So let’s say the time has finally come, and it’s results day. You open your results, and are greeted by an ATAR about what you expected, if not a little higher. Great!
But when it comes to course preferences, what does that mean for you? Does your ATAR come with an obligation to pursue certain courses? Let’s explore this idea, first by considering a common ‘trap’ some students fall into.
A common ‘trap’
Frankly, ATARs are pretty hard to predict, meaning a lot of students each year will be surprised (either positively or negatively) with their results. As a result, some students may feel differently about their university preferences before results, where they have limited information, and after results, when the picture is a little clearer.
A student might have a course that requires a 65 ATAR as their first preference before results, but then feel the pressure to change it to a course that requires an 85 ATAR after pleasing results. Why is this?
In some ways, you can follow the logic. After working for the whole year, you get given one single number, and it’s reasonable to want to ‘use’ that number as much as you can. If you get an 85 ATAR, it might be tempting to preference courses that require an ATAR about that mark, for reasons of prestige, external pressure, or any number of other things.
But really, basing your preferences solely on ATAR requirements doesn’t make sense. Here’s why.
About the preference system
The preference system is all about supply and demand. Universities can only offer so many positions for each course - they can’t just accept every single student who wants to study Medicine, for example. One easy way for them to work out which students to offer a place is by ranking students based on their ATAR. Doing this results in a ‘required ATAR’, which estimates what students would need in future years to gain entry to that course.
That’s all well and good, but does it say anything about the inherent worth of a degree, or its suitability to you? No, it doesn’t. A degree that requires a 95 ATAR is no more inherently valuable than a degree that requires a 70 ATAR - and, in fact, may be much less suitable based on your specific circumstances.
So it’s important to remember when submitting your preferences that ATAR requirements are more of an administrative indication rather than one based on inherent value or worth.
A quick analogy
Let’s say you had a $10 gift card for a milk bar. You can only use the gift card once, so you won’t get any change if there’s money left over after your purchase.
You look through all of the items in the store, and you’re mostly interested in a range of big blocks of chocolate. The one that looks most appealing to you is $6.50. There are others there, too - different flavours - priced at $8.00, $9.00, and $9.95.
Which should you choose?
Choosing the most expensive option is in some sense maximising the value of the gift card - you’re getting the most ‘bang for your buck’, given you won’t be receiving any change. But is that really the best option?
At the end of the day, the chocolate block you think you’ll enjoy most - the one best suited to you - is priced at $6.50. You have enough to buy that chocolate block. The price of the others should be irrelevant, assuming you’re simply going to be eating whatever you buy. Perhaps a sounder approach would be to ignore price, and think specifically about your preferences.
This is a bit of a strained analogy, but I hope it helps demonstrate the point that basing your course selection simply on your ATAR and course ATAR requirements is a bit flawed. There’s no obligation to select a course with a high ATAR, in the same way that there’s no obligation to choose the most expensive block of chocolate.
Ordering your preferences can be difficult, but at the end of the day, they’re your preferences - it’s all in the name. Think carefully about what you actually want to pursue - not just what you can get into!
Not sure where to start? Uni Notes’ Course Search can help!
