Does your ATAR actually matter?

It is around the time ATAR’s are released that you start to hear two cliched sentences quite often:

1. “Congratulations that’s an amazing result! What course are you going to do at Uni?”
2. “Oh well, don’t worry the ATAR isn’t everything. You’ll probably be able to transfer into the course you want.”
   It all boils down to one fundamental question – does your ATAR matter?

From our perspective at Atomi we say yes – your ATAR is crucial. But not for the reasons you may think.

Don’t get me wrong the number itself has value because it gives you the liberty of choice – having a high ATAR gives you options. But lets put all the talk about ATAR as a ‘Tertiary Admission Rank’ aside. Realistically, your ATAR, as a number, will lose its importance in roughly 3 days (maybe a week) after which point no one in the real world actually cares. However, the importance of your ATAR is so much more than merely a number.

How you go about your HSC year says a lot about you and how you will deal with challenges throughout life – This obviously won’t apply to everyone and we are certainly aware that there are cases where the HSC wasn’t a good indicator of future behavior. Although at this stage of your life the HSC is probably one of the most accurate and standardized indications.

There are two elements that are more important than the mark itself:

1. How you got the mark you got
2. How you react to getting the mark you got.
   The HSC is one of the few times that you will be set a defined goal, over a defined period that has a single quantifiable result.

The ones that nailed it

Whilst it is fine to be proud of a great mark your ATAR should not be something that comes to define your character. Whilst your number may say a lot about you, you should not say a lot about it. Because in reality, outside of school, no one cares what your ATAR was.

“Hi my name is Alex, I’m 19 with an ATAR of 96.7. Nice to meet you” This is not a good look.

You should use a good ATAR to give you self-confidence in your ability to set out and achieve a goal. Confidence that you are bright, can deal with pressure and rose to the challenge. That’s what you should take from getting a great ATAR – not bragging rights.

The ones that should have done better

Likewise if your ATAR is lower than expected it is not the end of the world in terms of the number itself. However, the reason why you got that number is incredibly important. It might be because you’re not an academic or it might be because you didn’t put in enough effort. Or it might have been because you didn’t care enough about school to prioritise it. Some reasons may be justified, some may not – but it is important to discern ‘why’. Your reaction to a poor result will say a lot more than the result itself but most importantly it will help you learn how to better deal with future challenges.

The ones that could have done better

This is probably the worst position to be in. There will be students that feel as though they put in the effort and didn’t get the mark they deserve. Lines like “the ATAR isn’t everything” will be of little comfort to you. The biggest disappointment is not the figure, but the knowledge that you ‘could’ have done better. Whether you got 99 or an asterisk, getting lower than what you expected will leave a bad taste in your mouth. However, it is how you respond to this situation that is important. It’s up to you to decide whether the disappointment will drive you to get more out of yourself or whether you let it overcome you and ruin your confidence in your own ability to achieve. One thing is for sure, you will be put in a similar position again and what you take from your experience in the HSC will make all the difference.

The ones that just don’t care!

There will always be those people that don’t care about their mark and ‘will get into Uni anyway’ or they ‘don’t need academics to do music, art or fashion.’ That may be true and fair enough – not everyone wants the same things and we understand that. However, after reading this article hopefully it will be clear that we think it is important to care, not because of the mark you get, but because the skills you need to do well in the HSC are the skills you need to do well in anything and everything (for the most part obviously this is somewhat of a generalisation).

To apply yourself, instil a good routine and work ethic, remain focused and prioritise your life in order to achieve a predetermined goal. That is fundamental to achieving anything in any context. From becoming a doctor, a musician, a fashion designer or to maintaining a good relationship. For most people the HSC was the first test.

At the end of the day the ATAR and the entire HSC process is incredibly important. Not because of the figure you receive but because the process is the first small taste of many obstacles that you will encounter numerous times throughout life. What you got in the HSC, how you got it and how you reacted to what you got should tell you a lot about yourself. You’re either going to like what you see or you’re going find some things to change. Either way, the lessons learnt (how to deal with pressure, ability to learn, doing exams, meeting goals, establishing routines, work ethic, dealing with disappointment and failure) will inform your behaviour in years to come.

The HSC is probably the first major test of character and fortitude and without you knowing it is probably the first time you prioritised your life for an entire year. Where you had to make consistent choices that impacted an unforeseen outcome in the distant future.

Conclusion: The number does not matter and life goes on, but how you respond to the challenge of the HSC is certainly important.