Post School Pathway Planning

Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is the standard measure of a student’s overall academic achievement in relation to that of other students. Its sole purpose is to help tertiary institutions select applicants for their courses.

The ATAR is a percentile rank, not a score, and indicates a student’s position relative to other students in their cohort in a given year. It is determined from the University Aggregate score. The university aggregate score is calculated from the best four and a half (4.5) Stage 2 (Year 12) subjects. Each Stage 2 (Year 12) subject is marked out of 20, so the university aggregate is a mark out of 90. This mark out of 90 is then RANKED against all other students in that year and the students in the top 1% achieve an ATAR of 99.0, the top 10% an ATAR of 90.0 and so on. Further information about the ATAR can be found here. To see how the university aggregate related to the ATAR entry to university in 2023, click here.

A Selection Rank (SR) is the score a student receives out of 90 as a result of their best four and a half Year 12 (Stage 2) subjects (university aggregate) plus any Adjustment Factors a student is eligible for. Any

Adjustment Factors are added to the UNIVERSITY AGGREGATE (not the ATAR) and a new RANK is created, called the Selection Rank.

Adjustment factors are additional ‘points’ that are used to calculate the SR. There are different Adjustment Factor schemes in every state and students must check each institution they are applying to, to determine if they are eligible for adjustment factors. In South Australia, there are two schemes to achieve adjustment factors; the Language, Literacy and Numeracy scheme and the Equity scheme. A maximum of 9 adjustment factors are possible for any students (5 for equity and 4 for subject based adjustments). Medicine and Veterinary Bioscience degrees do not accept subject equity points for admission. For further information about Adjustment Factors, click here.

Pre-requisite subjects are Stage 2 subjects that a student MUST study to be eligible to apply for a particular course at a university. They ensure you have the background knowledge to understand the course content and succeed in the course. If a student does not study a pre-requisite subject, they will not be offered a place in the course, even if they achieve a high ATAR/SR. For some interstate universities, a certain grade needs to be achieved for it to count as a successfully completed pre-requisite subject.

Assumed knowledge subjects are Stage 2 subjects that a student is ENCOURAGED to study for a particular course at a university as they will help you to understand the content and you are likely to have a smoother transition to university. If a student does not study an assumed knowledge subject, they will still be eligible to be offered a place in the course, if they meet the ATAR/SR requirement for that course.

Tertiary course prerequisites are different for each individual institution. Further differences exist from state to state. Students are therefore highly encouraged to visit or contact the individual institutions they are considering to get current information.

Scaling is a rigorous and unbiased mathematical process that allows for fair comparison of students’ achievements across all their subjects.

It is a process that allows SATAC to compare the performance of students in every possible combination of SACE subjects. The data produced by scaling shows us how scores in one subject relate to scores in other subjects. SATAC uses the data to adjust or ‘scale’ subject scores to enable fair and accurate comparisons of student performance. For further information on how scaling works, click here.

Myth: Some courses are always scaled up (or down), therefore I should (or should not) study those subjects.
Fact: the way a course is scaled depends entirely on the average academic performance of all the students doing that course that year – and it can change from year to year.

Myth: I need to study ‘hard’ subjects to get high scaled scores.
Fact: ‘hard’ is a subjective term. Everyone has different strengths and interests. Students who achieve a high ATAR study a large variety of subjects.

Myth: I should study Mathematical Methods as I will get a higher scaled score than if I study General Maths.
Fact: It is very difficult to predict which course will lead to a higher scaled score. Your scaled score depends entirely on the average academic ability of the students studying that course and your position in the course. When considering which Maths course to study, you need to take into consideration any pre-requisite/assumed knowledge subjects and your mathematical abilities. It is important to choose the level of Maths that best suits you and your future plans.

Billy is a talented musician and naturally creative student with a passion for the arts, who has always enjoyed performing and studying Music and Art at school. Billy’s love and passion for Music and Art made it relatively easy for him to achieve an “A” in both subjects, with a subject raw score of 18.5 for Music, which scaled to 17.9 and a raw score of 19.1 for Art, scaled to 18.1. Billy also studied Physics and Chemistry, thinking they would help him to gain a higher ATAR as they are generally scaled up, but he didn’t enjoy them as much as Music. He found them hard to achieve high results and had to work extra hard to achieve a “C+” in Physics, with subject raw score of 12, which scaled to 13.85 and a “C” in Chemistry, with subject raw score of 13, which scaled to 13.95. Billy also studied Mathematical Methods to be in the same class as Lewis – Billy’s best friend. Mathematics was never a strong suit for Billy, and he found it difficult to pass exams. Billy achieved a “C”, with a subject raw score of 12.25, which scaled to 14.55. Billy likely would have achieved a better overall ATAR by choosing subjects he was naturally good at, like Music and Art, rather than choosing subjects he thought would scale more positively.

Some university courses have a guaranteed SR score. This means that if a student achieves the guaranteed score, and they have the course in their preferences, and they have met all other admissions criteria (ie pre-requisite subjects, auditions, portfolios etc), they know they will receive an offer.

Some interstate universities offer an early entry scheme, where students can apply to a university, using their Year 11 grades, and be given a provisional/conditional offer before they complete their Year 12 studies. To be eligible to receive the final confirmed offer, students must meet all pre-requisite subjects, complete their Year 12 studies and receive an ATAR.

• STAT (Special Tertiary Admissions Test) – the STAT is an aptitude test that assesses a range of skills considered important for successful tertiary study, such as critical thinking, and understanding and analysing information. It does not test specific academic content.
• Flinders University UniTEST – UniTEST is an aptitude test that has been developed to assess the kinds of generic reasoning and thinking skills that underpin studies at higher education and that are needed for students to be successful at this level.
• VET pathways – students who have successfully completed a Certificate IV level VET qualification or higher, may gain entry to some university degree courses. Each university has their own criteria for selection through a VET pathway. Some Flinders University courses will also accept a Certificate III level qualification for entry.

Students apply to TAFE through the South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre (SATAC). Ranking is used for entry to competitive courses where class numbers are restricted. This may include the date of application or an audition, written assessment or portfolio score. Many TAFE courses require students to complete the Core Skills Profile for Adults (CSPA) as a course admission requirement.

Generally speaking, there are no pre-requisite subjects for you to study at TAFE. Some courses have Course Admissions Requirements (CAR) or require you to study a lower level course (Certificate II or III) to apply for a higher level course (Certificate IV, Diploma or Advanced Diploma).

CSPA stands for Core Skills Profile for Adults and is a tool designed to indicate a person’s reading, writing and numeracy skills. Many students will be required to undertake the CSPA as a part of their entry to TAFESA. Further information is available here.

Yes, you can. A Certificate IV or higher qualification can be used to apply for many university degrees (In South Australia, some Flinders University courses will also accept a Certificate III qualification). Often, if the course is in the same ‘area’ of study, a student may apply to receive some credit towards their degree through Recognised Prior Learning. A student can also apply for a ‘Dual Offer’ course, where they will be accepted into both a TAFE course and a university course at the same time.

Yes, you can do an Australian School-Based Apprenticeship (ASBA) in Year 12, while completing your SACE. The details are worked out for each individual situation, negotiated between the student, the school and the employer. Generally speaking, students would be at Pulteney three days a week studying three Stage 2 subjects, and spend two days a week with their employer. The study component of the apprenticeship is often taught in blocks of time, sometimes in school holidays.