ATAR: What does it mean?

YEAR 12 is all about the ATAR. But what is it, how does it work and why is it so important? Here’s everything you need to know.

YEAR 12 is a pretty hectic time.

You’ve got assignments, assessments, exams and a bunch of other things that can, potentially, impact the next few years of your life (positively, we hope).

Your efforts for a whole year are analysed, scritinsed and packaged up into one near little number: your ATAR.

But what is it, really? And how does it work?

How you perform throughout the year will impact your end result.

UNDERSTANDING THE ATAR

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank is an overall percentile rank reflecting a student’s year 12 achievement compared to the relevant age group in a given year.

The ATAR allows tertiary institutions to competitively rank students who have completed different combinations of VCE studies. It is calculated by VTAC solely for use by institutions for admission to tertiary studies.

The ATAR is reported as a number between 0.00 and 99.95 with increments of 0.05. A student with an ATAR of 75.00 has achieved VCE results above 75% of the population of the relevant age group.

HOW TO QUALIFY FOR AN ATAR

A student must:

• Qualify for the VCE.

• Achieve study scores in at least four permissible Unit 3 and 4 VCE studies, including one from the English group.

WHO GETS AN ATAR?

VTAC calculates an ATAR for all currently enrolled VCE students who have qualified for an ATAR. You can access your ATAR online or via the results app. If you have applied for tertiary entry through VTAC and paid your processing fee, you will also receive a printed ATAR statement in the mail from VTAC at the same time that you receive study scores from the VCAA.

Choosing subjects you enjoy — and are good at — is likely to give you the best outcome.

MYTHS ABOUT THE ATAR

Many students believe that to achieve their best possible ATAR they need to choose studies that are traditionally scaled up. This is not true, and may even work against you.

If you choose a study that you are not very good at simply because it may be scaled up, the VCAA study score you receive will be a lot lower than what you could expect in a study you are good at and that interests you.

MORE UNI: WHAT ARE HIGHER EDUCATION STUDIES?

MORE UNI: HOW TO CALCULATE THE ATAR

MORE UNI: MOST COMMON UNI MYTHS DEBUNKED

MORE UNI: WHY ARE STUDY SCORES SCLAED?

While your score will be scaled up, it is unlikely that your VTAC Scaled Study Score would be any higher than if you had chosen a more suitable study, even one that may be scaled down.

The way to ensure that you achieve your best ATAR is to choose your studies according to what you are interested in, what you are good at, and which studies you need for future study.

Don’t forget to keep in mind that you must have a primary four in order to qualify for the ATAR. The calculation of the ATAR guarantees that all studies are treated equally and provides you with a common rank for tertiary selection across Australia. ATARs are comparable across states.

Always remember that you are not defined by your ATAR.

WHAT THE ATAR ISN’T ...

The ATAR isn’t a reflection of you as a person, and there’s no pass or fail ATAR. Everyone who receives an ATAR has passed the VCE. The ATAR is simply a rank that is used by institutions for some of their courses. In most cases, the ATAR is only one of many criteria and factors considered as part of the selection process.

A good ATAR is one that gets you into the course you want.

THE GOODS ON ATARs

Fifty is not a pass.

The ATAR is rank, not a score.

As a result, if you get an ATAR of 50 it means you have performed better than 50 per cent

of the Year 12 age group.

A ‘good’ ATAR is the ATAR you need to get you into the course you want.