Frequently asked questions.

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank is a number from 0.00 to 99.95 that shows where a Year 12 student sits relative to their age group. Universities use it, alongside prerequisites and adjustment factors, to select school leavers.

Because the ATAR is a percentile rank. The top student cannot perform better than 100 per cent of the group, so the scale stops at 99.95.

No. An ATAR of 80.00 means you are in the top 20 per cent of your age group. It does not mean you scored 80 per cent in your courses.

UAC reports that the average ATAR is usually around 70.00. If every young person in the state received an ATAR, the average would be 50.00. The average is higher because the ATAR group is a smaller, more academically able subset of the age group.

Yes. ATARs are nationally comparable. An ATAR of 85.00 in South Australia is equivalent to 85.00 in New South Wales or any other state.

The rank is permanent for the year it was awarded. Universities may set limits on how long they will accept it, and may assess older applicants on other study or work experience.

In NSW the estimate uses the 2025 course distributions and UAC’s published aggregate-to-ATAR table. In testing it reproduces UAC’s worked examples within about one scaled mark. Other states apply their own counting rules but use UAC’s scaling distributions as reference data, so their results are indicative rather than precise.

Because scaling is rebuilt each year and the final rank depends on the performance of your cohort. The range shows how far the result could reasonably move. NSW estimates use a narrower band than other states.

No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser. Subject marks are not sent to a server, saved to an account or added to a database.

The course-level scaled mark distributions come from the UAC Report on the Scaling of the 2025 NSW HSC (Table A3). The aggregate-to-ATAR conversion uses the 2025 table from the same report.

No. Course cut-offs depend on demand and the applicant pool each year, and many courses use portfolios, interviews, tests or adjustment factors. Use the estimate to understand your position, not as an offer prediction.

No. It estimates a raw ATAR. Equity adjustments, subject bonuses, location adjustments and elite athlete schemes are applied by universities and admissions centres after the ATAR is calculated, producing a selection rank.

Scaling compares your position in a course with the strength of that course’s cohort. For most courses the scaled mark is lower than the reported mark. That is expected, and it does not mean your work was marked down.

No. Each state counts a fixed number of units or subjects. NSW counts 10 units including English; Victoria counts four primary studies plus increments; Queensland counts five; South Australia and the Northern Territory count 90 credits; Western Australia counts four; Tasmania counts five.

In every state, an English study is required for an ATAR. In NSW it must be included even if it is your lowest scaled subject.

Not on that basis alone. Scaling changes every year, and a subject you are strong in usually produces a better scaled mark than a high-scaling subject you find difficult. Course prerequisites matter more than scaling.

Extension courses are usually one unit. In NSW, English Extension and Mathematics Extension counts depend on which other courses you take. The calculator lets you add them as separate subjects.