Is it going to be tough getting 95+ ATAR at a school ranked in the 150-200 (1 Viewer)

Sokc

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I currently go to a school that isn't that great but has recently become partially selective (around 2010ish). Although we are improving as a school I am woriried that due to our schools rank I will be unable to get my desired atar of 95+ as the mainstream people will weigh us down. Will it be possible for me to realistically achieve my goals at this school or am I aiming to high and will only end up disappointed?
 

jazz519

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Yes it is possible I think there was a user on this forum called porcupinetree who got 99.90 while attending a 300 ranked school
 

turntaker

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my sis got 97 in a rank 480s school so yea
 

giabaoftdt

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Highly depends on you mate, there were 5-6 people got 93~96 ATAR at my school, it ranked ~330th
 

chickencoop

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personally speaking, i attend a school which in my HSC year was ranked around the 150's and i managed to come out with an ATAR just slightly above 95. I remember also asking the same question u did before entering the HSC (since my school is also partially selective- ish), with a major concern on the mainstream students weighing me down.

However, what you need to understand as i did at the time; is that going to a lower ranked school does not mean you will get a bad ATAR, it just simply implies a higher importance for you to rank higher internally, specially if you consider your cohort dead weight.

Have the mentality that if you are the best out of your entire school, then you should rank 1st in all your subjects without trouble, and i can promise you that if you rank first in all your subjects and continue your efforts throughout the external examinations, you will definitely get an ATAR above 95... Maybe even above 98 if you do extremely well externally + decent scaling subjects.

Happy studying!
 

EarthSci34

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I currently go to a school that isn't that great but has recently become partially selective (around 2010ish). Although we are improving as a school I am woriried that due to our schools rank I will be unable to get my desired atar of 95+ as the mainstream people will weigh us down. Will it be possible for me to realistically achieve my goals at this school or am I aiming to high and will only end up disappointed?
This was exactly the scenario my when I took my HSC exams. I ended up with an ATAR higher than 95 :D don't underestimate the mainstream classes- back at my school one of the high achievers came from one of those classes :)
 

Zoinked

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I currently go to a school that isn't that great but has recently become partially selective (around 2010ish). Although we are improving as a school I am woriried that due to our schools rank I will be unable to get my desired atar of 95+ as the mainstream people will weigh us down. Will it be possible for me to realistically achieve my goals at this school or am I aiming to high and will only end up disappointed?
It is definitely possible, the hardest part is staying focused among the other students who honestly don't give a fuck. At my school, 60%ish of our bands were 3s and 4s, having all these kids who detest the hsc and belittle you for working hard are what will weigh you down. If you can ignore them, you can get that 95 atar.
 

the_matrix

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My tutor went to Cabramatta High School and achieved 97 ATAR, also got into USyd Psychology and did 2 masters.. so yes you can if you're willing to.

Where there's a will, there's a way.
 

chickencoop

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My tutor went to Cabramatta High School and achieved 97 ATAR, also got into USyd Psychology and did 2 masters.. so yes you can if you're willing to.

Where there's a will, there's a way.
Any way i can contact your tutor? im planning on USYD B. Psychology too and i asked one of the past students who was answering general Q&A's about how hard it is to stay in the degree and he responded with "Theres roughly 2000 students to begin with, and by 4th (honours) year, theres only around 100 left. i would really appreciate it if i could ask your tutor about his experiences and for tips etc!
 

atarguide

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I currently go to a school that isn't that great but has recently become partially selective (around 2010ish). Although we are improving as a school I am woriried that due to our schools rank I will be unable to get my desired atar of 95+ as the mainstream people will weigh us down. Will it be possible for me to realistically achieve my goals at this school or am I aiming to high and will only end up disappointed?
Yes. It's possible for very high ATARs to be achieved in any school, as long as you focus on getting the highest possible marks AND outperforming your subject cohorts. Scaling is the main problem with attending a low-ranked school, but it shouldn't matter as long as your own personal performance is extraordinary.
 

shumphrey

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go to a school with similar rank and always 1-2 people in the 97-98 ATAR range with several others in the 93-96 range so yeah its possible but those people study really hard, also if your at a low ranking school theres a chance the teachers will not cover the syllabus in enough detail and only intend for the class to pass not excel--> find online notes/ resources and work on stuff yourself, i have to do it for 3 of my subjects:(
 

zhu0902

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yes, of course you can, i know someone got 98 in ranking 200 school, she is a really hard working student. So if you try your best u can do it
 

GeorgeYLin

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You'll need to be 1st (or close to that) in all of your subjects, but it's very possible!!
 

infiniteknowledge

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My school had around 4 students who got 99 and around 20 who got 90+ from a cohort of 150.

School ranking was around 250 so yes - you can definitely get 95!
 

boredsatan

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It's definitely possible to do well at any school if you work hard enough!
 

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