ATAR 'devalued by use of bonus point schemes' (1 Viewer)

[Rafy]

University entry score devalued by use of bonus point schemes (SMH)

The ATAR, the scaled number which ranks students' HSC mark against their peers, is less important than ever.

 

[ZombieApocalypse]

I don't think that's true at all. All universities still have a minimum ATAR requirement anyway, so regardless of bonus points, you're 100% not getting in if you get below something.

For example, you're only eligible for the inpUTS scheme if you get at *least* an ATAR of 69.

At the end of the day, I WISH it were true though. Chances are, I wont make my course this year

 

[Bec Johnston]

It's definitely fair though.

 

[GoldyOrNugget]

The ATAR, the scaled number which ranks students' HSC mark against their peers, is less important than ever.

Good. The whole idea of selecting students for different courses based on the same ranking measure is outdated anyway. If anything, faculties should give out even more bonus points for academic achievements in specific areas.

 

[brent012]

It's definitely fair though.

I dont think it always is and it should probably be standardised across the unis and rethought. My best/favourite subject was Software Design and i comfortably got a band 6 for it, UNSW don't offer bonus points for SDD for which there are a few reasons. But general consensus is that it's not too relevant compared to uni which is ridiculous. Software Engineering - a stream of Eng at UNSW which does not even have compulsory Physics subjects offers bonus marks for Physics. That could be understandable for normal Eng streams but under the SDD logic it wouldn't be as HSC Physics is entirely different to uni Physics.

I got into the course i am in without bonus marks, and it's not unheard of for people to manage to stack up close to 20.

 

[Rafy]

I do think Australian universities should move to a more US style admissions system. The ATAR is a very poor indicator of how suitable somebody is for university.

 

[ZombieApocalypse]

I do think Australian universities should move to a more US style admissions system. The ATAR is a very poor indicator of how suitable somebody is for university.

how does america do it?

 

[Omnipotence]

how does america do it?

SAT, personal essays and interview

 

[ZombieApocalypse]

SAT, personal essays and interview

What if someone was really academically gifted, but had total social ineptitude? I don't think interviews are needed, or personal essays.
You shouldn't have to justify why you deserve a place in a course. If you get the mark, you get the courseeee

 

[brent012]

I do think Australian universities should move to a more US style admissions system. The ATAR is a very poor indicator of how suitable somebody is for university.

I'm not a fan of the American system from my understanding. It's just too personal and not exact and without a UAC like body just doesn't seem right. It works well in America since there are so many colleges/unis but i cant see it working here. I do like the idea of an SAT like test but universities would never be able to use a GPA from high schools over here so there would still need to be a standardised test for each subject. My understanding of the US admissions system is probably way off since i've only heard anything about it in terms of private unis other there.

 

[golgo13]

I believe our system works quite well on the contrary like on an honest opinion getting into the course is one thing, staying in it is another. Any system that gets implemented will not be flawless and there will always be ways around it, but it is in a sense fair since there is diversity that needs to be accounted for. If it isn't broken don't fix it

 

[OzKo]

What if someone was really academically gifted, but had total social ineptitude? I don't think interviews are needed, or personal essays.
You shouldn't have to justify why you deserve a place in a course. If you get the mark, you get the courseeee

If they are socially inept, then it would be a waste giving a place to a student in some fields.

It's preferable to have a tailor-made admission system to suit the demands of the course and the industry itself.

 

[Meshy590]

I think Bonus points are unfair. I might not get into law at UNSW with 99.6, but someone can just come along with an AAA Scholarship, EAP or EAS bonus points and get into the course with a much lower ATAR

 

[nifkeh]

SAT, personal essays and interview

there's also ACT

 

[deswa1]

My two cents: I am very against the 5 bonus points for AAA scholarship because the difference between a 94.7 and a 99.7 ATAR for law is absolutely ridiculously. I agree with elite athlete/performers points but not for year 11 (like for me personally- I qualified for sport stuff in year 11 and that didn't affect me one bit in year 12). EAS is fine -> things like the death of a family member though are very tragic etc. and you should get bonus points. Some people abuse the system though.

Bonus points for some subjects are pretty stupid imo-> say for engineering giving points for getting a B5 or 6 in 2U maths. I mean come on. If you aren't getting that in 2U, engineering is NOT the course for you -> therefore most people get the points and ATAR cut-offs are inflated

 

[NBGHHS]

My two cents: I am very against the 5 bonus points for AAA scholarship because the difference between a 94.7 and a 99.7 ATAR for law is absolutely ridiculous

I agree. But on the flipside (being a person who was awarded a AAA scholarship) 99.7 is a ridiculous atar to achieve. But i did take my foot off the pedal a bit when i knew i was going to be given 6 bonus points....
Definitely against those who rort the EAS scheme.

 

[D94]

My two cents: I am very against the 5 bonus points for AAA scholarship because the difference between a 94.7 and a 99.7 ATAR for law is absolutely ridiculously. I agree with elite athlete/performers points but not for year 11 (like for me personally- I qualified for sport stuff in year 11 and that didn't affect me one bit in year 12). EAS is fine -> things like the death of a family member though are very tragic etc. and you should get bonus points. Some people abuse the system though.

Bonus points for some subjects are pretty stupid imo-> say for engineering giving points for getting a B5 or 6 in 2U maths. I mean come on. If you aren't getting that in 2U, engineering is NOT the course for you -> therefore most people get the points and ATAR cut-offs are inflated

Agreed.

Law is competitive and filled with students who worked hard to get 99.6+ ATARs. If you're at a disadvantaged school, then there's EAS and that goes through the appropriate channels to decide whether you are able to receive bonus/extra points or not. There's also transfers if you can't make it straight up, and transfers are probably more superior to AAA because it shows if you can handle uni work (you will probably need a D average).

Likewise with engineering, the bonus points they give out don't really affect most students. E3/4 for MX1 and/or MX2 really means your ATAR is probably sufficiently high to get in with a low cutoff of 91. Either raise the cutoff or reduce the bonus points available.

 

[golgo13]

I personally think they need to set a floor atar for certain courses or at least a per-requisite because for certain courses like pharm although the cutoff has dropped to 85 its been a real uphill battle for some, not saying hard workers are written off but like the atar requirement needs to actually reflect the difficulty of the course

 

[Arcadian Empire]

The bonus points in some unis are only a way to make their courses appear to have high cut offs, but really, they're hyper desperate to fill them with anyone decent

e.g.

unsw comm

 

[hsc2012la]

My two cents: I am very against the 5 bonus points for AAA scholarship because the difference between a 94.7 and a 99.7 ATAR for law is absolutely ridiculously.

I agree.