In Australia we have both University and "technical college" style further education establishments. Neither involve living on campus, both involve applying directly for the course you wish to attend (whether that be a general degree such as a BA or BSc or something more specific such as engineering, law or nursing). Some university courses are not available for direct entry straight from high school at some institutions (for example some schools offer direct entry to a 6 year medical degree and others do it differently, I think I last heard of some places doing it as a 3-4 year degree after another degree). For most courses entry is based purely on your yr12 results, some courses require specific extra tests be completed (medicine for example has a specific entry test as well as year 12 results), some have portfolios and/or interviews... I am not aware of any courses requiring things like a list of extracurricular activities (my lack of awareness doesn't mean there aren't any but it's definitely not standard for the majority of courses), I find that idea completely bizarre.
