3. What is the average ATAR score? The average ATAR is usually around 70.00.
It's based on overall HSC results and is designed to be a predictor of your first-year performance at university. 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.
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.
As the ATAR is a percentile, a 99.95 ATAR means that you are in the top 0.05% of your state. Likewise, an ATAR of 99 means that you are in the top 1% of your state. Generally an ATAR of 99+ is considered as competitive for entry into Medicine (dependent on performances in the UCAT and Interviews).
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.
A 65 ATAR automatically qualifies you for entry into about half of Australia's universities. While your choices are somewhat limited, you should still be able to find a suitable course and receive an offer.
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).
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 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'.
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.
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.
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)
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).
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".
The ATAR is a rank, not a mark. It is a number between 0 and 99.95 with increments of 0.05. It allows us to compare the overall achievement of students who have completed thousands of different combinations of HSC courses. An ATAR of 80.00 places you in the top 20% of your age cohort.
"In other words, it's not entirely possible because a rank of 100 means you have beaten 100 per cent of your cohort, including yourself. "The highest is 99.95 because ATARs are in increments of 0.05. If we had an ATAR at every decimal place, we could have had a maximum rank of 99.99."
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.
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.
16 December 2022
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.
17.1 per cent of students received an ATAR of 90.00 or above, 34.2 per cent received an ATAR of at least 80.00 and 50.7 per cent received an ATAR of at least 70.00. The median ATAR was 70.40 this year, slightly higher than in 2020.
NSW universities are admitting students with ATARs as low as 30 into some of the state's top tertiary degrees, a Fairfax Media investigation into confidential university data has revealed.
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.
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.
You must still satisfactorily complete at least four subject areas to be eligible for an ATAR.