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Getting into the university course you dream of begins with goal setting. In this post, we explain how to set them and stick to them!
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How many times have you been told to set goals? As a student I must have heard it hundred times. However no one really explained the exact process for setting your goals. In this post, we’ll look at how to set goals to enter your university course of choice
Defining your academic goal involves realising the following:
Most Year 11 and 12 students have an idea of what they would like to study at university. However, if you don’t have any idea it may be helpful to speak to people in different professions to gain an insight.
Here are links to some university course pages:
If you know which university course you are interested in, then you need to find out the subject and ATAR requirements.
For example, if you would like to study Bachelor of Commerce at University of Sydney in 2017, your minimum ATAR had to be 95 to be accepted. So your ATAR goal is 95!
For the full list of university courses and cut-off ATAR, please visit the UAC website.
Most university courses have assumed knowledge or recommended subjects for their courses.
Why is this important? Because if you don’t study the right subjects at school, you may not be eligible to study the course even though your ATAR is above cut-off ATAR.
For example, Mathematics is an assumed knowledge for Bachelor of Commerce at University of Sydney. From 2019, this university course will require a course prerequisite of Mathematics (Band 4 or higher).
From your ATAR goal, determine the required HSC Mark, Percentile, Scaled Mark and Performance Band for each subject. I have used the Matrix ATAR Calculator to create the table shown below.
ATAR Goal: 95
| Subjects | HSC Mark | Percentile | Scaled Mark | Performance Band |
| English ADV | 90/100 | 84 | 81/100 | 6 |
| Business Studies | 91/100 | 94 | 81/100 | 6 |
| Chemistry | 87/100 | 80 | 81/100 | 5 |
| Mathematics | 90/100 | 82 | 81/100 | 6 |
| Physics | 85/100 | 94 | 81/100 | 5 |
The table below summarises your goals.
| Goal | Detail |
University Course | Bachelor of Commerce at University of Sydney |
ATAR Cutoff | 95 |
Subject Performance Band | English Advanced: 6 |
What is the school ranking required to achieve performance band 6 in Mathematics? Top 10 at your school? What is my ranking?
You can use a table like this to track your progress quarterly.
| Subjects | Current School Ranking | Required School Ranking | Term 1 | Term 2 | Term 3 | Term 4 |
| English ADV | ||||||
| Business Studies | ||||||
| Chemistry | ||||||
| Mathematics | ||||||
| Physics |
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Our HSC Exam Prep Courses cover all the subjects and syllabus dot-points you need to help you get your momentum back. Learn how to boost your HSC marks.
Written by Matrix Education
Matrix is Sydney's No.1 High School Tuition provider. Come read our blog regularly for study hacks, subject breakdowns, and all the other academic insights you need.
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