Azarimy,

I would like to correct you about the "DARE TO FAIL" advice to others.

No wonder Malaysian and UK degrees are so easy to get high CGPA scores.They could always rework/mend their failed grades given the extra time they get.

This is not the case in Australian Universities.Failing more subjects would mean dragging you down further actually.

Why?

In your case, failing a subject means resitting/reunit the whole subject giving it a fresh start.

With Australian degree programs let's assume you have 10 subjects in your degree program.

(This GPA calculation method is used by Australia and European countries such as in Germany)

Failing 2 subjects would mean dividing the total score by 12 not 10.

A+ = 7; A=6, B=5, C=4...so on A failed grade will result with a score of 1

Student A scored B in all his 10 subjects = 10 x 5 = 50/10subjects = Final score: 5.0/7.0(total band of 7), CGPA(max score is 4.0)

Student B failed 2 subjects among the 10 he sat with the rest of the subjects getting B
To add say he managed to get A for the 2 subjects which he reunit.(p=points)
= (5p x 8) + (2 x 1p) + (2 x 6p) = 54p / 12 (note the 2 failed subjects are added in) = 4.5/7.0???

See the contrast in quality and strictness for Australian/European(German/French/Swiss/Dutch) degree programs?
Despite, getting 2 distinctions for his subjects, student B will have his failed subjects listed down in his academic transcript as well as 'F' and he'll be questioned by employers for it.

Further advise:

In regards to some forumers asking about the difference between 'W' and 'F'.Here's a proper answer:

Australian Universities allow you a cooling off period of 1 month when a subject commences.Should you feel that you can't cope with your studies with too much workload, you can always widthraw/drop the subject and postpone it the in the future semesters(further time delay).So getting an 'W' is just merely prolonging your study period but it's a safe take to avoid being penalized with a miserable 1.0 score point.

When you get a 'F' there's no turning back."Macam nasi sudah bertukar bubur".You'll have the 'F' engraved in your degree permanently forever and extra 1.0 point to pull your GPA score down further.Your only hope is to complete the degree by passing all your required subjects.A point of no return.

This post has been edited by ark890: Jul 23 2008, 12:21 PM

It includes all subjects involved in the degree program starting from the first year.

The Honours award in Australian University is solely by invitation only.You've got to be truly outstanding to be eligible for honours(it's like a national prestigious award) and it'll require you to take an extra year of studies(=more money and time).The Dean will single handedly pick the best students every year in his faculty to offer them this privilege.

There's no first class, second class or third in Australian degrees unlike the UK style where you can amend your CGPA score by resitting the failed subjects over and over if you fail and overwriting the old grades.

The final GPA score which you get will determine your degree's overall score.

An Australian degree with distinction would require you to have a GPA of >6.0.This alone is near impossible unless you have a string of As or A+(HD) in your academic transcript.The "Amohs" have some sense of pride in them, it is very hard to score in some of their papers especially the final year ones(if you're asian more likely they'll make it harder for you today).

You can consider a degree with a GPA of 6.0+ as first class but the Australians choose to humble you by calling it a degree with distinction, credit, pass and so on instead.

The more you fail, the more it's going to affect your overall score because each Fail(F) grade will contribute as an extra subject in your academic transcript.Your future employer may notice the number of times you fail a particular subject when he looks at your academic transcript.

I wouldn't worry about this if I were you.Most who study in Australian degrees are more worried about passing all their papers and getting the degree without delays.The papers are not easy and you would only have 1 attempt at them to really score.I feel this is a very good way to distinguish between real talents and normal people.

Their method of grade point calculation takes in consideration the number of times you fail.
There's no scaling or percentage quotas for first class in Australia.All merits are given strictly based on point cut-off ranges.

You've also asked about the honours year subjects being counted separately.That's true.If your grades fall below expectation, your honours degree will be downgraded to a postgraduate diploma + your normal degree.No honours degree will be rewarded.

This post has been edited by ark890: Jul 23 2008, 03:40 PM

Actually as an Australian degree holder, I personally don't like the strict method of awarding a degree as well. It's almost impossible to score a distinction with your degree and we don't get the chance to tell employers that we have a first class honours degree.All we can only tell them is that we have a so and so bachelor degree with the following GPA point.It's really a disadvantage to us even after putting up with so much effort.

Most Malaysian employers are so accustomed to CGPA point system and when we tell them we have a GPA score of let's say 5.5, they go "huh"? GPA only goes up to 4 woh.So how do I know you are first class or not, your degree only tells 5.5/7.0 what class is your degree?

I have mentioned this earlier in some other thread about failing in Australian degree courses.Do not be surprised that even if you're a top SPM/STPM student, you might still fail a subject or 2 in your university program.Life at overseas can be hard sometimes because you need to work at the same time to support yourself.Enrolling 4-5 subjects in one semester at Australian universities can sometimes make you feel like committing suicide(no joke, I'm not exaggerating)).It can be really difficult especially final year ones, I went through that before and you'll be so happy if you manage to just pass them all at the end of the semester.