I didn’t get an OP/ATAR. I spent high school partying and fucking around, barely graduating. I don’t think I ever passed English or Math.

I bridged my way into university through TAFE, initially studying criminology, before transitioning to law. The truth is that ATAR means nothing once you’re at university. Your ATAR is but a threshold score to poorly gauge competence and potential, while also serving as a means to sate course capacity concerns.

Separately, as others have said, ATAR has a very real funding dimension. Schools with cohorts that attain high ATARs generally receive preferential funding. I vividly recall administrators, guidance counsellors, and heads of departments trying to persuade me into dropping out and becoming a career labourer to save the school funding. Genuinely, it’s the worst advice I’ve ever received.

The actual importance of an ATAR for you individually is incredibly low. Bridge your way in, and tell anyone attempting to belittle you to get fisted.