How badly will a subject bring down my ATAR? (1 Viewer)

[watercoloureyes]

Hi all,

Now that the final assessments are over (well for me anyway), I had a question for one of my subjects. I know there’s still time (trials + HSC) to fix my problem, but I just need some realistic advice.

So I do 6 subjects, and 5 out of 6 of them I do really well in - usually anywhere from 85% to 98%, and I’m ranked within the top 3 students of all these subjects, with some first ranks. But my 6th subject I’m fucking TERRIBLE at, I usually only pass my exams and honestly I know what I’m doing wrong, I’ve slowly been increasing with each assignment but I’ve been fucking up and I’m most likely going to get tutoring to fix this.

I just want to know if it’s possible to fix my ATAR and increase my marks this late? If I get Band 6s in every subject and an average of a Band 3/4 in that one subject, how would my ATAR look. I’m doing 11 units btw.

 

[jimmysmith560]

That depends on the unit value of the subject in question. Since you are taking 11 units, is this subject a 1-unit or 2-unit subject? I will assume that it is a 2-unit subject, mainly because if it were a 1-unit subject, it would most likely not end up counting towards your ATAR anyway (especially since you mentioned that your performance in the rest of your subjects is favourable). In such a case, the effect that this subject would have on your ATAR would be halved by your 1-unit subject, meaning that the subject where your performance is unfavourable would end up contributing 1 unit towards your ATAR instead of 2, which it would have otherwise contributed, had you not taken your 11th unit.

I was in your position when I did my HSC. I took 11 units and was performing well in most of my subjects, except Mathematics (now Mathematics Advanced). While I did my utmost to improve my performance, I barely managed to achieve an HSC mark in the band 5 range (81), which was my lowest mark. This meant that Mathematics only contributed 1 unit towards my ATAR, with French Extension contributing 1 unit and halving the effect that my performance in Mathematics would have otherwise had on my ATAR.

To answer your question, yes, you can still achieve a high ATAR, provided that your performance in your other subjects is sufficiently high. While your low-performing subject will most likely end up contributing only 1 unit towards your ATAR, you should still try your best to improve as much as possible in that subject.

I hope this helps!

 

[watercoloureyes]

That depends on the unit value of the subject in question. Since you are taking 11 units, is this subject a 1-unit or 2-unit subject? I will assume that it is a 2-unit subject, mainly because if it were a 1-unit subject, it would most likely not end up counting towards your ATAR anyway (especially since you mentioned that your performance in the rest of your subjects is favourable). In such a case, the effect that this subject would have on your ATAR would be halved by your 1-unit subject, meaning that the subject where your performance is unfavourable would end up contributing 1 unit towards your ATAR instead of 2, which it would have otherwise contributed, had you not taken your 11th unit.

I was in your position when I did my HSC. I took 11 units and was performing well in most of my subjects, except Mathematics (now Mathematics Advanced). While I did my utmost to improve my performance, I barely managed to achieve an HSC mark in the band 5 range (81), which was my lowest mark. This meant that Mathematics only contributed 1 unit towards my ATAR, with French Extension contributing 1 unit and halving the effect that my performance in Mathematics would have otherwise had on my ATAR.

To answer your question, yes, you can still achieve a high ATAR, provided that your performance in your other subjects is sufficiently high. While your low-performing subject will most likely end up contributing only 1 unit towards your ATAR, you should still try your best to improve as much as possible in that subject.

I hope this helps!

THANKS SO MUCH! And OML math adv is literally the subject i was talking abt but thanks so much i needed this advice and ill def work towards improving in the subject.

 

[fourteenninetwo]

Just out of curiosity what other subjects do you do?

 

[watercoloureyes]

Just out of curiosity what other subjects do you do?

Society & Culture, Ancient, Ext History, English Adv, SOR2

 

[raspberriesandpears]

don't dismiss maths advanced yet!!! i accelerated maths advanced last year and it was by FAR my worst subject - i was ranked bottom half of the cohort and i got 53% in the trial, and averaged 70%-80% over my other assessments. after the trial i panicked at the prospect of a band 2 or whatever and did practice paper after practice paper. it paid off because i got 95% in the hsc exam and a band 6 overall (91). i was lucky that my cohort performed well and my assessment mark was scaled up, but even if they hadn't 95% was still half of my mark.
you're in a better boat than me, too, you have trials coming up which is always worth a chunk. give it your best shot - if you've identified what your struggling with that's already half the work done

 

[raspberriesandpears]

ugh can bos stop changing my keyboard smilies that one looks so passive aggressive