The ATAR Part 2: Three ways to make ATAR calculations work for YOU

If you caught our last post on how ATAR calculations work, you’ll know that we kind of left you hanging.

Sorry about that! After all, we know life’s pretty hectic at the moment so it’s a waste of precious time to learn about HSC marking if you can’t use it to make some clever strategic decisions about your study.

And a big cliffhanger between blog posts is probably as annoying as it is in the last episode of a killer TV season, so we’re going to cut straight to the chase. Here are the three ways to use all your fancy new knowledge on the HSC marking process to actually boost your ATAR.

1. Be an all-rounder

We all have a favourite subject or two.

They're the ones that we’re pretty good at, the content is interesting and they could be the only thing keeping you sane at school right now. You’re going to want to take care of your pet subjects because well, it’s a good feeling to be really nailing something even if everything else is a massive struggle.

But remember: your ATAR is a combination of all your final HSC marks.

Well, it’s really only the top 10 units (and definitely two units of English) that make up your ATAR but, if you’re doing 11 - 14 units, you still can never 100% predict your marks so need to treat all your subjects like they will count.

Basically, this means you can't afford to let any subject slip because it could take a pretty decent toll on your ATAR.

If you’re getting great marks in one subject then congrats! But it means there is less room to improve and it’s going to take a lot more work just to push up an extra mark. Ask yourself, with that amount of work, could you bring up your two worst subjects 5 marks each? Because that could bring your ATAR up by 4.00 points instead of the 0.40 boost you’ll get for turning a 95 in your best subject into a 96.

No matter how badly you want a Band 6 or a #1 rank in your favourite subject, it’s much better to readjust your goals and push up your lowest marks first. The bragging rights might be a little bit delayed but when you get that letter from UAC with your incredible ATAR - it will be so worth it.

2. Be consistent all year

So you’re all up to speed on how important ranks are, considering that they effectively determine 50% of your final marks.

The key way to take advantage of this fun fact is to be consistent all year and put effort into anything with an HSC weighting.

You don’t need to get caught up by the exact marks you’re getting, but try and set yourself up with a decent rank in the early assessments and maintain it through to the end of trials. That way, you’re walking into that HSC exam knowing that, no matter what happens, 50% of your total subject mark is pretty solid.

Each rank you manage to claw your way up could be worth a few extra assessment marks which will actually bring up your ATAR.

These mid-years, for example, aren’t exactly a win-or-die situation but you shouldn’t be writing them off either! They may only be worth around 15% but they can go a fair way in determining your rank so even if it feels overwhelming right now, the hard work you’re putting in really is going towards that dream ATAR.

3. Find out where you’re vulnerable and prioritise

So when it comes to figuring out where to channel all your energy after mid-years (if you have any left), it’s worth taking the time to find out where you’re vulnerable.

Achilles has the whole weak ankle thing and every student probably has a subject that needs a little bit of extra love and attention.

We know that scaling can affect our marks in a subject and also, that our HSC assessment mark is based on a combination of our rank and school’s performance. So that gives us two situations where your marks could be lowered by the Board of Studies.

1. You’re doing a subject your school doesn’t usually perform well in

Take a moment to work out how your school usually performs and how your cohort is going. Not sure how to work that out? Just ask a teacher, they’ll have a good sense of how everything is comparing and they really, really love sharing their wisdom.

If your school normally struggles with one of your subjects, then it’s definitely worth some extra attention because you can’t exactly rely on everyone getting a great exam mark to bring up your assessment mark. You want to be really solid on this subject so you can get one of the highest ranks and can really compete against the rest of the state during that common HSC exam.

That way, there’s no need to rely on your school to boost your marks, you’ll have done it all on your own like the strong, independent woman/man you are.

2. You’re taking a lower-scaling subject

There are no “bad” subjects but there are absolutely low-scaling subjects that could make you a little vulnerable.

You can still smash an incredible ATAR with subjects like Senior Science or CAFS, but if you don’t want to have your marks scaled down then aim to be sitting well above the average in your school and even the state.

When you’re wondering where your priorities should be after these mid-years, just remember that any improvements you make in your lowest-scaling subjects will be worth more to your ATAR than the same improvement in a top scaling subject.

So bring on the TLC!

Remember

Just keep telling yourself: all subjects matter, it’s important to be consistent all year round and if you know that you’re vulnerable in a certain area, have the confidence to spend a little bit of extra time on it.

It’s not worth spending more time on trying to find ways to cheat the HSC than actually just sitting down for some effective study. But with this little bit of extra knowledge you can definitely make the smart choices about your study and put yourself in the best position to get an ATAR that makes you so proud, you’ll carve it on your tombstone!