Due to the small pool, the scaling factor for the Distinction courses is calculated not with just the student's marks in the program, but by taking all their marks in all their subjects. The second issue occurs when students who have realised only 10 units of credit are actually required to achieve both the HSC and a UAI, sometimes pick additional subjects for interest rather than to further their mark, and thus perform less well than they otherwise would have. This can pull down the student's individual ranking and thus count against them.