Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR)

The ATAR is a rank that allows the comparison of students who have completed different combinations of year 12 (or equivalent) courses. The ATAR is devised for use by universities to rank and select school leavers for admission to university courses.

The ATAR cut-off is calculated from the number of places available in that course, for that year, the level of the ATARs across the course’s pool of applicants, and how many of them are applying for those places.

It is important to note that the current ATAR refers to entry to courses for the previous year and ATARs are calculated annually. The ATAR that gained you entry into a course in one year may differ to the ATAR required in subsequent years. 

Overall Position (OP)

The Queensland version of an ATAR. An OP is calculated and used similarly to an ATAR and indicates an internal Queensland year 12 student's statewide rank order position from 1-25 based on overall achievement compared to other OP-eligible students.

Does a course with a low ATAR cut-off mean it is not going to be any good?

You may presume a course with a low entry cut-off is inferior to a course with a high cut-off. In reality, the ATAR ranking system is complex and the cut-off often has nothing to do with the course's quality. Learn More