How flexible is the atar (1 Viewer)

[Zen2613]

Hey all,

So I was told even if you don't get the required atar for a course, you can still get in, but it won't be garunteed. Is this true ?
Like say my course needed an atar of 95. Can I still get accepted with a 94 ? Seems a bit ridiculous if I can't, I admit. Also if you can get into a course with a slightly lower atar than the required one, by how much can it vary ? Obviously I can't go into a 95 atar course with a 60 atar, so where does the line draw itself ? And how do they determine whether you're worth of doing the course ? Thanks !

 

[Flop21]

Cut offs change every year, so if the cut off is below your ATAR, then yeah you can get in.


Btw what's with your location, is that a combo of 3 suburbs?

 

[Zen2613]

Yes

 

[Flop21]

Yes

I live near you ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

[turnerloos]

Does your 94 incl. Bonus points?

 

[BLIT2014]

Fairly flexible, it can do the limbo!

If you get a 94 ATAR, then they may be offering "bonus points" if you get a band 5/6 in a subject "relevant" to the degree.

 

[Flop21]

Guess what, EAS points go towards that 96 min ATAR for the UNSW co-op scholarship.

 

[Zen2613]

Ok hang on, what are bonus/EAS points exactly ? And how do I use them to try to get into a course ? As far as I can see I just select my UAC preferences and hope I get in, how does it work ? I want to apply for advanced maths/science possibly along with arts. I can definetely say I'll get band 6/E4 in both MX1 and MX2, not sure about music though, but definately a high band 5. What extra points can I get ?

 

[turnerloos]

Guess what, EAS points go towards that 96 min ATAR for the UNSW co-op scholarship.

are you serious...

 

[Flop21]

are you serious...

Yeah, why?

 

[D94]

Hey all,

So I was told even if you don't get the required atar for a course, you can still get in, but it won't be garunteed. Is this true ?
Like say my course needed an atar of 95. Can I still get accepted with a 94 ? Seems a bit ridiculous if I can't, I admit. Also if you can get into a course with a slightly lower atar than the required one, by how much can it vary ? Obviously I can't go into a 95 atar course with a 60 atar, so where does the line draw itself ? And how do they determine whether you're worth of doing the course ? Thanks !

The number of students between a 94 ATAR and 95 ATAR is around 900 students. Do you think a university will accommodate for an extra 900 students in a single degree because students think it's "ridiculous"?

Do you understand what a cutoff means? You are competing for a position, not to meet an ATAR. Your course does not need an ATAR of 95 - that is the cutoff for the previous year, not your year. The ATAR cutoff is the ATAR of the student who received the last available offer. If there are only 900 spots, and it so happens that every student with a 99+ ATAR wanted to do that course, then the cutoff becomes 99, even if the ATAR was 65 in previous year. You will know if you have received an offer or not, before cutoffs are released.

Universities do 'inflate' their cutoff for some courses, but that's beside the point. You are competing for a position, so whether or not you are slightly below is irrelevant, because if all spots are full, then it doesn't matter how high your ATAR is compared to the previous year, you simply won't get a spot.

 

[Zen2613]

The number of students between a 94 ATAR and 95 ATAR is around 900 students. Do you think a university will accommodate for an extra 900 students in a single degree because students think it's "ridiculous"?

Do you understand what a cutoff means? You are competing for a position, not to meet an ATAR. Your course does not need an ATAR of 95 - that is the cutoff for the previous year, not your year. The ATAR cutoff is the ATAR of the student who received the last available offer. If there are only 900 spots, and it so happens that every student with a 99+ ATAR wanted to do that course, then the cutoff becomes 99, even if the ATAR was 65 in previous year. You will know if you have received an offer or not, before cutoffs are released.

Universities do 'inflate' their cutoff for some courses, but that's beside the point. You are competing for a position, so whether or not you are slightly below is irrelevant, because if all spots are full, then it doesn't matter how high your ATAR is compared to the previous year, you simply won't get a...

What ? So then you're saying no matter what atar you get (unless its like 99.95 or something), you CANNOT be garunteed a spot in any course. I thought that was exactly how atar cut offs worked, if the course requires 95, and you get a 95.1, you're automatically in aren't you ? Otherwise the cut offs are really quite pointless, it just gives you a rounded estimate of what you need to get in, not an exact figure. But since the cohort of students applyibg changes every year, it is not very helpful. But i admit, what you're saying is very logical, so it may very well work in that way. Although, saying that the 900 students between 94 and 95 will apply for exact same degree at the exact same uni is a bit of a strawman fallacy is it not ? But anyway, I take your points, cheers

 

[Zen2613]

The number of students between a 94 ATAR and 95 ATAR is around 900 students. Do you think a university will accommodate for an extra 900 students in a single degree because students think it's "ridiculous"?

Do you understand what a cutoff means? You are competing for a position, not to meet an ATAR. Your course does not need an ATAR of 95 - that is the cutoff for the previous year, not your year. The ATAR cutoff is the ATAR of the student who received the last available offer. If there are only 900 spots, and it so happens that every student with a 99+ ATAR wanted to do that course, then the cutoff becomes 99, even if the ATAR was 65 in previous year. You will know if you have received an offer or not, before cutoffs are released.

Universities do 'inflate' their cutoff for some courses, but that's beside the point. You are competing for a position, so whether or not you are slightly below is irrelevant, because if all spots are full, then it doesn't matter how high your ATAR is compared to the previous year, you simply won't get a

 

[D94]

What ? So then you're saying no matter what atar you get (unless its like 99.95 or something), you CANNOT be garunteed a spot in any course. I thought that was exactly how atar cut offs worked, if the course requires 95, and you get a 95.1, you're automatically in aren't you ? Otherwise the cut offs are really quite pointless, it just gives you a rounded estimate of what you need to get in, not an exact figure. But since the cohort of students applyibg changes every year, it is not very helpful. But i admit, what you're saying is very logical, so it may very well work in that way.

Cut offs are for previous years, not your year. They indicate what was required for the previous cohort. You are competing for a position. If there are only 500 spots, and you are listed as number 501, you won't get an offer, even if your atar is higher than last year's cut off.

Although, saying that the 900 students between 94 and 95 will apply for exact same degree at the exact same uni is a bit of a strawman fallacy is it not ? But anyway, I take your points, cheers

No, that's not a straw man argument... You are arguing that it's ridiculous to not be given an offer if your atar is 94 and 95 was the cut off. It doesn't matter if not all 900 apply for the same course, or just 1 person, you can't claim an offer for being just below because you would need to apply that rule to all applicants, and that could be up to 900 students. But this is beside the point since your 94-95 atar argument was based on an incorrect understanding of cut offs.

 

[Zen2613]

No, that's not a straw man argument... You are arguing that it's ridiculous to not be given an offer if your atar is 94 and 95 was the cut off. It doesn't matter if not all 900 apply for the same course, or just 1 person, you can't claim an offer for being just below because you would need to apply that rule to all applicants, and that could be up to 900 students. But this is beside the point since your 94-95 atar argument was based on an incorrect understanding of cut offs.[/QUOTE]

Actually I never did say that. I said that it would be ridiculous for it to be impossible to get an offer if you got 94, ready my post again. That is why your argument is a straw man. You (perhaps unintentionally) changed my argument and then argued agaisnt that = strawman fallacy

Also, in that case what is with their 'garunteed selection entry' thing then. It says if you get this atar, you are garunteed an entry, or have I misunderstood ?

 

[D94]

Actually I never did say that. I said that it would be ridiculous for it to be impossible to get an offer if you got 94, ready my post again. That is why your argument is a straw man. You (perhaps unintentionally) changed my argument and then argued agaisnt that = strawman fallacy

Don't make it sound like there is any debate going on, and that I'm rebutting against you. Your original statement had no substance to it - you made an absurd claim and did not substantiate it. How others interpret it is up to them, and that can never be called out as a straw man because you have made no substantive argument. An argument/debate actually needs to exist in the first place.

What I said is still 100% true. Unless you want to elaborate or substantiate your initial point, calling out a straw man is a weak rebuttal, and is a straw man itself.

Also, in that case what is with their 'garunteed selection entry' thing then. It says if you get this atar, you are garunteed an entry, or have I misunderstood ?

Nope. Get that ATAR, you're in. But it's due to mathematical reasoning that they can do it. Get the lowest guaranteed entry and say if every student above that ATAR applies, UNSW will not be at full capacity. Also, it's likely that the internal trends indicate that very few students below that ATAR actually apply.

 

[jackleung34]

Don't make it sound like there is any debate going on, and that I'm rebutting against you. Your original statement had no substance to it - you made an absurd claim and did not substantiate it. How others interpret it is up to them, and that can never be called out as a straw man because you have made no substantive argument. An argument/debate actually needs to exist in the first place.

What I said is still 100% true. Unless you want to elaborate or substantiate your initial point, calling out a straw man is a weak rebuttal, and is a straw man itself.



Nope. Get that ATAR, you're in. But it's due to mathematical reasoning that they can do it. Get the lowest guaranteed entry and say if every student above that ATAR applies, UNSW will not be at full capacity. Also, it's likely that the internal trends indicate that very few students below that ATAR actually apply.

RIP

 

[JT145]

an atar is a good indication that you'll get in

but it's not the be all and end all

some universities have a system where when you get above a certain threshold atar you are eligible for guaranteed entry

OP you simply cannot make last years numbers (re atar cutoffs) apply to this years cohort and resulting university offers.