Why your ATAR doesn’t matter

You probably heard a lot about your ATAR in your final year at school. For many people, it’s the thing that will determine their next step when school is over – whether they go onto further education or not. However, it’s not always as important as it seems. With APC, there are other paths you can take to help you reach your education goals.

What actually is an ATAR?

ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank) is used by universities to compare the performance of all students across Australia who complete their HSC in any given year.

It’s based on overall HSC (High School Certificate) results and is designed to give universities an idea of how you might perform in your first year at uni.

Your ATAR is a number out of 99.95 but, remember, it’s not a score, it’s a rank of your percentile position of all the students from that year. So, an ATAR of 40 doesn’t mean you got 40%, it’s the rank you have based on the percentile position when everyone has been taken into account.

What can I do if I didn’t get into university and my ATAR is lower than I expected?

If you didn’t get the ATAR you were hoping for, it doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to get to university, it just means you need to consider alternative ways of getting there.

So if you’re aiming for a career as paramedic but don’t have the results you need to go to uni right now, a pathway course with APC is a great option for you.

In fact, when you choose to study with APC, your ATAR doesn’t matter.

We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to work towards their dream career. And while we do have some basic entry requirements that you need to meet to apply for our courses, a specific ATAR isn’t one of them.

Boosting real-life skills and confidence with the diploma pathway

Studying the Diploma of Emergency Health Care with APC before moving onto a university degree is an excellent way to build up your practical skills, medical knowledge and career confidence.

You can also:

• Gain some peace of mind:

  Ensure that this is the right career for you before enrolling in a 3-year, full-time, university degree.

• Build up your medical skill set:

  Develop confidence in your foundational knowledge and hands-on skills to give yourself a head-start at university.

• Start working in the industry:

  Completing the diploma means you’ll be nationally qualified to immediately start working in the private emergency healthcare sector before and during uni.

• Shave some time off your degree:

  The diploma could give you university credits that will shorten the length of your degree.

• Connect with the industry:

  Start building a network of future uni peers and industry colleagues.