Are ranks really that important in your ATAR? (1 Viewer)

juicystar07

Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Messages
203
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
1. Can you still get 99 ATAR is you are not ranked first for your subjects?
2. Do you need to be first in ALL your assessments to get a good ATAR?
3. Can you for instance, be ranked 30/100 in a subject, but in the next assessment, be able to be ranked first?
4. If you messed up your first asssessment, and you are pursuing an ATAR of 99, can you still fix it to be ranked first in the end?


Thankyou :)
 

deswa1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
2,256
Gender
Male
HSC
2012
It depends on so many factors... If you are ranked 50th at James Ruse you will get 99+. If however you go to a school in the 500's, you pretty much need first in every subject. In regards to messing up assessments, the only thing that matters is the end rank, not the individual ranks. Depending on the weighting of the first task, you should be able to make it back.

Good luck
 

juicystar07

Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Messages
203
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
It depends on so many factors... If you are ranked 50th at James Ruse you will get 99+. If however you go to a school in the 500's, you pretty much need first in every subject. In regards to messing up assessments, the only thing that matters is the end rank, not the individual ranks. Depending on the weighting of the first task, you should be able to make it back.

Good luck

Well, my school is in ~110 in the state, what would that do to the rankings?
The reason I asked this, is because I have actually failed all assessments for all subjects, (even though I haven't got ranking back yet) and I really want to get 99 to get into Medicine, but everyone is saying that since I have failed these assessments, I don't have a chance.

The highest weighting from all of my subject assessment was Maths and Maths Ext at 20%, will that be detrimental?
 

ZeeZee3

Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2011
Messages
191
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2013
1. It is possible to achieve a 99+ atar without being first in all subjects. The atar is a ranking system which ranks you with the entire state. So as long as you are in the 99 percentile range, despite what school you go to, be it a school ranked 15 or a school ranked 400 it doesnt matter as long as your overall hsc mark is better than most others. But, students from james ruse obviously do far better than a 400 ranked school thus they have more people gaining an atar of 99+ whereas a 400 ranked school probably gets very few.
2. No, you do not need to be first in your subjects to achieve a good atar although becoming first gives you more chances of a greater atar then being ranked 10th in your grade.
3. That situation is quite unlikely. Only when the top students initial mark is very low (eg 65 ish) due to harsh marking or difficult test, assignment etc and gets average marks while a 30th student's initial mark of 55 ish and scores 95+ for the next task can a ranked 30 student have a chance of topping a subject at the end. Make sense?
4. This is also quite unlikely. Unless the top students (not just one) completely screw up the next few tasks and you work considerably hard and achieve 98+ for each (which is very hard to do) will you have a chance at topping a subject). However, I dont think you need to worry about this too much, just do your best and if you still failing, work harder.
Please correct me if anything i say is wrong.
 

LoveHateSchool

Retired Sept '14
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
5,136
Location
The Fires of Mordor
Gender
Female
HSC
2012
Uni Grad
2016
^Well at your rank school, you'd still (depending on your subjects+ sizes), need to be in the top few (I'd say top three) in EVERY subject to have shot at 99+.

If you've failed all your assessments for every subject, it's going to be hard (not saying impossible) to claw your ranks up for the final internal mark to have shot at 99+.
 

Alkanes

Active Member
Joined
May 20, 2010
Messages
1,417
Gender
Male
HSC
2012
Real hard to get 99+ from now. 99+ is all about dedication and consistency in your work ethic. And also you shouldn't be aiming to high if you think you cannot really achieve it because you're just putting a lot of pressure on yourself.
 

enoilgam

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
Messages
11,886
Location
Mare Crisium
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2010
1) At a school ranked 110 in the state, you would probably need to be ranked first or close to it depending on your subjects (if you do high scaling subjects, you could probably settle for a few 2nds and 3rds).
2) No
3) Depends, its highly unlikely
4) Yes

If your failing assessments, then it is extremely unlikely that you will get 99+. Yes, a comeback is possible but if your failing already, it is unlikely that you are going to suddenly turn things around in time for next year. The HSC is all about consistency - the majority of people who get 99+ perform well in ALL there assessments. Also, most people who get 99+ (for that matter, people who get 90+) hardly fail (less then 50%) any of their subjects across the HSC year. So just remember to set realistic goals, because if you have failed every subject so far, its unlikely that you will get 90+ let alone 99.

However, if your rankings are very high despite the fails, then you would still be in with a chance. But I'm assuming that a fail would most likely result in a poor ranking in your case.
 
Last edited:

juicystar07

Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Messages
203
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
Thanks guys! But as much as I appreciate your help, it does not make me feel any better --_--

Say for majority of my subjects I'm ranked top 10, and say, probably two of them I am ranked top 20, is there still a chance to get 99?
 

jnney

lemon
Joined
Mar 3, 2011
Messages
1,437
Gender
Female
HSC
2012
For medicine, remember you still need to do really well in UMAT.

As for your ATAR, it should be at least 96+ (that factor depends on which uni you want to attend, and if you're from the greater western region it is slightly lower).

I think there is one thing that you should keep in mind, and it's something that someone else told me. 'How are you going to handle your own problems if you can't handle your own?'

Good luck :)
 

LoveHateSchool

Retired Sept '14
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
5,136
Location
The Fires of Mordor
Gender
Female
HSC
2012
Uni Grad
2016
juicy, with the ranks of top 10, two of them top 20, there is miniscule chance of a 99+.

At a rank 110 school, I assume only a few people get 99+ (like 3 or less). So you'd want to be one of the top students to get 99+.
 

enoilgam

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
Messages
11,886
Location
Mare Crisium
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2010
juicy, with the ranks of top 10, two of them top 20, there is miniscule chance of a 99+.

At a rank 110 school, I assume only a few people get 99+ (like 3 or less). So you'd want to be one of the top students to get 99+.
This
 

loaves

Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2011
Messages
139
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2011
Remember, ranks can shift a lot throughout the year, particularly after trials. The worst thing you could do is totally give up now and stop putting in any effort. If you truly want medicine, you'll have to work very hard and consistently to improve those ranks.

However, if you are actually failing assessments at this point (when you're only being tested on 6 or 7 weeks worth of work) you should probably reevaluate your study habits.
 

thisiswar

Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2011
Messages
78
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2011
1. Can you still get 99 ATAR is you are not ranked first for your subjects?
2. Do you need to be first in ALL your assessments to get a good ATAR?
3. Can you for instance, be ranked 30/100 in a subject, but in the next assessment, be able to be ranked first?
4. If you messed up your first asssessment, and you are pursuing an ATAR of 99, can you still fix it to be ranked first in the end?


Thankyou :)

1. yes
2. no
3. yes
4. yes

RANKS DON'T MATTER IN HSC UNLESS YOU HAVE A "MISADVENTURE"! WELL BUT IT HELPS TO BE RANKED FIRST I GUESS.... JUST TRY UR BEST AND EVEN IF U STUFF EVERY ASSESSMENT UP AND PERFORM BRILLIANTLY IN THE HSC U CAN STILL GET A DEVENT ATAR SO GET WORKING!

good luck! haha just felt like doing that xP
 
K

khorne

Guest
Thanks guys! But as much as I appreciate your help, it does not make me feel any better --_--

Say for majority of my subjects I'm ranked top 10, and say, probably two of them I am ranked top 20, is there still a chance to get 99?
no. medicine doesn't accept failures. Try nursing bby.

On a serious note:

You will struggle to get a 99. At a 110+ school, only 1 or 2 people tops will have a shot, so this really means top 1, at the worst top 2 in every course. FAILING all your first assessments probably means you will be too far behind to catch up (depending on weighting), unless you really push it. Again, I don't know the competition at your school.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

TheGreatest99.95

Premium Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2010
Messages
655
Location
NSW
Gender
Male
HSC
2012
1. yes
2. no
3. yes
4. yes

RANKS DON'T MATTER IN HSC UNLESS YOU HAVE A "MISADVENTURE"! WELL BUT IT HELPS TO BE RANKED FIRST I GUESS.... JUST TRY UR BEST AND EVEN IF U STUFF EVERY ASSESSMENT UP AND PERFORM BRILLIANTLY IN THE HSC U CAN STILL GET A DEVENT ATAR SO GET WORKING!

good luck! haha just felt like doing that xP
NO! they do matter even without a misadventure. The hsc doesn't come down to one exam final exam and that's it. it takes into account the rankings (internals) and the hsc exam mark (externals)!
 

enoilgam

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
Messages
11,886
Location
Mare Crisium
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2010
NO! they do matter even without a misadventure. The hsc doesn't come down to one exam final exam and that's it. it takes into account the rankings (internals) and the hsc exam mark (externals)!
This, rankings are the most important aspect of determining internal marks.
 

Bobbo1

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
971
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
It's not ranks but the relative gaps which is then used to calculate the standard deviation away from the mean (average). Once the standard deviation "z mark" is calculated this is used to moderate the internal marks from the HSC exams, i.e. ranks and your internal marks are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT and will definitely make up 50% of your HSC!!
 

hollywoodland

New Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2011
Messages
2
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2011
they are only important if you actually care about getting into university.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top