Does anyone else feel like it's a 'waste' to do a course far below your atar?

[acciodraco]

I have an interest in a course and the atar reqs are in the high 70s/low 80s. Not trying to sound too stuck up, but say I produce a relatively higher result than that, I feel like it'd be sort of a 'waste' of points. I don't know, am I the only one? Lol

[b^3]

Don't go into a course that is around the cut off for the ATAR you get in the end just for the sake of it, go for the course that you truly believe you will enjoy and want to go on with after uni. Some people go into higher courses just because they got high enough to get into them, and then hate the course, not enjoying their time at uni and their job afterwards. It's not a waste, it just opens up more options to some people who may not have thought about previously as they didn't believe that they were options initially.

[brenden]

It would be a huuuuuuuge waste of your ATAR if you chose a course just because it has a high ATAR req and didn't choose your true course. With my ATAR+SEAS very few courses were off limits to me, but I still went for Arts/Education (85). Don't get trapped into thinking of it as a waste, because once you're in the uni system you're pretty free to move around (assuming you don't bludge uni)

[Professor Polonsky]

What bcub3d and Brenden said, absolutely.

I think the only possible downside to aiming for a course with an ATAR cutoff below what you are capable of is losing motivation throughout the year, and then not really achieving your maximum potential in VCE - but that's very much an individual thing.

[silverpixeli]

Am I wrong in saying that a course with a lower atar cutoff will cater for people who havent done as well in VCE? Like If I'm able to get around a 40 in methods that means I have a good understanding of the subject, but in a course with a lower requirement (say min 25 SS in methods or further or something and a lower ATAR) there will be people who dont have as good of an understanding, so wont time be spent teaching these people what I already know rather than teaching me the 'next' stuff?
I don't mean to sound arrogant (I certainly know I have a lot of work to do before I get a 40 in methods but that's my goal so) but I want to be pushed to learn new and challenging things in uni, I dont want to spend time waiting for people who didn't do as well in VCE to catch up :s

[Sach1_K]

Am I wrong in saying that a course with a lower atar cutoff will cater for people who havent done as well in VCE? Like If I'm able to get around a 40 in methods that means I have a good understanding of the subject, but in a course with a lower requirement (say min 25 SS in methods or further or something and a lower ATAR) there will be people who dont have as good of an understanding, so wont time be spent teaching these people what I already know rather than teaching me the 'next' stuff?
I don't mean to sound arrogant (I certainly know I have a lot of work to do before I get a 40 in methods but that's my goal so) but I want to be pushed to learn new and challenging things in uni, I dont want to spend time waiting for people who didn't do as well in VCE to catch up :s

I think in BComm in melb majoring in actuarial studies they kinda separate you based on your spesh study score. So if u got 38 or higher you get in if you get lower you have to take some other calculus courses or something. So some courses cater in a way for the higher achievers. Tho don't quote me on any of this.

[b^3]

Am I wrong in saying that a course with a lower atar cutoff will cater for people who havent done as well in VCE? Like If I'm able to get around a 40 in methods that means I have a good understanding of the subject, but in a course with a lower requirement (say min 25 SS in methods or further or something and a lower ATAR) there will be people who dont have as good of an understanding, so wont time be spent teaching these people what I already know rather than teaching me the 'next' stuff?
I don't mean to sound arrogant (I certainly know I have a lot of work to do before I get a 40 in methods but that's my goal so) but I want to be pushed to learn new and challenging things in uni, I dont want to spend time waiting for people who didn't do as well in VCE to catch up :s

When you get to uni, normally if you didn't do well enough in methods or spesh, then there will be a unit you will take, if you did do well enough then you take the unit after it. Lets take Monash Science for example, with an ATAR requirement of 82, for the maths side of things you have MTH1020 which covers spesh, while you have some people starting straight off with MTH1030 which covers after spesh (and I might be mistaken, but those who did uni maths in VCE I think may start with MTH2010, the unit which follows MTH1030). For engineering you also have foundation units for those who didn't do say physics or chem, so those who did can move on and do other units and not have to repeat the same content. I'm pretty sure UoM has something similar. In this case you don't get held back exactly, not sure with other unis though.

[eeps]

Choose the course that you want to do; irrespective of the ATAR score requirements. Interest is paramount to success. Monash and UoM are not the best in every field or degree, contrary to what they might say, often it depends on the actual course (i.e. its features, accreditation etc.). I've mentored first-year students who achieved considerably high ATAR scores relative to their course, but have struggled to replicate the same standard of marks at university. I'd be wary to assume that just because you've done well in VCE, that it means you'll do just as well at university. It works both ways. ATAR scores become meaningless once you start university.

[pi]

It's only a waste if you don't do where your passions lie.

[ninwa]

You know what's a waste? Spending 6 years at uni studying a course you picked because it matched your ATAR, only to realise you hate it and don't want anything to do with it. Would you rather waste a number that matters for abot 2 months, or 6 years of your life?

[lala1911]

The simple and correct answer is just 'No'.

[appianway]

It's a waste if you gave up a lot during year 12 when you didn't need to do so. High ATARs are useful for scholarships, high study scores are useful for placing out of classes, but if you only need a 75 for your course and you don't think you'll get a scholarship or be placed out of certain classes, I don't think it's worth sacrificing much to get a 90 instead of an 85, for instance.

(On that topic, I worked hard in VCE for two reasons - I thought I had a shot at some scholarships and needed them to study interstate, and I wanted to apply to universities in the US, which require you to submit a class rank.. and without scoring in the high 99s at my high school, my rank wouldn't have been in the top 10%. I did pretty well in high school, and I remember telling someone that I was applying to study science. She seemed shocked. I then told her that I was also considering science/law. Her reaction? "Oh, that's much better, then.")

[FlorianK]

You can always apply for the same uni course at a 'better' uni

[ProtonStar]

My ATAR was almost 40 points higher than what I needed to get into my course (Bachelor of Arts at Deakin). I could have done a Bachelor of Arts at Melbourne, but I decided the uni wasn't for me. And I have no regrets!

[simpak]

I got in to both biomed and science (because I bend da rulez yo and secure multiple offers) and in the end, I chose Science, and I've never regretted my decision! The course has suited me well, made it easy for me to go overseas and gave me the opportunity to take more electives and psychology subjects like I had wanted to do. Don't choose a course based on atar, because once you start uni nobody cares how you did. Your ATAR is exactly what it claims to be: an admissions ranking, not something designed to dictate the rest of your life. Also, just because you did well in vce doesn't mean you will have a superior understanding or ability when you start your course. A friend got a 50 in English and tried hard but only managed H3s and H2Bs (ie 65 to 74%) during her first year in my media comm course.