What is an ATAR
What is an ATAR?
An ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) is a numerical ranking (0 to 99.95) being implemented in the Australian education system to evaluate and contrast the overall academic achievement of students who have completed their secondary education (usually in Year 12 or equivalent). Needless to say, ATAR results are invaluable for students who are looking to pursue higher education at universities.
Notably, ATAR isn’t to be seen as a score but a rank. So an ATAR of 80 doesn’t mean you got 80 percent; rather it’s an indicator that you are in the top 30 percent of your year group based on your results.
Some colleges may use ATAR as a primary criterion for selecting students for various undergraduate programs. However, universities and courses may also consider additional factors, such as interviews, portfolios, and subject-specific prerequisites, in their admission processes.
To read more about the Australian Curriculum, read here.
To find out more about what is NAPLAN, read here.
How is ATAR Calculated?
ATAR is associated with your rank in your courses, secondary education certification and performance in various assessment tasks for chosen subjects during the final years of your secondary studies. The specific details of the calculation vary among different states and territories in Australia, but the general factors considered in ATAR calculation are as follows:
Subject Scores
Students are evaluated based on their performance in their respective subjects during their final years of secondary school. Each area is assigned a scaled score, which reflects the student’s achievement level in that subject.
Aggregate or Raw Study Score
An aggregate or raw study score is the sum of the scaled scores achieved by a student in their top-performing four subjects. Some states or territories may look to the best five or six instead, and have their own additional subject requirement.
Scaling
Scaling is a mechanic to balance ATAR scores given that not all subjects are equally challenging. In fact, it’s only applied to the aggregate or raw study score to account for variations in difficulty between subjects. Studies that are considered more complex may receive a higher scaling factor.
The scaled aggregate score is then converted into an ATAR. As with the Australian Curriculum, ATAR can have different interpretation and implementation methods across various states and territories.
How is the ATAR Used?
ATAR is mainly used as an influential factor in university admission and course selection. On its own, it also works as a ranking signal that indicates a student’s academic performance relative to that of other learners.
At their discretion, schools can also look into ATAR for scholarship eligibility. Likewise, universities can use it to help determine which students will be offered a slot for programs and courses that have limited availability.
Is an ATAR of 60 Good?
An ATAR of 60 is generally considered a passable score. However, the perception as “good” or “bad” depends on the context of the student’s preferred career path and university. Simply, it’s informed and ultimately defined by personal goals.
For one, schools may have different cut-off scores as an entry requirement for their program. This also applies on courses which have more dynamic ATAR conditional entry requirements.
With that said, an ATAR of 60 is not a good score when it comes to gaining admission to Australian universities since it can limit your options and opportunities.
On the other hand, an ATAR of 80 is enough to allow entry into major educational programs across Australia. However, it’s important to note that only 20 percent of people are said to score 80.00 or more.
According to a report from The Guardian, UNSW’s lowest rank to receive an offer to a Bachelor of Arts in semester one of 2023 was a 65.15 Atar, or 72.30 with adjustments. For 2020 year 12 applicants, the minimum selection rank was 80, according to December round two admissions.
Is it Hard to Get a 70 ATAR?
The Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) which processes applications for admission to many NSW and the ACT schools suggests that 70 is usually the average ATAR rank. Granted not all students take an ATAR since they leave school early.
All things considered, aiming for an ATAR of 70 has to be a reasonable benchmark for incoming tertiary students.
How Rare is a 90 ATAR?
Since we’re talking about outperforming 90% of the students who claimed an ATAR in the same year. That’s highly commendable and possibly very rare. Queensland reportedly had 25% of students receive an ATAR of 90 or above in 2023, which is remarkably consistent with the state’s previous year.
For what it’s worth, the same report shared that 34 students were able to achieve a top ATAR score of 99.95 across the state.
Can I Go to Uni Without ATAR?
Before doom and gloom hits the room, let’s make it clear that some universities do offer courses that do not require an ATAR. There is also an option to enrol in an undergraduate certificate which can lay the groundwork for you in eventually getting a coveted degree sans an ATAR profile.
Even better, there is Torrens University which does not have ATAR as a key admissions criteria for incoming students at all. To a lesser extent, the majority of courses at Victoria University also do not require ATAR for entry.
On the other hand, international students are not required to have ATAR and are offered an exemption of some sorts. Albeit, their marks from overseas are converted into an ATAR equivalent behind closed doors to determine their entrance eligibility.
Are ATAR Scores Made Public?
Individual ATAR scores are not made public and only directly shared to the students. Meanwhile, a collective summary of ATAR results such as national and statewide averages are published.
Is the ATAR Rank Equivalent Across States?
ATAR was not initially used across all states because each state and territory had its own established systems for university admissions. Most states eventually adopted ATAR in 2010, with the exception of Queensland, which didn’t embrace the new system until 2020.
Currently, while schools set different ATAR entry requirements, your ATAR rank is definitively treated as equivalent across states. This means that Australian universities will treat every ATAR equally, regardless of the state in which the results were obtained.
How to Get a High ATAR?
Getting an ATAR that aligns well with your personal goals is not something you just fix just a few weeks or days before the results come in. It takes a commitment as soon as you enter the latter stages of your secondary school. On that note, here are some tips on how to improve your studies and subsequently your ATAR.
Focus on Active Studying
Try to understand concepts instead of memorising them. Don’t just settle on reading texts over and over again. Engage with the material you’re studying by testing the concepts and applying what you’ve learned.
Take notes by hand whenever you can. It can help you process information better versus typing every detail on your computer. Also, look for opportunities to explain the concepts you’ve learned to someone else. If you find yourself struggling to explain it clearly, then there’s a likelihood that you don’t really understand the concept that well yet.
See If You Respond Well With the Pomodoro Technique
Essentially, work or study for 25 minutes and then take a five-minute break. Pace yourself and space it out. You can even use an app to help you apply this technique. The idea is to break sessions into high intensity, short bursts instead of getting burned out with less to show for. This technique is aimed to help individuals develop more efficient work habits through effective time management.
Establish SMART Goals
You’ll get this tip a lot as you get more entrenched into the inner workings of society, so why not start at an early age? To make it make sense, SMART equates to specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) goals.
Who doesn’t love acronyms? Regardless, SMART is a time-tested concept. Plus, it keeps you accountable. Basically, this helps you clarify your goals and aligns it with a time frame that can help track your progress.
Find Meaning in the Content
This applies to nearly everything. Beyond reading or study sessions, finding meaning in what you’re committed to doing is an effective way to stay motivated and focused on it. This attitude will not only make the material more interesting, but it will also help you improve information retention and processing.
Seek Help From an Expert Tutor
No, we’re not talking about YouTube and TikTok tutorials. If you think studies alone is not getting you over the hump for some reason, then one-on-one tutoring might be your next big step. Tutoring is more than just teaching academia, it’s also about developing learning techniques and behaviours that can sustain you for life.
Stay Ahead of the Class and Challenges of Getting Good ATAR
It’s easy to fall behind and a real challenge to stay ahead in class, especially if you don’t have a long-term reason to take advanced studies. Enter ATAR! On the flip side, also take time to review material frequently. It’s well known that we can rapidly lose knowledge that we’ve just learned if we stop engaging with them over a period of time. Since there’s no miracle solution to that, the next best thing is to revisit past lessons.
Summing Up
Getting a favourable ATAR that will unlock many of your goals and your full potential is not an easy task. More so if you cave in to the pressure. But putting in the work and commitment is definitely a good attitude to have if you are to overcome this early challenge.
Lastly, if you do need a review or checklist about ATAR, then don’t forget to bookmark this page and our blog to stay the course.
