In your final year of high school, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with advice from your support network. Friends ask what your plans are, family gatherings turn into mini-interrogations, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that you need to have the rest of your life sorted out by November. That is a lot of pressure to deal with, and it might feel like everything revolves around your ATAR. But there’s more than one way to get into university. If you do end up with a less-than-ideal ATAR, don’t stress. Open Universities Australia (OUA) is here to help.

Here are 4 reasons why you should worry less about your ATAR:

 

1. YOU DON’T ALWAYS NEED AN ATAR TO STUDY AT UNI (OUA CAN HELP)

Open Universities Australia (OUA) does things a little differently.

Through OUA you can get into your dream degree, regardless of your ATAR. OUA enables you to study online with 10 of Australia’s leading universities, and graduate with the exact same degree as an on-campus student. If you’re keen to experience on-campus uni life we can help get you there, or you can enjoy the flexibility of completing your whole degree online.

So if you end up missing the mark, know that you don’t need an ATAR to start studying towards a degree. Anybody can get a start at university with OUA. Because we believe uni should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their education history.

 

2. YOU CAN GO FROM LOW ATAR TO CAREER HIGH FLYER

Carmen, an OUA student, is a big believer that high school performance is not a reflection of career ability. That’s because she’s living proof. When Carmen finished school, she had one of the lowest ATARs in her year level and was petrified about her options.

‘I didn’t know what I was going to do. There’s an expectation that you’ll go to uni, but my ATAR was so low. OUA provided me with the opportunity to get into uni, and work at the same time.’

With a whole lot of determination and drive, Carmen juggled full-time work and study to complete a Graduate Certificate and then a Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice from Griffith University. She’s now working in Community Corrections, managing the officers who monitor around 20,000 offenders, with a focus on reducing domestic violence.

Carmen is really proud of her achievements, despite getting a low ATAR. And she’s not stopping study any time soon. Now she has her sights set on a Human Resources qualification to improve her management skills, and after that she plans to study counter-terrorism online through OUA.

‘Being on campus at your local uni is not the be all and end all. By studying online I could progress my career and travel, all while having access to amazing lectures and other students who were studying my degree.’

Read more about Carmen’s story.

 

3. YOUR ATAR CAN’T PREDICT IF YOU’LL BE ANY GOOD AT UNI

ATARs aren’t an indication of how bright you need to be to cope with the demands of university. Just because a Law degree has a higher published ATAR than Nursing, that doesn’t mean it requires more academic ability to complete. It’s just an indication that there are more people with higher ATARs looking for a place in certain programs.

ATARs are not an indication of your ability to successfully study at university level. They’re not an IQ test, or a crystal ball into how you’ll go. That’s because uni is a completely different experience to high school – one that you might enjoy a whole lot more!

ATARs are a little less powerful than they used to be. In 2012 the federal government transformed the higher education industry by removing limits on subsidised student places. This means universities can now accept more students into their degrees than they could before.

So where ATARs used to be critical for sorting out the people who could have one of the limited places in a degree, now universities are free to teach many more students. And to encourage students to apply, universities are lowering their ATAR requirements.

 

4. YOU’RE NOT LOCKED INTO ANY ONE CAREER

According to the ABS, if you fall within the averages you will likely have 5 different careers in your lifetime, 17 different employers and a new job every 3.3 years.

Odds are that whichever career path you set out on straight after high school, it won’t be the one you end up retiring from. In fact, your life will no doubt involve a lot of change and trying new things.  Hopefully this releases some of the pressure – because you don’t just have one shot at a career that you commit to for life.

The nervous anticipation you might be feeling right now is normal. You’re going to experience it throughout your life, because change is pretty scary and that’s perfectly okay. Don’t worry – OUA has your back.

 

Eager to learn more about OUA and how we can alleviate your ATAR fears?
Call a friendly Student Advisor on 13 OPEN or visit our website.

Head to Uni Notes for more university resources and reviews.