There’s a time in your life when it feels like everyone is saying “ATAR” in every other sentence. Like they’re deliberately trying to freak you out. That’s what this article is for: TO FREAK YOU OUT MORE.

No, wait. It’s to give you some important information and help you be the one who says “ATAR” a lot. Or at least give you that option.

ATAR stands for “Australian Tertiary Admission Rank”, which is a number between 00.00 and 99.95 that shows your position relative to all the other students in your year group. It isn’t a mark or a score, it’s a tool to help universities decide who gets in to various courses. Of course, having a specific ATAR doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get into the course you want – or that you’ll miss out. There are other factors at play which can affect your application.

WHAT IS AN ATAR AND WHAT DO I NEED IT FOR?

Your ATAR is affected by your rank in your courses, your raw HSC marks and how well you do in the various assessment tasks for chosen subjects. Subjects are scaled according to the level of sophistication of the content and skills required. However, you are always better to choose subjects that you enjoy and are able to do well in rather than choosing a subject which you find boring and inaccessible. So don’t feel like you have to choose specific subjects just to get a good ATAR.

WHAT AFFECTS MY ATAR (AND WHAT DOESN’T)?

To ensure that you are on ATAR pathway to you need to ensure that 8 of 10 units have been selected from the Board Developed Category A subject this. This can be found: https://www.uac.edu.au/assets/documents/hsc-courses/2019-HSC-courses.pdf

Basically, you need to know that you’re going to reach the destination you have in mind. To that end, it’s important to check that you’ll be eligible to study what you want to at uni. Some tertiary courses have “requisites”, this is subjects that you need to have completed – or achieved a certain standard in – a particular HSC course. They might also list “assumed knowledge” and “recommended studies”, which are helpful if you’re deciding which subjects to pick.

WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW WHEN CHECKING MY SUBJECTS TO ENSURE THAT I AM ON AT ATAR PATHWAY?

Go to your careers adviser and be clear about your future plans. This doesn’t mean everything has to be set in stone – it means letting them know you want to be on an ATAR pathway, and want to go to uni. They should be able to help you pick the subjects that will get you where you want to be in a couple-three years. If there’s anything you don’t understand, get them to explain. It’s worth a bit of embarrassment now, asking what might feel like silly questions, to save finding out you did something wrong when it’s too late.

WHO SHOULD I SPEAK TO ABOUT ALL THIS?

Look, the rules around this can change, so instead of showing off our wisdom here, we’re going to link to this page that’s all about the ATAR and applying to uni. It should be able to answer some of your questions and/or point you at the person who can. If not, contact us or your careers adviser.

FOUR LETTERS, EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW.

WHAT IS AN ATAR AND WHAT DO I NEED IT FOR?

WHAT AFFECTS MY ATAR (AND WHAT DOESN’T)?

WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW WHEN CHECKING MY SUBJECTS TO ENSURE THAT I AM ON AT ATAR PATHWAY?

WHO SHOULD I SPEAK TO ABOUT ALL THIS?

WHICH VET SUBJECTS COUNT TOWARDS ATAR?