ATAR - Australian Tertiary Admission Rank Selection Rank vs. ATAR Questions and Answers

Question 1

Priya has an ATAR of 91.00.
She applies for a Bachelor of Engineering at University A and a Bachelor of Arts at University B.
University A calculates her Selection Rank as 95.00, while for University B her Selection Rank remains 91.00.
What is the most likely reason for this difference?

Accepted Answer

University A's Engineering faculty has a subject adjustment scheme for high-level mathematics, which Priya completed.

Answer

The Tertiary Admissions Centre (TAC) made a specific adjustment for University A.

Answer

Priya's school has a partnership with University A but not with University B.

Answer

Bachelor of Engineering courses have a universally higher Selection Rank calculation than Bachelor of Arts courses.

Question 2

Which of the following statements accurately describes the fundamental relationship between an ATAR and a Selection Rank?

Accepted Answer

A student has one ATAR, but may have different Selection Ranks for each university preference.

Answer

The ATAR is calculated by universities, while the Selection Rank is calculated by a state's Tertiary Admissions Centre (TAC).

Answer

Educational Access Scheme (EAS) adjustments directly increase a student's ATAR.

Answer

A student's Selection Rank is always equal to their ATAR.

Question 3

A university advertises a course with a "Guaranteed Entry" rank of 85.00. A student achieves an ATAR of 82.00 but is eligible for 5 adjustment factors due to living in a regional area. Assuming all other prerequisites are met, what is the student's status regarding this course?

Accepted Answer

The student is guaranteed an offer because their Selection Rank is 87.00.

Answer

The student is not guaranteed an offer because their ATAR is below 85.00.

Answer

The student's application will be considered competitively but a place is not guaranteed.

Answer

The student must re-sit their exams to raise their ATAR to 85.00.

Question 4

Which of the following factors would be used by a university to calculate a student's Selection Rank but would NOT be used by a Tertiary Admissions Centre (TAC) to calculate the student's ATAR?

Accepted Answer

The student's successful application to an Educational Access Scheme (EAS).

Answer

The student's raw examination marks.

Answer

The overall performance of the student's cohort in a particular subject.

Answer

The student's scaled marks from their best-performing subjects.

Question 5

A Selection Rank is best described as:

Accepted Answer

A rank used by an institution for admission, calculated by adding any eligible adjustment factors to a student's ATAR.

Answer

A student's raw aggregate score from their final year of secondary school.

Answer

The national average ATAR for a specific university course from the previous year.

Answer

A rank calculated by a Tertiary Admissions Centre to measure a student's overall academic achievement.

Question 6

Under what circumstances can a student's Selection Rank be lower than their ATAR?

Accepted Answer

A Selection Rank can never be lower than the student's ATAR.

Answer

If the student applies for a highly competitive course with many applicants.

Answer

If the student performed poorly in subjects that are prerequisites for the course.

Answer

If the university applies negative adjustments for attending a high-performing school.