The ATAR is not a score out of 100 – it is a rank. The ATAR allows tertiary institutions to compare the overall achievements of all students who have completed Year 12. In Victoria, ATARs are calculated by the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) when you complete the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE).
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.
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.
What is the lowest ATAR score? While ATARs are all between 0 and 99.95, the lowest rank that actually gets reported is 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.
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 Fort Street High pupil was one of 48 students in NSW to achieve the highest-possible ATAR of 99.95 after one of the most challenging HSC years in history. But instead of leaving his final year behind, the four-unit maths whiz has been doing a question a day to keep the subject fresh in his mind.
What is the lowest ATAR ever? In theory, the ATAR is a number ranging from 0.05 to 99.95 in intervals of 0.05. The lowest rank is 0.05, the next lowest 0.10, and so on. But the lowest reported rank is 30.00, with all ranks below 30.00 simply reported as 'less than 30'.
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.
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.
Ultimately, getting 99 ATAR is no easy undertaking. It requires hard work, dedication, and a willingness to use all of the resources available to you. For those students who are aiming for the top universities, a high ATAR score is essential – and it is within your reach.
A 98 ATAR is an excellent score, and it is certainly high enough to apply for medicine at most universities in Australia and New Zealand.
ATAR scores are between 0 and 99.95, meaning a student can score 0.
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.
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".
48 students achieved a perfect score of 99.95. Of the 48 students with the highest ATAR of 99.95, 19 were female and 29 were male. They were enrolled in a variety of government and non-government institutions and pursued a diverse range of subjects.
Indeed, a common criticism of the ATAR is that it does not tell universities enough about potential students and does not do enough to ensure diversity. Our research suggests students also see it as unfair.
The ATAR is a commonly used criterion for admission to undergraduate study. It is a nationally comparable percentile rank (given between 0 and 99.95 in increments of 0.5) signifying a student's position relative to other students.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
'I was too stunned to go downstairs': 99.95 ATAR brings elation. Rachel Halliday Shand was still in bed when she found out she'd received the highest-possible ATAR of 99.95.