In general, most students consider an ATAR of below 30 to be bad. This is because the actual ATAR score is not reported for an ATAR less than 30, it is just stated as <30. Still, this ATAR may be good and all that is required for a student who wants to pursue a trade or enrol in TAFE.
An ATAR of 60.00 is not a good score. In terms of gaining admission into Australian universities, you could consider it a bare pass.
The ATAR is a number from 0 and 99.95 in intervals of 0.05. The highest rank is 99.95, the next highest 99.90, and so on. The lowest automatically reported rank is 30.00, with ranks below 30.00 being reported as 'less than 30'. Find out more about how ATARs are calculated.
Rank, not a score
So an ATAR of 70 doesn't mean you got 70 percent – it means that you're in the top 30 percent of your year group.
ATARs are calculated on a percentile basis and increase in increments of 0.05. An ATAR of 75.00, for example, indicates that you fall in the top 25 per cent of all students in your cohort. In other words, you scored better than 75 percent of the state.
The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is a number between 0.00 and 99.95 that indicates a student's position relative to all the students in their age group (ie all 16 to 20 year olds in NSW). So, an ATAR of 80.00 means that you are 20 per cent from the top of your age group (not your Year 12 group).
Your rank is based on how you went compared to other Year 12 students. So even if your test scores are lower than you'd hoped, if you're still ranked in the top 20% of students, then you'll receive an ATAR of 80. As long as you try your best with what you have, chances are, you'll do better than you expect.
Many unis have arts, science and business courses, which can be entered with an ATAR of 70 or less. Common degrees that have an ATAR of 70 or less are: Bachelor of Business (with various majors) Bachelor of Science (with various majors)
In NSW in 2020, the minimum aggregate required to score an ATAR of 90 or above was approximately 370, corresponding to an average scaled score of 37 per unit across 10 units.
Across Australia, the average ATAR for students graduating Year 12 is around 70. The average ATAR score decreases to around 50 when students who are ATAR ineligible are considered. These are students who dropped out of school, pursued other pathways, or failed Year 12.
How to get into uni with a low ATAR. You may have heard parents and teachers telling you not to stress if you get a low ATAR. And while it's frustrating to hear, they're actually right! Enrol through Open Universities Australia, and you can start studying with leading Australian universities regardless of your ATAR.
Sure, it's important in terms of acting as a gateway to tertiary study and securing your place in a course at university. What does matter however is work experience. Employers don't look at your ATAR, but at your experience.
All you need to get 70 (pretty much), is get roughly 30 for each subject. So around the C+ and the B mark for exams and SAC's.
In Australia, the lowest minimum ATAR required by a medical program is an ATAR of 90 (Monash University) or adjusted ATAR of 90 (University of Adelaide). If you're a rural student, you could also apply to La Trobe's medical program, which has a minimum unadjusted ATAR requirement of 80.
For many courses, you don't really need a high ATAR
An examination of advertised ATARs for courses around the country shows that a score of 60 and above will get you into a very long list of degrees.
3. What is the average ATAR score? The average ATAR is usually around 70.00.
Note: If you score 30.00 or below, but you'd still like to pursue a tertiary qualification (including a degree), then there may well be a way you can do this. Speak to universities about the alternative pathways available.
A Quick Word On ATAR Scaling
Based on historical data, Chemistry and Physics scale slightly higher than Biology while Economics scales better than Legal Studies and Business Studies. Ancient History tends to scale down compared to Modern History.
17 per cent of students received an ATAR of 90.00 or above, 33.9 per cent received an ATAR of at least 80.00 and 50.3 per cent at least 70.00.
Re: Can i still get an Atar of 60? It isn't impossible, but isn't easy either. You are going to really have to put in a lot of work & time into it. I mean the fact that you have 2 folio subjects, a foreign language and a scale down subject doesn't make this easy coupled with the 50% average on SACS.
For non-rural students who do not qualify for any special access schemes, UNSW Medicine has an official ATAR minimum cut-off of 96.00, and no official UCAT ANZ cut-off exists. However, to have a realistic shot, your scores need to be higher than around ATAR 99.50 & UCAT 92%tile.
The reality is that most students arrive at university with an ATAR of less than 90. It is a rank, and therefore only some students will get 90 and above. The ATAR shows a student's achievement in relation to other students. It's also not a complete sign of "success".
You haven't faced a year of schooling like this before – so some tips on how to get a good ATAR might be just what you need to face the challenges ahead. Luckily, we've got advice from 12 graduates who received a UQ Vice-Chancellor's Scholarship in 2022 by getting an ATAR of 99.90 or 99.95.
It's Never Too Late
A lot of students lack confidence during the HSC year and say things like “I just can't get a better mark” because their past results weren't great.