this might sound unrealistic but is it possible for kids who go to the toppest of the schools in nsw (ruse, nsb, baulko, top 10 private, etc.) to get atars between like the 30s and 60s? cus they have rly strong cohorts and i feel stupid tryna get a 99+ atar at my shitty 200 school (whilst being mid rank in my subjects) whereas i was always taught that these dumbest of these top school kids dont even have to lift a finger in the hsc and can still get a 90+ atar
Just like how a student can get 99+ ATAR in a very low-ranked school as an outlier, it is absolutely possible for a student get <60 ATAR in a very high-ranked school as an outlier.
holy cope. Academics are there to filter out dumb people. Dumb people will do worse, regardless of "experience" or "skills"
Do you know why medicine needs a 99 atar or higher, or even GAMSAT?
They don't want stupid people operating on people in the operating room, or giving fake advice, simple as that.
To get into medicine, applicants have to pass an interview. ATAR alone won't cut it. Experience/skills matter a lot as well. They don't want people who have zero social/interpersonal skills when dealing with a patient.
Also, medicine has a very strong emphasis in getting students practical experience to become a qualified doctor. If you only know how to study the theory but don't know how to practically use the tools on the operating table or compassionately communicate with patients when they're in their most vulnerable state, then you will fail.
we live in an era where skills and experience is more important than academics
Can confirm this is definitely true in the real world. Academics only matter a lot during high school and uni years. When it comes to real world employment, employers always look for someone with good balance between skills/experience and academics. However, if employers can't find someone who is good at both, they would typically prefer skills/experience >>> academics (then academics becomes irrelevant once you're in the workforce for a while). That extra-curricular stuff matters
a lot during your uni years, because that is what makes up for a lack of employment experience when you look for a graduate job.
If you can't communicate well, cannot present in front of an audience or have at least some leadership experience then you will not get hired by any highly reputable employer, even if you have a HD average. On the flip side, if you have all these skills but failed your uni subjects then you won't get hired either.