Key Points
- In each state university admissions centres have different eligibility requirements for receiving an ATAR
- Across the country, the average ATAR score is usually around 70.00 out of 99.95
- Some universities are offering alternative pathways like an early entry scheme or a transfer
Australia has a state-based education system. In each state, university admission centres are responsible for calculating the ATAR from the sum of the scaled marks for an individual's top ten scoring units.
Kim Paino is a General Manager of Marketing and Engagement at Universities Admission Centre or UAC, she says the ATAR measures how a student has preformed against others in their age group.
ATAR is a rank, not a score or a mark, and it’s meant to be used only for university entry.
Eligibility for ATAR
To be eligible for receiving an ATAR, students in Victoria must complete the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE); in Tasmania, the ATAR based on students’ Tertiary Entrance (TE) scores.
In New South Wales, UAC provides the ATAR to secondary school students awarded the Higher School Certificate (HSC).
Ms Paino says that although each state has its own secondary education system and qualification, and they calculate ATARs independently, there is an appropriate mechanism in place that makes an ATAR transferable across state borders.
Ms Paino points out that university admissions centres have different eligibility requirements for receiving an ATAR.
In New South Wales, ATAR always includes at least two units of English even if English is not among your best ten units.
University admissions centres across country have different eligibility requirements for receiving an ATAR. Source: Getty Images/SDI productions
Nicole Lenoir-Jourdan is from Sydney, she vividly remembers when her son and his friends were finishing their year twelve a few years ago.
"For a lot of students, ATAR is about making or breaking it to get into the course of their dreams. So, I feel many students take subjects that they do not necessarily want to do, like three-unit physics or four-unit maths, because they know they are scaled up. And they'll do everything they possibly can to get their ATAR as high as possible to get into the course of their dreams."
How is ATAR calculated
UAC's Kim Paino says that if every secondary school student went to university, the average ATAR would be 50.00, but since that's not the case, the medium ATAR is usually around 70.00.
The ATAR results from the scaling process, expressed as a percentile rank on a 2000-point scale from 99.95 down to 0.00 in steps of 0.05.
An ATAR of 80.00 indicates that the student placed in the top 20% of students in their Year 12 age group.
Ms Lenoir-Jourdan, who is currently undertaking a Master of Teaching at The University of New South Wales.
She says the way in which the ATAR is calculated can be difficult to understand.
I've asked many teachers, and everybody has a vague idea, but it is very complicated and technical.
The medium ATAR is usually around 70.00 out of 99.95. Source: Getty Images/MoMo Productions
To receive an ATAR, eligible students need to register online. Ms Paino says that for the Years 12 students, the application is pretty straight forward.
The only thing they have to do is fill-in what courses they are applying for and pay the application fee.
Alternative pathways to university
Nicole Lenoir-Jourdan says that the lead up to final exams and graduating from high school can be very stressful for students trying to get the highest scores possible.
Some universities are offering alternative pathways like an early entry scheme or a transfer from one university or degree to a desired one at the end of your first year of university.
"There are always back doors. So, if you didn't the get mark to get into medicine...then you go and do a science degree, do really well in the science degree and transfer to medicine. Or if you didn't get into law, you could do an arts degree, do really well and transfer to the law degree."
You've got to be well researched to know the back doors to get in, and not give up if you really want something.
To find out if applications for ATAR are open and how the scaling process will work for you, speak with the authority in your state or territory. Source: Getty Images/Hill Street Studios
In South Australia and Northern Territory, visit the .