To get a 99 ATAR, you need excellent results, typically averaging raw study scores in the low-to-mid 40s across your best subjects, with English being crucial, and often including high-scaling subjects like Maths Extension 2 or sciences for a boost, though consistent high performance in any subjects with strong scaling can get you there. The exact scores depend on scaling, but generally, you'll need strong performance in English plus high scores (raw 40+) in your top 3-4 subjects, and decent scores (raw 30-40+) in your 5th and 6th subjects for their reduced contribution.
Our respondents who achieved 99+ typically studied ~2+ hours on school nights and added longer, deeper blocks on weekends. The point isn't heroic cramming; it's steady work, spaced practice, and proper rest. I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.
What aggregate is needed for the top ATAR of 99.95?
To be eligible for an ATAR in NSW, you must satisfactorily complete at least 10 units of HSC courses. These courses must include at least: 10 units of HSC Board Developed courses. 2 units of English.
The ATAR is a number between 0 and 99.95, and it's made up of the scaled study scores from your top four scoring subjects (including at least one English subject), plus 10% of your fifth and sixth subjects. Once these scaled study scores are added together, they form an aggregate. This is then converted into your ATAR.
The four compulsory subjects are 2 official Languages (one Home Language and one First Additional Language), Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy and Life Orientation.
Only a very small percentage of Australian students achieve a 99 ATAR, as it signifies being in the top 1% of the entire cohort, meaning roughly hundreds of students per state rather than thousands; for example, in larger states like NSW, around 1000 students might score over 99, while in smaller states, it's closer to 100, making it an exceptionally high and rare academic achievement.
It is. In fact, Year 11 is all about effort, but it's also about mistakes. There is a reason your Year 11 results don't end up contributing to your HSC, or your ATAR. Year 11 is all about failure.
Yes, a 98 ATAR is an excellent score and gives you a strong chance for medicine in Australia/NZ, but it's not a guarantee; you also need a high UCAT score, strong interview skills, and potentially bonus points (SEAS/EAS), as medical admissions are extremely competitive and often require selection ranks well above 98 (sometimes 99+) for direct entry. A 98 ATAR is often the minimum for provisional entry or for some universities, but competitive entry can push requirements to 99+; focus on maximizing your UCAT and interview performance.
The most dropped HSC subject is often cited as Mathematics Advanced, with high percentages of students (around 35%) dropping it, making it a common choice for students seeking to reduce workload or move to Standard Maths. Other frequently dropped subjects include Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Legal Studies, PDHPE, and Extension subjects, often due to perceived difficulty, workload, or scaling concerns, with some STEM courses like Software Design also showing high dropout rates.
All students are ranked in order according to this aggregate and the percentage rank is converted to an ATAR, which is a number between 0 and 99.95. What this means is that a total of 6 subjects can contribute to a student's total ATAR. Students who only do 5 subjects miss out on a valuable possible 10%.
As mentioned earlier, the median ATAR in 2025 was 70.75.
Nobody can receive an ATAR of 100, and that's because the ATAR is a rank (not a percentage or mark), measured in increments of 0.05.
Up to ten adjustment factors, or points added to your ATAR, may be available if you meet one or more of the following criteria:
What is the ATAR for Medicine in NSW and Canberra? For students wishing to study medicine in New South Wales, they will need to achieve an ATAR above 90 and in most cases in the mid-90s or even higher.
Subjects that typically scale down your ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) are often those with broader student cohorts or less numerical emphasis, such as Foundation Mathematics, Health & Human Development, Business Management, Psychology, and some Arts/Humanities subjects, while higher-level Maths/Sciences often scale up, but performance is key, and subjects you excel in should be prioritized.
Which subjects are most difficult in Class 11? Subjects like Physics, Maths, and Accountancy are often found difficult due to new concepts and numerical problems.
Chemistry a-level is extremely hard compared to other subjects, with only 13.6% achieving an A* in 2022 and 24.4% getting an A. Many students struggle with chemistry in school and wonder if they have what it takes to handle the rigours of an A-Level chemistry course.
The ATAR is a number from 0 and 99.95 in intervals of 0.05. The highest rank is 99.95, the next highest 99.90, and so on. The lowest automatically reported rank is 30.00, with ranks below 30.00 being reported as 'less than 30'.
If a 14-year-old refuses school, it signals a serious underlying issue like anxiety, depression, bullying, or academic struggles, requiring parents to first talk openly and empathetically with the teen to find the cause, then collaborate with the school (counselors, teachers) to create support plans, and seek professional help (therapists, GPs) if needed, as legal action against parents is a rare last resort after exhausting all support, though parents have a legal duty to ensure education, says ReachOut Parents, Child Mind Institute, and Empowering Parents.
The hardest high schools to get into are highly selective public schools, often in Australia (like North Sydney Boys/Girls, James Ruse, Baulkham Hills, Hornsby Girls) or major US cities (like NYC's Stuyvesant High School), known for extremely low acceptance rates (under 15% in NSW) and requiring exceptional scores on competitive entrance exams (like the SHSAT in NYC) for their academically focused environments.
Any stream (Science, Commerce, or Humanities) can lead to a career in law. However, Humanities or Commerce might be particularly useful due to their emphasis on subjects like Economics, Business Studies, and Political Science, which are relevant to many areas of law.
There isn't a universal list of "5 major subjects," as it depends on the educational level (high school vs. university) and curriculum, but generally, core subjects include English/Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies/History, with a fifth often being a Foreign Language, Arts, or Physical Education, while university "majors" are specialized fields like Biology, Engineering, or History.
Globally the most in-demand school teachers are those who specialise in science and mathematics.