The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is a number between 0 and 99.95 (with increments of 0.05). It provides a measure of overall academic achievement in the HSC which assists universities in ranking applicants for university selection.
Admission to most university courses is based on the performance in the HSC with applicants ranked on the basis of their ATAR. Other criteria such as a portfolio, interview, audition, or questionnaire may also be taken into account for certain courses in conjunction with the ATAR. For further details on the universities’ selection criteria refer to the Universities Admission Handbook available from the Careers Office.
The ATAR is calculated by the universities and is released by the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC).
HSC students who indicate on their HSC Entry Form that they wish to be notified of their ATAR will receive an ATAR Advice Notice from UAC at about the same time they receive their HSC results from NESA.
However, not all ATAR Advice Notices will show an ATAR. These include:
students who achieve an ATAR between 0.00 and 30.00: they will have their ATAR reported as “30 or less”.
students who do not meet the ATAR rules: the statement “Not Eligible” will appear on the ATAR Advice Notice.
The first step is to rank HSC students who are eligible for an ATAR on the basis of their aggregate of scaled marks.
The second step is to determine what the rankings would have been for these HSC students if all Year 7 students had completed Year 12 and been eligible for an ATAR.
It is important to note that the ranking of students depends solely on their performance in the HSC, not Year 10 (or Preliminary Course marks from Year 11).
You must complete at least ten units of HSC Board Developed courses including English.
Your ATAR is based on the aggregate of scaled marks in ten units of Board Developed HSC Courses comprising:
2 units of English
your best eight units chosen from your remaining units subject to the following restrictions and conditions:
you must satisfactorily complete English.
you may accumulate courses over a period of no more than five years.
if you repeat a course or component of a course only the last satisfactory attempt will be used in the calculation of your ATAR.
if you enroll in a repeat course and subsequently withdraw (either officially by advising your Principal or NESA, or unofficially by non-attendance at the appropriate examination), you will be considered as not having completed the course and it will be regarded as a non-satisfactory attempt. In this case the mark from your previous satisfactory attempt in the course will be available for inclusion in your ATAR.
Students and parents often ask for advice as to which courses students should select to obtain the best results. In asking this question many people believe that there are certain courses which are 'scaled up' and that by studying these courses they will automatically receive bonus marks. It is possible to score good marks in any subject if students have the ability to score those marks in the first place. One does not get good marks just by enrolling in one of the so-called 'hard' courses. The system is such that two students of equal academic ability who take different sets of courses and perform to their ability will receive similar Australian Tertiary Admission Rank. Students should not attempt to select courses below or above their level of ability in order to maximise their marks.
The question is often asked: “Is there anything a student can do in order to obtain the best possible results?” The answer is simple and logical: Students should take courses in which they have an interest and ability and which will best suit their future needs and possible career choices.
In making their choices they should ask for advice from their Careers Adviser, teachers, subject co-ordinators, prospective employers or the Leader of Learning and Teaching.
The KLA Leader of Learning can offer specific subject advice or direct you to someone who can.