99.95 ATAR: A Testimony From a High Achiever
Every year, students ask for the “secret” to a top ATAR. The disappointing truth is that there is no hack. The encouraging truth is that high performance often looks very ordinary on the surface. It is systems, not last-minute inspiration.
A 99.95 ATAR student we worked with summed their approach into five habits. None are glamorous. All are repeatable.
1) Time blocking is essential
High achievers do not rely on mood. They rely on a calendar.
Time blocking means you assign study tasks to specific times, in advance, like appointments. Not “study English tonight”, but “6:30 to 7:20 plan and draft one body paragraph for Module A”.
Why it works: your brain stops negotiating. If the block exists, you show up.
A simple HSC-friendly structure:
Weeknights: two blocks of 40 to 60 minutes, with a short break
Weekend: one longer block for deep work (past papers, essay writing, full sets)
The advanced move is to time block by output, not by subject. Aim for deliverables: one timed response, one set of 20 questions, one edited essay, one error log review. Outputs are measurable. “Study” is not.
2) Routine is key
Routine is the silent multiplier. The student’s rule was simple: consistent wake-up time, consistent start time for study, even when motivation was low.
This matters because the HSC is not a sprint. If your sleep and study times bounce around, you end up constantly “resetting” your focus. Routine reduces decision fatigue and makes effort feel lighter.
A realistic target:
Wake within the same 60-minute window every day
Start study at a predictable time on school nights
Keep bedtime stable enough that you are not borrowing energy from tomorrow
Parents can help here more than they think. Routine is not about pressure. It is about keeping the week predictable so students do not have to fight themselves before they even open a book.
3) Prepare early: start 5 to 6 weeks before an assessment
Most students begin when they feel stress. Top students begin when they still feel calm.
Five to six weeks out sounds intense until you see how it spreads the load:
Week 6 to 4: build understanding and summary notes
Week 4 to 2: practice questions and feedback cycles
Week 2 to 0: timed responses, exam conditions, refinement
If you start late, everything becomes cramming. And cramming usually creates a familiar HSC problem: you can “recognise” content, but cannot produce it under timed conditions.
4) Write summary notes during term or holidays
This tip is deceptively powerful because it changes what exam period is for.
The student’s approach: summary notes were written progressively, not during the assessment pile-up. That meant exam weeks were spent on the highest-return activity: practice under pressure.
If you are writing notes two days before an exam, you are doing low-value work at the exact time you need high-value work.
A strong summary-note system:
Keep it lean: headings, key definitions, exemplar paragraphs, key quotes, common pitfalls
Add an “apply” section: sample questions and a short plan
Maintain an error log: what you got wrong, why, and the fix
Holiday note writing is not busywork. It is buying back time later.
5) Capitalise on teachers and tutors for marking and advice
High performers treat feedback like fuel. They do not guess what “good” looks like. They get it marked, then iterate.
This is especially true in English, Humanities, and extended responses. Students often overestimate the quality of their writing because it sounds fluent in their head. External marking reveals the gap between “pretty good” and “Band 6”.
A feedback loop that works:
Draft or attempt under time
Submit for marking (teacher, tutor, both if possible)
Turn the feedback into a checklist
Rewrite a section using the checklist
Repeat weekly
The key is not just receiving feedback, but converting it into a system. One page of marking can improve your next five tasks if you extract patterns.
Bringing it together
These habits are not separate. They support each other:
Routine makes time blocking easier.
Time blocking creates space to start early.
Starting early gives you time to write notes properly.
Notes done early frees the exam period for past papers.
Past papers become far more effective when you have rapid feedback.
If you want a single takeaway, it is this: build a routine that makes consistent practice inevitable, then use feedback to make that practice smarter each week.
