How ATAR Works in New South Wales
Higher School Certificate (HSC)
The HSC System
The HSC is completed over Year 11 (Preliminary) and Year 12 (HSC year), but only your Year 12 HSC marks count for ATAR. Each HSC mark (0-100 per unit) is scaled to account for subject difficulty. UAC sums your best 10 scaled units (including at least 2 of English) to form an aggregate, which is converted to an ATAR — a percentile rank from 0.00 to 99.95.
Score Range
0 – 50
Per subject raw score range
English Requirement
Must include at least 2 units of English (any English course)
TAC Body
UAC
Universities Admissions Centre
How Your Aggregate is Formed
HSC courses are measured in "units" — most subjects are 2 units, Extension courses are 1 unit each. For your ATAR, UAC counts your best 10 units from Year 12 Board Developed courses, which must include at least 2 units of English. A maximum of 2 units of Category B courses can count. The aggregate of these best 10 scaled units is then converted into your ATAR.
Once your raw subject scores have been through the scaling process, they are combined according to the rules above. The resulting aggregate is a single number that represents your overall performance across your best subjects.
Converting Aggregate to ATAR
Your aggregate score is compared against the aggregates of every other student in your state who is eligible for an ATAR. This comparison produces a percentile rank from 0.00 to 99.95, reported in increments of 0.05.
The rank includes the entire age cohort, not just students who completed Year 12 or sat exams. This means an ATAR of 90.00 indicates performance above approximately 90 percent of the relevant age group in your state.
Disclaimer
The information on this page is a simplified overview. Official ATAR calculations involve detailed statistical processes managed by UAC. Always refer to the Universities Admissions Centre for authoritative information.