WHY DID I GET SUCH A LOW ATAR LAST YEAR?

[WAAAAAAAAAAAA]

Hello guys I am new around here,
I finished Vce in 2018 and I got such a low atar. I would not say that I am super smart nor would I say that I am dumb either, but I was shocked to say that I got an atar of 55. The subjects I did were Business management, English, further math, industry and enterprise, art and psychology. I thought by passing every subject that I would do well and I am shocked because I got all c's which is average, but my atar is only 55. Why is this? I know people who did chemistry, physics, methods, English, biology and specialist who totally did horrible and struggled, but still ended up with a higher atar then me. This year I took a gap year and don't know what to do. But first I need to know why I got this atar in the first place.

[Matthew_Whelan]

An ATAR of 55 means you ranked higher than 55% of everyone, which is about average. Since it is in the past I'd say just forget about it and work harder in whichever career you endeavour for. Good luck 

[geek123456]

Your Atar is calculated by something called the aggregate where all the scaled study scores are added together and then ranked against the states cohort to give you a number which itself is not a percentage but a percentile.
"passing" subjects at your school does not guarantee a "high" atar as sacs are subjected to moderation.Your sacs could have been easy or hard that is why they are moderated.A C + in your cohort maybe a D+ or B+ in VCAA's eyes ( they are made available to you in your statement of result via email or hardcopy so you can analyse if your sacs scaled up or down, also have a look at the statistics available on the vaca website)
The sacs and the exams are then combined together to form a study score, which in turn is then scaled according to the states performances and added together to give you an atar.Also your exam performance matters a lot so that might have lowered things a bit, have a look at the study design to see how much do exams and sac each comprise of the study score to be a bit more clear.I am not sure if you can still order a statement of results (it has been one whole year so idk)but usually soon after your results if you think your exams have been marked unfairly vcaa can provide you with your marking breakdown and you can even get them remarked!Try asking your school if it could be still possible.Also sometimes scaling could have an impact e.g a 30 in further scales down to 27 and spesh a study score of 30 scales up to 41 according to last years statistics depending on the difficulty of exams and the ease of obtaining a 30 which is the median.
I think if you really had a course in mind there are always pathways like alternative courses and even TAFE to make it into the course
Have a think if repeating would actually be worth it.Good luck.Hope this helps!
P.s an atar of 55 as stated above does place you higher than 55 % of the people so it is a great achievement in itself.It is good you are trying to understand what things could have gone "wrong" but the future is still waiting to be explored and welcome on the forums

[DrDusk]

Hello guys I am new around here,
I finished Vce in 2018 and I got such a low atar. I would not say that I am super smart nor would I say that I am dumb either, but I was shocked to say that I got an atar of 55. The subjects I did were Business management, English, further math, industry and enterprise, art and psychology. I thought by passing every subject that I would do well and I am shocked because I got all c's which is average, but my atar is only 55. Why is this? I know people who did chemistry, physics, methods, English, biology and specialist who totally did horrible and struggled, but still ended up with a higher atar then me. This year I took a gap year and don't know what to do. But first I need to know why I got this atar in the first place.

Scaling is the reason. For example getting an 80 in Specialist is much harder than getting an 80 in Biology. You can't just compare marks and say oh well I got an 80 in Biology, therefore I'm at the same 'level' as an 80 in Specialist. Sure they may have struggled but to achieve a 'C' in Specialist for example may be equivalent to achieving an 'A' in art. This means their mark in terms of contributing to an atar holds more 'value'. This leads to a higher atar

Good luck! =)

[WAAAAAAAAAAAA]

Thank you for your reply, I am very disappointed as I have let everyone down and I am so shocked when I first saw it. The average atar at my school was around 60's so 55 is not above average. I wish someone told me about scaling and all earlier to I could have picked harder subjects.

[geek123456]

It is not about picking harder subjects but how well you perform in them
if the subject is "hard" it would be harder to get a 30 in it as compared to an "easy" subject(tbh none of the subjects are easy everything requires some kind of input no matter what) where a 30 is achievable
therefore the moderation levels out this difficulty putting both students on the same level playing field
A HARDER SUBJECT DOES NOT GUARANTEE A HIGHER ATAR THAT IS A COMMON MISCONCEPTION but doing well in ANY subject does.

[Stormbreaker-X]

Hello guys I am new around here,
I finished Vce in 2018 and I got such a low atar. I would not say that I am super smart nor would I say that I am dumb either, but I was shocked to say that I got an atar of 55. The subjects I did were Business management, English, further math, industry and enterprise, art and psychology. I thought by passing every subject that I would do well and I am shocked because I got all c's which is average, but my atar is only 55. Why is this? I know people who did chemistry, physics, methods, English, biology and specialist who totally did horrible and struggled, but still ended up with a higher atar then me. This year I took a gap year and don't know what to do. But first I need to know why I got this atar in the first place.

1. Picked subjects that scale down a lot.
2. Did average and passed in subjects that scale down a lot.
I am sorry to hear that and an atar will not define you. You can still go to tafe and make your way to uni. The students who do specialist, physics, chemistry  etc, even if they do bad the scale will be in their favour and thus leading to a higher atar. You see with physics a 'c' in that is like a 'b' in business management. With the subjects you picked not getting amazingly high marks will bring down your study score a lot, if you getting high 20's the scaling does kill your final score. A lot of work gets put into calculating your atar and all sac's exams gets moderated based on how well you did along with the rest of your cohort and the state, like I said you can still go to tafe or repeat year 12 (depends on what you want to study).

[Stormbreaker-X]

Have you checked the scaling of those subjects may I ask? I found out that industry and enterprise/bus man/English/ further all do scale down quite a lot and the only way to stay safe from those subjects is by getting almost 100% on every test, that keeps you safe from all scaling effect. Otherwise that is the expected atar. Have you though about what you are doing to study at uni? That would be some useful information for us to have so we may help you further.

[WAAAAAAAAAAAA]

I like law and commerce, but looking at my atar I don't stand a chance at all. Yeah like I said I wish someone told me earlier about scaling and all that so I don't have to bear the burden I do now. If only I knew, but oh well I don't have too much of a choice now seeing my score and all.

[Stormbreaker-X]

I like law and commerce, but looking at my atar I don't stand a chance at all. Yeah like I said I wish someone told me earlier about scaling and all that so I don't have to bear the burden I do now. If only I knew, but oh well I don't have too much of a choice now seeing my score and all.

Unfortunately your atar will 100% not get you into law and you might have to go another pathway or someone make your way to the top. This will however take some extra years. If that is what you truely want to do, we all believe in you.

[K888]

Fortunately the ATAR is just one of many methods for entering higher education. I'd suggest having a look at pathway courses such as Diploma of Tertiary Studies which can then get you placed in a course. You can also pursue certificates and such through avenues like tafe which then will help you gain access to courses. You'll end up spending a bit more time at uni than you would if you got in to the course straight away, but most people end up taking longer to finish their course anyway because they defer, do less subjects, etc. - there's definitely not the pressure to get everything done ASAP at uni. Uni is always there so you can take a bit of time going through it!

Honestly a lot of people in most courses at uni (there's a few exceptions) have probably entered the course through pathway/other means (i.e. not through gaining entry from their ATAR). Not getting in straight away definitely isn't the end of things

[Stormbreaker-X]

Fortunately the ATAR is just one of many methods for entering higher education. I'd suggest having a look at pathway courses such as Diploma of Tertiary Studies which can then get you placed in a course. You can also pursue certificates and such through avenues like tafe which then will help you gain access to courses. You'll end up spending a bit more time at uni than you would if you got in to the course straight away, but most people end up taking longer to finish their course anyway because they defer, do less subjects, etc. - there's definitely not the pressure to get everything done ASAP at uni. Uni is always there so you can take a bit of time going through it!

Honestly a lot of people in most courses at uni (there's a few exceptions) have probably entered the course through pathway/other means (i.e. not through gaining entry from their ATAR). Not getting in straight away definitely isn't the end of things

While it is a good idea to go to tafe now or repeat year 12, it is an even better idea to get it done well the first time round. So that you don't waste extra years, but if you are truly passionate you can start at tafe and make your way to uni and then transfer courses. It looks difficult, but very possible if you are really motivated. Fear not the atar does not harm you in long run.

[WAAAAAAAAAAAA]

All those solutions seem so inconvenience. Is there any other way? ITS ONE ATAR AND IT KILLED ME, So in other words an atar probably does determine your future.

[charlottemchenry]

So in other words an atar probably does determine your future.

It most definitely does not define your future. No one has said you can't get into the course. They have just said you can't get in as an ATAR applicant. As much as an "inconvenience" these options seem when you get to 35 and are working in that field you won't even dwell on the extra year you took. The longer you wait and reminse over one mark - that's when it's going to define your life having not just started a pathway. The pathway courses will give you time to evaluate what you want to really do and it may even open up a different and perhaps better pathway. Don't lose hope, leave your ATAR in the past and begin planning your near future. Good luck

[Stormbreaker-X]

I am surprised that your school never explained all of this before you started Vce. Your atar does and does not determine your future depending on what you want to do. 
In terms of subject choices I do understand why some people would pick a subject purely for scaling although this a bad idea, it may be for a prerequisite and even if you don't do well the scaling does boost you up somewhat. Let me clear things up 'passing' ever subject does not mean 'good' atar your friends did subjects such as chemistry or methods and a lower score in those subjects will equal to a much higher score in your subjects. In terms of law well there is no other way I can think of at the moment so you will just have to give it your best shot.