3. What is the average ATAR score? The average ATAR is usually around 70.00.
An ATAR score of 80+ is generally considered 'good' and an ATAR of 90+ is generally considered 'great'. Students who score ATARs of 95+ often put in countless hours of study, work consistently throughout the year, and get extra help through private tutoring.
The average ATAR usually sits at around 70.00. Why is this? Although an ATAR of 70 places a student in the top 70% of year 12 students overall, it only places them in the top 50% of students who get an ATAR (since certain students will not finish their year 12 studies).
Most universities also use other criteria when selecting students (eg a personal statement, a questionnaire, a portfolio of work, an audition, an interview or a test). The average ATAR is usually around 70.00.
For most people, a good ATAR score is 80.00.
Eighty is the minimum ATAR for entry into most programs at the Australian National University.
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.
What is the lowest ATAR score? While ATARs are all between 0 and 99.95, the lowest rank that actually gets reported is 30.
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.
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.
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.
An ATAR of 100 is impossible
Because the ATAR is a rank (not a percentage or mark) and it's measured in increments of 0.05 the highest ATAR you could get is 99.95.
The short answer is: No. Your Year 11 grades do not count towards your ATAR! Essentially, the ATAR is a percentile number that's calculated using your HSC Marks — aka, your Year 12 marks. This uses your final HSC marks and your Year 12 internal assessment grades.
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)
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One Flinders student, Laura Webb, achieved the highest possible ATAR of 99.95. Laura is one of 33 Queensland students to achieve a 99.95, out of a total 27,245 students who received an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank.
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.
Rachel Halliday Shand got the highest possible ATAR of 99.95. Credit: “They were really excited, it was such a feeling of elation,” the Ravenswood student said.
Ravenswood student Maria Yang is one of the 48 students in NSW who has received the perfect ATAR of 99.95 in 2022. She could not believe it when she saw she had been given the highest rank possible this morning.
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.
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.
Your ATAR is a rank, not a percentage
An ATAR is a rank given in increments of 0.05 between 0.0 and 99.95, meaning that a score of 75 puts you in the top 25 per cent of your state. This rank provides an easy method of comparison for institutions when selecting students for course entry.
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".
Your ATAR rank can fall in intervals of 0.05 anywhere between 0.00 and 99.95 – spelling out how you compare to other students in your age group. An ATAR of 90.00 indicates that you're in the top 10 per cent of your age group, and put simply, it's hard work that makes a real difference to your rank.
Ethan Tan, 15, became the youngest student ever to get the highest possible ATAR of 99.95 on Friday. The Cranbrook student is one of only 46 students across the state to have achieved the top ATAR this year, and has his sights set on Cambridge or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for next year.
Students who didn't receive the ATAR they needed can enrol in a number of open enrolment subjects available across a range of study areas—all available to start without entry requirements. Once you've completed these, you can use your passing grades to meet entry requirements for a full degree down the track.
In NSW, your ATAR is based on an aggregate of scaled marks in 10 units of HSC courses comprising your: best 2 units of English. best 8 units from your remaining units, which can include no more than 2 units of Category B courses.