14 Dec 2020

ATAR day comes hand in hand with a bombardment of questions from just about everyone you've ever known in your entire life.

It seems like an inescapable conversation. Friends, family, teachers, even that kid in your grade you've never spoken to. Suddenly everyone is interested in some bloody number. Heck, they were even interested when it was just ATAR calculators and wishes for your dream ATAR score. But it's heighetened today.

"What did you get? Did you get the ATAR you needed? Did you get into the course you wanted? What are your plans next year?"

While for some, it's the perfect opportunity for a subtle flex, for others it's the last thing they wanna talk about. 

 

So how do we navigate this? We wanna let our big-headed friends have their 15 seconds, but also wanna respect those who choose to drop off the face of the Earth for a couple of weeks. Bear in mind, some people don't even check what they got!

To put it simply, if someone wants to tell you their result, they will. 

In fact, there’s a better way to ask than simply “what was your ATAR?”, that doesn't involve prying it out of your mates.

Instead of asking direct questions about their results, their plans, their successes, their failures. Simply check in on how they’re doing. 

"How do you feel about your result?"

"How are you going?"

"Are you doing okay?"

If they don't seem to open up or are struggling, let them know you care about them and that they're not alone. 

While it might seem like every conversation is centered around it, if you don’t wanna to talk about your ATAR–don’t. There’s no obligation for you to share the final results and it’s up to you who you decide to talk about it with. It may even be worth rather sussing out what's on the cards next year for you as a point of convo - and that can be done by checking out and completing our Post-School Plan. It'll be a great way to talk about your future rather than talking about the past, because who on earth wants to keep living in the past?

After a few months, nobody will even ask about your ATAR. You may even forget it after a while, and it'll come a bit like an enigma. Because your ATAR doesn’t define you, nor does it place limitations on your future.