Access to courses at public universities is decided by a student’s ATAR. This is a number out of 100 and indicates a student’s relative position compared with all other Year 12 ATAR students.

An ATAR ranges from zero to 99.95. For example, an ATAR of 88.50 would mean that this student was in the top 11.50% of all Year 12 students, or, in other words, the student was better than 88.49% of Year 12 students, irrespective of whether they intended to apply for university entrance.
The ATAR is derived from the Tertiary Entrance Aggregate (TEA). The TEA is calculated by adding the best four scaled scores in courses or subjects. Scores can contribute toward a student’s ATAR over five consecutive years. TISC will inform each student of their TEA and ATAR.

The following points have been agreed to by the four public universities:

1. All ATAR courses developed by SCSA are eligible for use in determining an ATAR.
2. For a student’s vourse to be used in the calculation of his/her ATAR:
   • The entire vourse needs to be completed.
   • The external assessments need to be undertaken.
3. The final Course Level of Achievement will be a 50:50 combination of internal and external assessments.
4. A student’s TEA will be determined by the sum of a student’s best four scaled scores.
5. There will be no need for List 1 or List 2 (in this aggregate) as breadth of study is covered by the WACE requirements.
6.  
7. The determination of a student’s ATAR is independent of him/her achieving WACE.

Please check the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) website for more details: www.tisc.edu.au

1. University Entrance - Additional Information:
   
   • Students aspiring to university entrance should aim for an ATAR of 70 or higher for entry into Edith Cowan, Murdoch and Curtin Universities.
   • For entry into The University of Western Australia, students should aim for an ATAR of 75 or higher.
2. Entry Requirements for Vetinary Science at Murdoch and Curtin University Undergraduate Medicine:

Students wishing to apply for a Direct Pathway to Medicine or Dentistry at UWA or Medicine at Curtin will be required to sit the UCAT examination in July of their Year 12 year and students would be advised to have studied Chemistry at Year 12 level. Students applying to Medicine at Curtin University are required to sit the Casper Test. Students applying to Veterinary Science at Murdoch University will also be required to sit the Casper Test.

CONVERSION TABLE TEA TO ATAR
The following table gives an indication of the minimum Tertiary Entrance Score (TES) required to achieve a particular Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR). The table can be used to roughly check an ATAR calculation.