Cohort ranking + atar

[Failingvce]

Currently I am not ranked one in any of my subjects. Maybe 2nd for biology and 5th for psychology but not first. I am from a ‘bad’ school where the cohort is certainly not as strong as any selective or private school + I think that teachers inflate marks. (Like in English the highest ranked person got 2 100 percents in BOTH of the SACS we have done so far)
What I really wanted to ask was, can I still achieve a high study score + ATAR if I’m not ranked one in all of my subjects? Someone told me, (not sure how accurate this is) that you can’t achieve a higher study score than the person ranked one on your class even if you do perform higher than them in the exam. Idealistically I want an ATAR in the mid 90s and I’m really worried about how I’ll be able to achieve that if my rank isn’t good enough. I also definitely know that some of the people ranked first in my classes will get scaled down after their exam due to teacher favouritism. I think this means that if they do bad, then everyone’s mark gets scaled down- which I find extremely unfair.

[SkyArrow]

What I really wanted to ask was, can I still achieve a high study score + ATAR if I’m not ranked one in all of my subjects? Someone told me, (not sure how accurate this is) that you can’t achieve a higher study score than the person ranked one on your class even if you do perform higher than them in the exam.

Nah, you can get a higher SS for sure even if you believe it's a bad cohort. Assuming your cohort is >30 people or so, you'll be perfectly fine - it's easy to overtake others in SS as long as you aim to improve on SACs, and ultimately, be the best in your exams.

1 data point: me in Physics - good school but very easy SACs for this subject so everyone did well - drop some silly marks and my rank dropped to the 50th percentile. Final study score: tied highest in my cohort (historically not as good as previous years' cohorts but it is what it is).

Even if you have a bad cohort and don't get an amazing SS out of 50, relative to others you have every opportunity to get a higher SS than the current rank 1. Exam rules.

[tiredandstressed]

Hey just wanted to add so I went to a bad high school (my school just makes the cut for top 300) and I wasn't ranked first in most of my subjects (however I was pretty much 2nd, or within the top percentile) and I still achieved high study scores and an atar over the mid 90s.
For instance, one student was literally rank 1 for four subjects (two subjects that I did as well) and I ended up getting a higher study score (and ATAR) than him. So it is all just about the exam performance- don't stress too much about ranks and just keep on trying your best. In the end, the exam is the universal indicator so if you perform well in the exam you will achieve a great study score.
Wishing you all the best 

[Failingvce]

thanks everyone for the advice