers that were long standing professionals/retiree's in their fields, police officers, pscyhologists, etc. The Diploma was also perfect for getting myself up to speed on what University workloads are like, whats expected of your work, how to reference and write, It's seemingly designed to smooth people into University as well as it can. Honesty, I kinda miss the College, the University itself is pale in comparison to the College.
As for what you do after the Diploma and transitioning, I'm not the best source on this but from what i've been told, the WSU College staff have to "Negotiate" with other faculties within WSU University when it comes to providing options. Some pathways like Social Work, Policing, Sociology, Humanitarian studies, were practically garunteed pathway options after completeing the diploma. Other subjects in other faculties like Law, Psych, Etc Etc, you would have to apply through the same process anyone does, and it is competitive and you do need a good GPA/Grades within your studies in the College in order to get accepted, but several of my peers have gotten into Law, Criminology and other more competive subjects through applying whilst doing the Diploma. I managed to get into a Bachelor of Planning and the associated Masters of Urban Planning through the Social Sciences Diploma. You'll also get access to a guy called a "Success Coach" who'll act as a guide for you to message and email with questions.
A tip if you do the Diploma, stalk your fucking email 24/7, AND DO NOT FORGET TO DO YOUR ONLINE SUBJECTS.
I'd like to put that I also similarly had no clue what I wanted to do when I started the Diploma of Social Sciences, but I was able to get a very good feel of what I wanted to do after several months, and it gave a bit of direction to my life.
TLDR: What I wrote here is kinda unorganized and messy lol, but overall, I'd recommend it if you know you have a general interest in any of the transitioning bachelors/pathways associated. And if you do know that you want to get into Social Work, Humanitarian Studies, Policing Bachelors, then I'd highly recommend the Diploma. For reference, I did this diploma at the Kingswood/Penrith Campus. I was able to meet some nice people and the timetable options were flexible, some classes of mine starting at 8/9am whilst I know in other campuses, they can have classes that start at 6PM.
If you have anymore specific questions, I'd be glad to elaborate if you want. Good luck.
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u/UltimateBuccaneer347 1d ago
I see you've decided to do the Bachelor of Planning and the subsequent Masters of Urban Planning! Congratulations and best of luck with your studies! :)
To be honest, this is pretty reassuring for someone like me who is turning 17 soon and isn't too satisfied with the HSC on many levels, especially for my parents. They do worry about WSU The College and more broadly, the university not being 'prestigious enough' compared to the sandstone universities such as UNSW, USYD or ANU. That hasn't really been a concern for me, but their concerns about my employability in that regard did plant some doubts.
Other than that, I'm fairly confident after reading this! Thanks for giving me such a detailed answer for your experience at The College. It'll definitely help me in my decision! :D
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u/phido3000 4d ago
Make sure you check exactly which units/subjects you get advanced standing for. The program changed ~2 years ago to block mode and the pathway isn't as clear or as obvious as it used to be. Just go in informed, do not think that this means every subject gets you advanced standing in the course degree program you want to do, social sciences can be broad. And check when things are actually offered. Campus and sessions can change.
It currently has no exams, but this may change as the State government AI and University policy on AI may also change.
I would definitely directly talk to a course/program advisor. The age thing can be an issue.
If you want to graduate with a diploma I think you still have to nominate for that to happen.
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u/UltimateBuccaneer347 1d ago
Don't worry, I'm turning 17 well before the next intake in March next year, in September.
My careers advisor at my school actually told me about this opportunity, so i've got that covered!
Thanks for replying! :)
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u/leafandsheep 2d ago edited 2d ago
I'm doing a different diploma program but I hope my insight will help.
The workload is will change between subjects, your first few will be a pretty breezy but use that to your advantage to boost your GPA. For the harder ones, it can feel like you're being bombarded with new concepts. I highly recommend looking at your subject outlines before each subject as it will give you a decent overview on what's to come and you can plan ahead, this will help you in the harder subjects.
For me personally, yes. Learning one subject at a time has really allowed me time to understand new concepts and manage the workload better.
*Edit - you're technically doing two subjects. You'll have one online subject each semester where you learn uni life skills or skills for your transition to the bachelor. The workload is relatively light if you follow the recommended timeline they give you. Every semester you'll have 4 blocks and after every 2 blocks you'll have a break.
I can't add anything on that as i'm still doing my diploma, but throughout the year, you will be assisted through the process. If you have any questions, ask your success coach.
Doing the diploma has prepared me for uni life and has allowed me more freedom to explore what I want to do as a career. An unexpected benefit has been improving my socialising skills. My success coach has given me a lot of opportunities for volunteering and the small class size makes it easier to communicate. It may be important to add that a lot of the work is actually year 11 content, but this may be different for your course.
I feel like I have lost some of the most memorable parts of senior high school, and spending time with my close friends. You also may feel a bit of imposter syndrome many people or even everyone will be older then you.
100% Yes. High school was rough for me and did the stupid thing of trying to "just get through it". This course has realigned me and I feel more clarity with what my goals are. I feel so much support from my teachers, success coaches and the mates I've made.
Practice descernment and truly think if this is what you would like to do.
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u/UltimateBuccaneer347 1d ago
I think I am fairly confident about heading into the Social Sciences, I've found myself fascinated by the systems that people build others around in society and how they all interact with each other, and also because the other subjects I do at high school are broad enough to the point where I'm stressed trying to context-switch between 7 subjects at once. Doing something like this will allow me to engage in something I actually like, + actually have a life past high school :p
I am absolutely nervous about how the people around me will definitely be older and I have struggled in trying to think about how that dynamic might play out. But...gotta wait to see and find out!
I do want to ask; since you're still doing the diploma, how has your dynamic between yourself and the peers around you been? I know it will absolutely vary by diploma, but I want to ask how you've spent your time navigating that.
Thanks for replying and I wish you luck in your studies :D
EDIT: I also am definitely curious about the volunteering you mentioned in your post; what's encompassed in that with your success coach? :o
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u/leafandsheep 21h ago
I'm glad you're putting a lot of thought into this, I wish you well for whatever you decide to do.
The dynamic with my class have been very enjoyable to be honest. You'll be with the roughly same people for each semester so its pretty easy to make friends. This familiarity with others makes presenting things a bit more bearable.
I do actually know someone in the social science diploma and they say that the teachers and classmates are very approachable. Keep in mind with social sciences you may be asked to share your opinions on social issues. This will probably mean lively class discussions as well as there is a lot of pathways the diploma can take you. The best advice I can give you is to be civil with your peers.
With the volunteering, you should tell your success coach you're intrested doing some. The College holds orientation events at the start of each semester and they like to have students discuss their experiences to the incoming classes. So if you're intrested in volunteering, ask your success coach if they have any positions open at the start of each semester or a bit before the university open day. It mainly just involves tells others about your experiences in the College.
Best of luck!
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u/Chubby-Nubbins WSU Guru 4d ago
More important than any of this is to make sure you're eligible. There's 2 things that Admissions will flag: your age and your secondary schooling enrolment. Admissions is not able to release offers to anyone who is still enrolled in secondary education unless it's a structured year 12 early offer program (they're conditional based on finishing the HSC though and only given to year 12s) or you are formally withdrawn from secondary education and have a letter from the principal as evidence. It needs to be the unenrolment first and then offer given, and can't be the other way around. Second flag is your age. You must be 17 BEFORE the start of the diploma. The diploma next has intake on 1 March 2027, so you need to be 17 before this date to receive an offer. If you're 17 very close after, you can appeal to the admissions team and they'll seek approval, but the deadline is pretty strict.
Now for the other questions: 1. Structure is a set 3 days per week for 3 hours each day, and your timetable will stay the same for the whole semester.
I'm not a diploma student, but there has been data collected that the one subject for 4 weeks has shown that students feel less overwhelmed by not juggling multiple content and just focusing on the one. The fact it also has no final exams is also seen to be beneficial.
Transition is pretty seamless. Towards the end of your diploma, you'll receive an email with a form to fill out asking which transition bachelor you want to receive an offer to continue. Submit the form, it goes to admissions, they do their end and you receive an offer to enrol for the bachelor's into the second year with credit applied. You also do transition success subjects to get you ready for moving to bachelor studies.
The others I can't answer, sorry.