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Your ATAR is the rank that opens — or quietly closes — the post-school doors you care about. Scoring the rank you want isn't about studying harder than everyone else. It's about studying the right subjects in the right way, for the right number of hours, with a study plan you actually follow. This guide walks through how to do that — from picking subjects in Year 11 through to past-paper drilling in the final weeks before exams.
Quick answer
To achieve your dream ATAR, build a weekly study schedule of 15–25 focused hours from Term 1 of Year 12 (more in the final 10 weeks before exams), drill past papers under timed conditions for every subject, pick subjects you genuinely enjoy rather than ones that scale up, and use a tutor or study group to fix gaps as soon as they appear. Consistency beats cramming. Most students who hit ATAR 90+ aren't smarter than their classmates — they just started earlier, drilled past papers harder, and stayed honest about which topics they didn't yet understand.
How do I get my dream ATAR?
Getting your dream ATAR comes down to four habits, repeated across Year 11 and Year 12: a weekly study schedule you actually follow, deliberate past-paper practice in timed conditions, subject choices that fit your strengths, and someone — a teacher, tutor, or study partner — checking your work and pointing out what you've missed. None of these are dramatic. They are unglamorous, repeatable, and almost everyone who hits their target ATAR does all four.
The students who fall short usually do one of two things wrong. They either study reactively — only when an SAC or trial is a week away — or they study a lot but not deliberately, re-reading notes instead of solving problems. Your dream ATAR sits at the other end of that. Pick a target rank, work backwards to the study scores in each subject you'd need, and let those scores drive your weekly planner. The ATAR follows; you don't chase it directly. (For the mechanics of how raw scores become an ATAR, see how the ATAR is calculated.)
How can I improve my ATAR?
To improve your ATAR you need to lift your raw study scores in two or three of your subjects — not all six. Identify the subjects where a 5–10 mark improvement is realistic (usually the ones you're already at 70–80%), then concentrate the extra study hours there. Trying to lift every subject equally spreads you too thin and usually nudges nothing.
Three concrete moves that lift study scores quickly:
- Past papers under exam conditions. Sit a full past paper, timed, no notes, in one go. Mark it honestly against the assessor's report. Repeat at least one paper per week per subject from the start of Term 3.
- Targeted topic drills on the gaps. When a past paper exposes a weak topic, spend a full study session on that topic alone — re-do worked examples, redo the paper questions on it, then attempt fresh questions until you get them right unaided.
- A weekly review of your own mistakes. Keep a "mistake log" — every wrong answer from a past paper, plus what you got wrong and why. Re-read it before each new past paper. Most ATAR 95+ students do this; almost no ATAR 70 students do.
What's a good study schedule for ATAR success?
A good ATAR study schedule has four properties: it's written down, it covers every subject every week, it scales up across the year, and it has at least one full day off. The students who burn out before exams almost always over-study early and have nothing left for October. The ones who hit their target ATAR start steady and accelerate.
A realistic Year 12 weekly template:
- Term 1–2: 12–15 hours per week of study outside class — about 2 hours per weekday plus a 4–5 hour block on Saturday. Sunday off.
- Term 3: 18–22 hours per week. Add a second weekend day. Past papers start here, one per subject per week.
- Final 4 weeks before exams: 25–30 hours, mostly past papers. Stop learning new content; consolidate what you have.
Block-schedule each week on Sunday night. Write the actual subject and topic in each block — not just "study". A planner that says "Mon 4–6pm: Methods Ch 7 calculus drill" works; one that says "Mon 4–6pm: study" does not. Most students who reach ATAR 90+ keep a planner like this. (For more on weekly time-management, see our guide to time management for senior students.)
How many hours should I study for ATAR?
Most students who hit ATAR 90+ study 15–25 hours per week outside class across most of Year 12, then 25–30 hours in the final month. Aiming for ATAR 99+ usually means the upper end of that range from Term 1, plus a more disciplined past-paper habit. There is no magic number — what matters is that the hours are focused, written into a schedule, and spread across every subject rather than dumped on whichever exam is next.
Two warnings about hours. First, more isn't always better. A student who studies 35 hours a week but spends most of it re-reading textbooks will be beaten by one who studies 18 hours of past-paper practice and topic drills. Quality of study compounds; pure quantity doesn't. Second, sleep and downtime are part of the schedule. Six hours of sleep three nights running will cost you more marks than six hours of extra study would gain you. Plan for 8 hours of sleep on school nights and one full day off per week.
Which subjects should I choose to maximise my ATAR?
Choose subjects you actually enjoy and are reasonably good at — not the ones with the strongest reputation for scaling. Across Year 11 and Year 12 you'll spend roughly 200 hours in class per subject, plus another 200 hours of homework and study. Sitting through 400 hours of a subject you dislike for a small scaling boost almost never works. Genuine interest is the most reliable predictor of a high study score, and a high study score is what scales up.
A practical subject-selection rule of thumb:
- Pick 1–2 subjects you'd describe as "favourite". The ones where homework feels less like a chore. These are your highest-score subjects.
- Pick 2–3 subjects that meet your prerequisites. If you want medicine or engineering, you need maths and chemistry. Don't drop them for a higher-scaling subject you don't enjoy.
- Add 1 "stretch" subject if you have room. A LOTE or specialist maths can scale up significantly, but only if you're willing to commit. If you're already stretched, skip it.
Course prerequisites matter most for STEM degrees and tertiary pathways with hard requirements (medicine, engineering, law in some states). Check the prerequisites for your top two or three university preferences before locking in Year 11 subjects, and pick a subject mix that keeps those preferences open. Our subject-selection support can help map a Year 11 lineup to a specific tertiary goal.
What's more important — VCE/HSC marks or ATAR?
For university admission, the ATAR is what matters — universities use the ATAR as the headline rank, not your individual subject scores. But the ATAR is built directly from your raw study scores in each subject, so the two aren't separate. Improving your VCE or HSC marks is exactly how you improve your ATAR. There's no shortcut that lifts the ATAR without lifting the underlying scores.
The exception is when you have a non-ATAR pathway. Some courses admit students based on portfolios, interviews, auditions, or aptitude tests instead of (or alongside) the ATAR. Performing arts, design, some teaching pathways, and many TAFE courses fall into this category. If your dream pathway is one of these, your VCE or HSC subject marks still matter, but the ATAR matters less. Talk to your school's careers counsellor early — Year 11 — to confirm the ranking system that applies to your goal. (See concerned about your ATAR? read this for what to do if you're worried about your projected rank.)
Can a tutor really help me get a higher ATAR?
A tutor helps in three specific ways that are hard to replicate alone. First, they spot the gaps you don't know you have — the topic you think you understand because the textbook felt easy, but the past-paper question reveals you don't. Second, they mark your past-paper answers the way an assessor would, so you learn what the assessor wants rather than what your teacher had time to flag in class. Third, they keep you accountable across the year, especially in Term 3 when motivation slips.
Tutoring isn't necessary for every ATAR student, but it's common among the 90+ cohort. Tutero's online tutoring starts at A$65/hour with no contracts — most ATAR students book one weekly session in their two weakest subjects from Term 3, which usually adds up to A$130/week for the final 12 weeks. Lower-cost alternatives include study groups, school after-hours sessions, and free assessor's reports from VCAA / NESA. The right level of support depends on your target rank and which subjects you're behind in. (See how to choose a tutor that fits for what to look for.)
How do I deal with ATAR pressure and burnout?
ATAR pressure peaks in Term 3 and the four weeks before exams, and it's where most students lose marks they had already earned. The fix isn't to study more — it's to protect the conditions that let you study well. Sleep, exercise, one full day off, and an honest weekly conversation with someone (parent, friend, tutor, school counsellor) about how it's going.
Three concrete habits that help:
- Block one full day off each week. No study, no past papers, no logging into your school portal. The brain needs the gap to consolidate what you've learned. Most ATAR 90+ students take Sunday off all year.
- Keep one form of exercise non-negotiable. 20 minutes of walking, a sport, dance, gym — whatever you already do. Drop study before you drop exercise. The students who burn out almost always cut exercise first.
- Talk to someone weekly. A parent, a friend, a tutor, the school counsellor. Saying out loud which topic is going badly is most of how it gets better. Don't try to white-knuckle Term 3 alone.
If pressure tips into something that feels heavier — sleeplessness, panic, dread of going to school — talk to your school counsellor or GP. Your ATAR is one number that opens one set of doors. There are alternative pathways into almost every degree, and your wellbeing comes first.
What's the difference between an ATAR-90 and an ATAR-99 student?
It's rarely intelligence. The differences are usually three habits, all of which are learnable.
1. Past-paper volume. An ATAR-90 student does past papers in the final four weeks. An ATAR-99 student does past papers from Term 3 onwards, often two or three per subject per week by October, with every wrong answer logged and re-attempted.
2. Mistake-honesty. The ATAR-99 student knows exactly which topics they're weakest at — they keep a written list. The ATAR-90 student tends to know "roughly", which means the gaps don't get fixed.
3. Subject focus. The ATAR-99 student concentrates the marginal hour on the subject where it lifts the most marks. The ATAR-90 student often spends the marginal hour on the subject they enjoy most or feel most behind on emotionally — which is rarely the same subject.
None of this requires natural ability. It requires a planner, an honest mistake log, and somebody (a teacher, tutor, or study partner) to keep the planner and the log honest each week.
How do I achieve an ATAR above 85, 90, or 99.95?
Each ATAR bracket has a slightly different shape of effort. The hours go up; the habits become more deliberate; the cost of being inefficient rises sharply.
How to achieve an ATAR above 85
An ATAR above 85 reflects solid study scores across all six subjects and qualifies you for most university programs outside the most selective. Reaching it requires roughly 12–18 hours per week of study from Term 1 of Year 12, a written weekly schedule, and at least one past paper per subject in the final eight weeks. Most students who follow a steady plan from Term 1 reach this bracket without specialist support.
How to achieve an ATAR above 90
An ATAR above 90 places you in the top 17% of students. Reaching it usually means lifting two of your subjects from "comfortable" to "strong" — that's where the marginal study hours go. Plan for 18–22 hours per week from Term 1, regular past papers from Term 3, and a tutor or study group in the two subjects where the lift is biggest. Online tutoring is worth the investment for many students aiming at this bracket — the marginal-mark return on a weekly session in your weaker subject is often the biggest single lever.
How to achieve an ATAR above 99.95
An ATAR of 99.95 places you in the top 0.1% of students nationally. Reaching it requires roughly 25–30 hours per week of focused study from Term 1, daily past papers in the final eight weeks, and near-perfect raw scores in your top three subjects. The students who reach this bracket almost always have a tutor in at least one subject (usually maths or sciences), keep a detailed mistake log, and take Sundays off without exception. The plan is rigorous, but the failure mode at this rank is almost always burnout — protect sleep, protect Sunday, and protect one form of exercise. Specific tertiary pathways like medicine and law at top-tier universities sit in this range.
So how do I achieve my dream ATAR?
Achieving your dream ATAR comes from four habits done consistently across Year 11 and Year 12: a written weekly schedule of 15–25 focused study hours, regular timed past papers from Term 3 with an honest mistake log, subject choices anchored in genuine interest, and someone — a teacher, a tutor, a parent, a study partner — who keeps you honest each week. None of those are dramatic. They are unglamorous and repeatable, and almost every student who reaches their target ATAR does all four. Pick the rank you want, work backwards to the study scores you'd need, and let the planner do the rest.
Want help hitting your target ATAR? Tutero's online tutoring matches Year 11 and Year 12 students with a tutor who knows the VCE / HSC / WACE / QCE / SACE syllabus inside out. Sessions start at A$65/hour with no contracts, in any subject from specialist maths to English literature. Meet our tutors or read student success stories to see what's possible.
Most students who hit ATAR 90+ aren't smarter than their classmates — they just started earlier, drilled past papers harder, and stayed honest about which topics they didn't yet understand.
Most students who hit ATAR 90+ aren't smarter than their classmates — they just started earlier, drilled past papers harder, and stayed honest about which topics they didn't yet understand.
Your ATAR is the rank that opens — or quietly closes — the post-school doors you care about. Scoring the rank you want isn't about studying harder than everyone else. It's about studying the right subjects in the right way, for the right number of hours, with a study plan you actually follow. This guide walks through how to do that — from picking subjects in Year 11 through to past-paper drilling in the final weeks before exams.
Quick answer
To achieve your dream ATAR, build a weekly study schedule of 15–25 focused hours from Term 1 of Year 12 (more in the final 10 weeks before exams), drill past papers under timed conditions for every subject, pick subjects you genuinely enjoy rather than ones that scale up, and use a tutor or study group to fix gaps as soon as they appear. Consistency beats cramming. Most students who hit ATAR 90+ aren't smarter than their classmates — they just started earlier, drilled past papers harder, and stayed honest about which topics they didn't yet understand.
How do I get my dream ATAR?
Getting your dream ATAR comes down to four habits, repeated across Year 11 and Year 12: a weekly study schedule you actually follow, deliberate past-paper practice in timed conditions, subject choices that fit your strengths, and someone — a teacher, tutor, or study partner — checking your work and pointing out what you've missed. None of these are dramatic. They are unglamorous, repeatable, and almost everyone who hits their target ATAR does all four.
The students who fall short usually do one of two things wrong. They either study reactively — only when an SAC or trial is a week away — or they study a lot but not deliberately, re-reading notes instead of solving problems. Your dream ATAR sits at the other end of that. Pick a target rank, work backwards to the study scores in each subject you'd need, and let those scores drive your weekly planner. The ATAR follows; you don't chase it directly. (For the mechanics of how raw scores become an ATAR, see how the ATAR is calculated.)
How can I improve my ATAR?
To improve your ATAR you need to lift your raw study scores in two or three of your subjects — not all six. Identify the subjects where a 5–10 mark improvement is realistic (usually the ones you're already at 70–80%), then concentrate the extra study hours there. Trying to lift every subject equally spreads you too thin and usually nudges nothing.
Three concrete moves that lift study scores quickly:
- Past papers under exam conditions. Sit a full past paper, timed, no notes, in one go. Mark it honestly against the assessor's report. Repeat at least one paper per week per subject from the start of Term 3.
- Targeted topic drills on the gaps. When a past paper exposes a weak topic, spend a full study session on that topic alone — re-do worked examples, redo the paper questions on it, then attempt fresh questions until you get them right unaided.
- A weekly review of your own mistakes. Keep a "mistake log" — every wrong answer from a past paper, plus what you got wrong and why. Re-read it before each new past paper. Most ATAR 95+ students do this; almost no ATAR 70 students do.
What's a good study schedule for ATAR success?
A good ATAR study schedule has four properties: it's written down, it covers every subject every week, it scales up across the year, and it has at least one full day off. The students who burn out before exams almost always over-study early and have nothing left for October. The ones who hit their target ATAR start steady and accelerate.
A realistic Year 12 weekly template:
- Term 1–2: 12–15 hours per week of study outside class — about 2 hours per weekday plus a 4–5 hour block on Saturday. Sunday off.
- Term 3: 18–22 hours per week. Add a second weekend day. Past papers start here, one per subject per week.
- Final 4 weeks before exams: 25–30 hours, mostly past papers. Stop learning new content; consolidate what you have.
Block-schedule each week on Sunday night. Write the actual subject and topic in each block — not just "study". A planner that says "Mon 4–6pm: Methods Ch 7 calculus drill" works; one that says "Mon 4–6pm: study" does not. Most students who reach ATAR 90+ keep a planner like this. (For more on weekly time-management, see our guide to time management for senior students.)
How many hours should I study for ATAR?
Most students who hit ATAR 90+ study 15–25 hours per week outside class across most of Year 12, then 25–30 hours in the final month. Aiming for ATAR 99+ usually means the upper end of that range from Term 1, plus a more disciplined past-paper habit. There is no magic number — what matters is that the hours are focused, written into a schedule, and spread across every subject rather than dumped on whichever exam is next.
Two warnings about hours. First, more isn't always better. A student who studies 35 hours a week but spends most of it re-reading textbooks will be beaten by one who studies 18 hours of past-paper practice and topic drills. Quality of study compounds; pure quantity doesn't. Second, sleep and downtime are part of the schedule. Six hours of sleep three nights running will cost you more marks than six hours of extra study would gain you. Plan for 8 hours of sleep on school nights and one full day off per week.
Which subjects should I choose to maximise my ATAR?
Choose subjects you actually enjoy and are reasonably good at — not the ones with the strongest reputation for scaling. Across Year 11 and Year 12 you'll spend roughly 200 hours in class per subject, plus another 200 hours of homework and study. Sitting through 400 hours of a subject you dislike for a small scaling boost almost never works. Genuine interest is the most reliable predictor of a high study score, and a high study score is what scales up.
A practical subject-selection rule of thumb:
- Pick 1–2 subjects you'd describe as "favourite". The ones where homework feels less like a chore. These are your highest-score subjects.
- Pick 2–3 subjects that meet your prerequisites. If you want medicine or engineering, you need maths and chemistry. Don't drop them for a higher-scaling subject you don't enjoy.
- Add 1 "stretch" subject if you have room. A LOTE or specialist maths can scale up significantly, but only if you're willing to commit. If you're already stretched, skip it.
Course prerequisites matter most for STEM degrees and tertiary pathways with hard requirements (medicine, engineering, law in some states). Check the prerequisites for your top two or three university preferences before locking in Year 11 subjects, and pick a subject mix that keeps those preferences open. Our subject-selection support can help map a Year 11 lineup to a specific tertiary goal.
What's more important — VCE/HSC marks or ATAR?
For university admission, the ATAR is what matters — universities use the ATAR as the headline rank, not your individual subject scores. But the ATAR is built directly from your raw study scores in each subject, so the two aren't separate. Improving your VCE or HSC marks is exactly how you improve your ATAR. There's no shortcut that lifts the ATAR without lifting the underlying scores.
The exception is when you have a non-ATAR pathway. Some courses admit students based on portfolios, interviews, auditions, or aptitude tests instead of (or alongside) the ATAR. Performing arts, design, some teaching pathways, and many TAFE courses fall into this category. If your dream pathway is one of these, your VCE or HSC subject marks still matter, but the ATAR matters less. Talk to your school's careers counsellor early — Year 11 — to confirm the ranking system that applies to your goal. (See concerned about your ATAR? read this for what to do if you're worried about your projected rank.)
Can a tutor really help me get a higher ATAR?
A tutor helps in three specific ways that are hard to replicate alone. First, they spot the gaps you don't know you have — the topic you think you understand because the textbook felt easy, but the past-paper question reveals you don't. Second, they mark your past-paper answers the way an assessor would, so you learn what the assessor wants rather than what your teacher had time to flag in class. Third, they keep you accountable across the year, especially in Term 3 when motivation slips.
Tutoring isn't necessary for every ATAR student, but it's common among the 90+ cohort. Tutero's online tutoring starts at A$65/hour with no contracts — most ATAR students book one weekly session in their two weakest subjects from Term 3, which usually adds up to A$130/week for the final 12 weeks. Lower-cost alternatives include study groups, school after-hours sessions, and free assessor's reports from VCAA / NESA. The right level of support depends on your target rank and which subjects you're behind in. (See how to choose a tutor that fits for what to look for.)
How do I deal with ATAR pressure and burnout?
ATAR pressure peaks in Term 3 and the four weeks before exams, and it's where most students lose marks they had already earned. The fix isn't to study more — it's to protect the conditions that let you study well. Sleep, exercise, one full day off, and an honest weekly conversation with someone (parent, friend, tutor, school counsellor) about how it's going.
Three concrete habits that help:
- Block one full day off each week. No study, no past papers, no logging into your school portal. The brain needs the gap to consolidate what you've learned. Most ATAR 90+ students take Sunday off all year.
- Keep one form of exercise non-negotiable. 20 minutes of walking, a sport, dance, gym — whatever you already do. Drop study before you drop exercise. The students who burn out almost always cut exercise first.
- Talk to someone weekly. A parent, a friend, a tutor, the school counsellor. Saying out loud which topic is going badly is most of how it gets better. Don't try to white-knuckle Term 3 alone.
If pressure tips into something that feels heavier — sleeplessness, panic, dread of going to school — talk to your school counsellor or GP. Your ATAR is one number that opens one set of doors. There are alternative pathways into almost every degree, and your wellbeing comes first.
What's the difference between an ATAR-90 and an ATAR-99 student?
It's rarely intelligence. The differences are usually three habits, all of which are learnable.
1. Past-paper volume. An ATAR-90 student does past papers in the final four weeks. An ATAR-99 student does past papers from Term 3 onwards, often two or three per subject per week by October, with every wrong answer logged and re-attempted.
2. Mistake-honesty. The ATAR-99 student knows exactly which topics they're weakest at — they keep a written list. The ATAR-90 student tends to know "roughly", which means the gaps don't get fixed.
3. Subject focus. The ATAR-99 student concentrates the marginal hour on the subject where it lifts the most marks. The ATAR-90 student often spends the marginal hour on the subject they enjoy most or feel most behind on emotionally — which is rarely the same subject.
None of this requires natural ability. It requires a planner, an honest mistake log, and somebody (a teacher, tutor, or study partner) to keep the planner and the log honest each week.
How do I achieve an ATAR above 85, 90, or 99.95?
Each ATAR bracket has a slightly different shape of effort. The hours go up; the habits become more deliberate; the cost of being inefficient rises sharply.
How to achieve an ATAR above 85
An ATAR above 85 reflects solid study scores across all six subjects and qualifies you for most university programs outside the most selective. Reaching it requires roughly 12–18 hours per week of study from Term 1 of Year 12, a written weekly schedule, and at least one past paper per subject in the final eight weeks. Most students who follow a steady plan from Term 1 reach this bracket without specialist support.
How to achieve an ATAR above 90
An ATAR above 90 places you in the top 17% of students. Reaching it usually means lifting two of your subjects from "comfortable" to "strong" — that's where the marginal study hours go. Plan for 18–22 hours per week from Term 1, regular past papers from Term 3, and a tutor or study group in the two subjects where the lift is biggest. Online tutoring is worth the investment for many students aiming at this bracket — the marginal-mark return on a weekly session in your weaker subject is often the biggest single lever.
How to achieve an ATAR above 99.95
An ATAR of 99.95 places you in the top 0.1% of students nationally. Reaching it requires roughly 25–30 hours per week of focused study from Term 1, daily past papers in the final eight weeks, and near-perfect raw scores in your top three subjects. The students who reach this bracket almost always have a tutor in at least one subject (usually maths or sciences), keep a detailed mistake log, and take Sundays off without exception. The plan is rigorous, but the failure mode at this rank is almost always burnout — protect sleep, protect Sunday, and protect one form of exercise. Specific tertiary pathways like medicine and law at top-tier universities sit in this range.
So how do I achieve my dream ATAR?
Achieving your dream ATAR comes from four habits done consistently across Year 11 and Year 12: a written weekly schedule of 15–25 focused study hours, regular timed past papers from Term 3 with an honest mistake log, subject choices anchored in genuine interest, and someone — a teacher, a tutor, a parent, a study partner — who keeps you honest each week. None of those are dramatic. They are unglamorous and repeatable, and almost every student who reaches their target ATAR does all four. Pick the rank you want, work backwards to the study scores you'd need, and let the planner do the rest.
Want help hitting your target ATAR? Tutero's online tutoring matches Year 11 and Year 12 students with a tutor who knows the VCE / HSC / WACE / QCE / SACE syllabus inside out. Sessions start at A$65/hour with no contracts, in any subject from specialist maths to English literature. Meet our tutors or read student success stories to see what's possible.
FAQ
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Online maths tutoring at Tutero is catering to students of all year levels. We offer programs tailored to the unique learning curves of each age group.
We also have expert NAPLAN and ATAR subject tutors, ensuring students are well-equipped for these pivotal assessments.
We recommend at least two to three session per week for consistent progress. However, this can vary based on your child's needs and goals.
Our platform uses advanced security protocols to ensure the safety and privacy of all our online sessions.
Parents are welcome to observe sessions. We believe in a collaborative approach to education.
We provide regular progress reports and assessments to track your child’s academic development.
Yes, we prioritise the student-tutor relationship and can arrange a change if the need arises.
Yes, we offer a range of resources and materials, including interactive exercises and practice worksheets.
Most students who hit ATAR 90+ aren't smarter than their classmates — they just started earlier, drilled past papers harder, and stayed honest about which topics they didn't yet understand.
Most students who hit ATAR 90+ aren't smarter than their classmates — they just started earlier, drilled past papers harder, and stayed honest about which topics they didn't yet understand.
Most students who hit ATAR 90+ aren't smarter than their classmates — they just started earlier, drilled past papers harder, and stayed honest about which topics they didn't yet understand.
Your ATAR is one number that opens one set of doors. Pick the rank you want, work backwards to the study scores you'd need, and let the planner do the rest.
Your ATAR is the rank that opens — or quietly closes — the post-school doors you care about. Scoring the rank you want isn't about studying harder than everyone else. It's about studying the right subjects in the right way, for the right number of hours, with a study plan you actually follow. This guide walks through how to do that — from picking subjects in Year 11 through to past-paper drilling in the final weeks before exams.
Quick answer
To achieve your dream ATAR, build a weekly study schedule of 15–25 focused hours from Term 1 of Year 12 (more in the final 10 weeks before exams), drill past papers under timed conditions for every subject, pick subjects you genuinely enjoy rather than ones that scale up, and use a tutor or study group to fix gaps as soon as they appear. Consistency beats cramming. Most students who hit ATAR 90+ aren't smarter than their classmates — they just started earlier, drilled past papers harder, and stayed honest about which topics they didn't yet understand.
How do I get my dream ATAR?
Getting your dream ATAR comes down to four habits, repeated across Year 11 and Year 12: a weekly study schedule you actually follow, deliberate past-paper practice in timed conditions, subject choices that fit your strengths, and someone — a teacher, tutor, or study partner — checking your work and pointing out what you've missed. None of these are dramatic. They are unglamorous, repeatable, and almost everyone who hits their target ATAR does all four.
The students who fall short usually do one of two things wrong. They either study reactively — only when an SAC or trial is a week away — or they study a lot but not deliberately, re-reading notes instead of solving problems. Your dream ATAR sits at the other end of that. Pick a target rank, work backwards to the study scores in each subject you'd need, and let those scores drive your weekly planner. The ATAR follows; you don't chase it directly. (For the mechanics of how raw scores become an ATAR, see how the ATAR is calculated.)
How can I improve my ATAR?
To improve your ATAR you need to lift your raw study scores in two or three of your subjects — not all six. Identify the subjects where a 5–10 mark improvement is realistic (usually the ones you're already at 70–80%), then concentrate the extra study hours there. Trying to lift every subject equally spreads you too thin and usually nudges nothing.
Three concrete moves that lift study scores quickly:
- Past papers under exam conditions. Sit a full past paper, timed, no notes, in one go. Mark it honestly against the assessor's report. Repeat at least one paper per week per subject from the start of Term 3.
- Targeted topic drills on the gaps. When a past paper exposes a weak topic, spend a full study session on that topic alone — re-do worked examples, redo the paper questions on it, then attempt fresh questions until you get them right unaided.
- A weekly review of your own mistakes. Keep a "mistake log" — every wrong answer from a past paper, plus what you got wrong and why. Re-read it before each new past paper. Most ATAR 95+ students do this; almost no ATAR 70 students do.
What's a good study schedule for ATAR success?
A good ATAR study schedule has four properties: it's written down, it covers every subject every week, it scales up across the year, and it has at least one full day off. The students who burn out before exams almost always over-study early and have nothing left for October. The ones who hit their target ATAR start steady and accelerate.
A realistic Year 12 weekly template:
- Term 1–2: 12–15 hours per week of study outside class — about 2 hours per weekday plus a 4–5 hour block on Saturday. Sunday off.
- Term 3: 18–22 hours per week. Add a second weekend day. Past papers start here, one per subject per week.
- Final 4 weeks before exams: 25–30 hours, mostly past papers. Stop learning new content; consolidate what you have.
Block-schedule each week on Sunday night. Write the actual subject and topic in each block — not just "study". A planner that says "Mon 4–6pm: Methods Ch 7 calculus drill" works; one that says "Mon 4–6pm: study" does not. Most students who reach ATAR 90+ keep a planner like this. (For more on weekly time-management, see our guide to time management for senior students.)
How many hours should I study for ATAR?
Most students who hit ATAR 90+ study 15–25 hours per week outside class across most of Year 12, then 25–30 hours in the final month. Aiming for ATAR 99+ usually means the upper end of that range from Term 1, plus a more disciplined past-paper habit. There is no magic number — what matters is that the hours are focused, written into a schedule, and spread across every subject rather than dumped on whichever exam is next.
Two warnings about hours. First, more isn't always better. A student who studies 35 hours a week but spends most of it re-reading textbooks will be beaten by one who studies 18 hours of past-paper practice and topic drills. Quality of study compounds; pure quantity doesn't. Second, sleep and downtime are part of the schedule. Six hours of sleep three nights running will cost you more marks than six hours of extra study would gain you. Plan for 8 hours of sleep on school nights and one full day off per week.
Which subjects should I choose to maximise my ATAR?
Choose subjects you actually enjoy and are reasonably good at — not the ones with the strongest reputation for scaling. Across Year 11 and Year 12 you'll spend roughly 200 hours in class per subject, plus another 200 hours of homework and study. Sitting through 400 hours of a subject you dislike for a small scaling boost almost never works. Genuine interest is the most reliable predictor of a high study score, and a high study score is what scales up.
A practical subject-selection rule of thumb:
- Pick 1–2 subjects you'd describe as "favourite". The ones where homework feels less like a chore. These are your highest-score subjects.
- Pick 2–3 subjects that meet your prerequisites. If you want medicine or engineering, you need maths and chemistry. Don't drop them for a higher-scaling subject you don't enjoy.
- Add 1 "stretch" subject if you have room. A LOTE or specialist maths can scale up significantly, but only if you're willing to commit. If you're already stretched, skip it.
Course prerequisites matter most for STEM degrees and tertiary pathways with hard requirements (medicine, engineering, law in some states). Check the prerequisites for your top two or three university preferences before locking in Year 11 subjects, and pick a subject mix that keeps those preferences open. Our subject-selection support can help map a Year 11 lineup to a specific tertiary goal.
What's more important — VCE/HSC marks or ATAR?
For university admission, the ATAR is what matters — universities use the ATAR as the headline rank, not your individual subject scores. But the ATAR is built directly from your raw study scores in each subject, so the two aren't separate. Improving your VCE or HSC marks is exactly how you improve your ATAR. There's no shortcut that lifts the ATAR without lifting the underlying scores.
The exception is when you have a non-ATAR pathway. Some courses admit students based on portfolios, interviews, auditions, or aptitude tests instead of (or alongside) the ATAR. Performing arts, design, some teaching pathways, and many TAFE courses fall into this category. If your dream pathway is one of these, your VCE or HSC subject marks still matter, but the ATAR matters less. Talk to your school's careers counsellor early — Year 11 — to confirm the ranking system that applies to your goal. (See concerned about your ATAR? read this for what to do if you're worried about your projected rank.)
Can a tutor really help me get a higher ATAR?
A tutor helps in three specific ways that are hard to replicate alone. First, they spot the gaps you don't know you have — the topic you think you understand because the textbook felt easy, but the past-paper question reveals you don't. Second, they mark your past-paper answers the way an assessor would, so you learn what the assessor wants rather than what your teacher had time to flag in class. Third, they keep you accountable across the year, especially in Term 3 when motivation slips.
Tutoring isn't necessary for every ATAR student, but it's common among the 90+ cohort. Tutero's online tutoring starts at A$65/hour with no contracts — most ATAR students book one weekly session in their two weakest subjects from Term 3, which usually adds up to A$130/week for the final 12 weeks. Lower-cost alternatives include study groups, school after-hours sessions, and free assessor's reports from VCAA / NESA. The right level of support depends on your target rank and which subjects you're behind in. (See how to choose a tutor that fits for what to look for.)
How do I deal with ATAR pressure and burnout?
ATAR pressure peaks in Term 3 and the four weeks before exams, and it's where most students lose marks they had already earned. The fix isn't to study more — it's to protect the conditions that let you study well. Sleep, exercise, one full day off, and an honest weekly conversation with someone (parent, friend, tutor, school counsellor) about how it's going.
Three concrete habits that help:
- Block one full day off each week. No study, no past papers, no logging into your school portal. The brain needs the gap to consolidate what you've learned. Most ATAR 90+ students take Sunday off all year.
- Keep one form of exercise non-negotiable. 20 minutes of walking, a sport, dance, gym — whatever you already do. Drop study before you drop exercise. The students who burn out almost always cut exercise first.
- Talk to someone weekly. A parent, a friend, a tutor, the school counsellor. Saying out loud which topic is going badly is most of how it gets better. Don't try to white-knuckle Term 3 alone.
If pressure tips into something that feels heavier — sleeplessness, panic, dread of going to school — talk to your school counsellor or GP. Your ATAR is one number that opens one set of doors. There are alternative pathways into almost every degree, and your wellbeing comes first.
What's the difference between an ATAR-90 and an ATAR-99 student?
It's rarely intelligence. The differences are usually three habits, all of which are learnable.
1. Past-paper volume. An ATAR-90 student does past papers in the final four weeks. An ATAR-99 student does past papers from Term 3 onwards, often two or three per subject per week by October, with every wrong answer logged and re-attempted.
2. Mistake-honesty. The ATAR-99 student knows exactly which topics they're weakest at — they keep a written list. The ATAR-90 student tends to know "roughly", which means the gaps don't get fixed.
3. Subject focus. The ATAR-99 student concentrates the marginal hour on the subject where it lifts the most marks. The ATAR-90 student often spends the marginal hour on the subject they enjoy most or feel most behind on emotionally — which is rarely the same subject.
None of this requires natural ability. It requires a planner, an honest mistake log, and somebody (a teacher, tutor, or study partner) to keep the planner and the log honest each week.
How do I achieve an ATAR above 85, 90, or 99.95?
Each ATAR bracket has a slightly different shape of effort. The hours go up; the habits become more deliberate; the cost of being inefficient rises sharply.
How to achieve an ATAR above 85
An ATAR above 85 reflects solid study scores across all six subjects and qualifies you for most university programs outside the most selective. Reaching it requires roughly 12–18 hours per week of study from Term 1 of Year 12, a written weekly schedule, and at least one past paper per subject in the final eight weeks. Most students who follow a steady plan from Term 1 reach this bracket without specialist support.
How to achieve an ATAR above 90
An ATAR above 90 places you in the top 17% of students. Reaching it usually means lifting two of your subjects from "comfortable" to "strong" — that's where the marginal study hours go. Plan for 18–22 hours per week from Term 1, regular past papers from Term 3, and a tutor or study group in the two subjects where the lift is biggest. Online tutoring is worth the investment for many students aiming at this bracket — the marginal-mark return on a weekly session in your weaker subject is often the biggest single lever.
How to achieve an ATAR above 99.95
An ATAR of 99.95 places you in the top 0.1% of students nationally. Reaching it requires roughly 25–30 hours per week of focused study from Term 1, daily past papers in the final eight weeks, and near-perfect raw scores in your top three subjects. The students who reach this bracket almost always have a tutor in at least one subject (usually maths or sciences), keep a detailed mistake log, and take Sundays off without exception. The plan is rigorous, but the failure mode at this rank is almost always burnout — protect sleep, protect Sunday, and protect one form of exercise. Specific tertiary pathways like medicine and law at top-tier universities sit in this range.
So how do I achieve my dream ATAR?
Achieving your dream ATAR comes from four habits done consistently across Year 11 and Year 12: a written weekly schedule of 15–25 focused study hours, regular timed past papers from Term 3 with an honest mistake log, subject choices anchored in genuine interest, and someone — a teacher, a tutor, a parent, a study partner — who keeps you honest each week. None of those are dramatic. They are unglamorous and repeatable, and almost every student who reaches their target ATAR does all four. Pick the rank you want, work backwards to the study scores you'd need, and let the planner do the rest.
Want help hitting your target ATAR? Tutero's online tutoring matches Year 11 and Year 12 students with a tutor who knows the VCE / HSC / WACE / QCE / SACE syllabus inside out. Sessions start at A$65/hour with no contracts, in any subject from specialist maths to English literature. Meet our tutors or read student success stories to see what's possible.
Most students who hit ATAR 90+ aren't smarter than their classmates — they just started earlier, drilled past papers harder, and stayed honest about which topics they didn't yet understand.
Your ATAR is one number that opens one set of doors. Pick the rank you want, work backwards to the study scores you'd need, and let the planner do the rest.
Most students who hit ATAR 90+ study 15–25 hours per week outside class across most of Year 12, then 25–30 hours in the final month. Aiming for ATAR 99+ usually means the upper end of that range from Term 1 onwards. What matters more than total hours is that the time is focused — past papers, topic drills, and honest mistake review — rather than passive re-reading.
Term 1 of Year 12 is the latest sensible start. The students who hit their target ATAR almost always started a written weekly plan from the first week of Term 1, not the lead-up to exams. Year 11 matters too — your Year 11 study habits become your Year 12 study habits, and many subjects (English, maths, sciences) build cumulatively across both years.
For most university pathways, yes — the ATAR is the headline rank universities use for entry. But it's not the only path. Many courses admit students based on portfolios, interviews, auditions, aptitude tests, or alternative entry programs. Talk to your school's careers counsellor in Year 11 to confirm the ranking system that applies to your specific tertiary goal, so you know what to focus on.
Yes — many students hit ATAR 85–95 without a private tutor by using a structured weekly schedule, regular timed past papers, an honest mistake log, and free assessor's reports from VCAA / NESA. A tutor is most useful when one or two of your subjects are weaker than the others, or when you struggle to stay accountable to a study plan on your own. Tutoring lifts marks fastest in the subjects where you're already at 70–80% and want to push to 90%+.
Subjects like specialist maths, mathematical methods, languages other than English (LOTE), and the harder sciences typically scale up because they attract higher-achieving students. But scaling alone is a poor reason to pick a subject — you'll spend roughly 400 hours on each subject across Year 11 and Year 12, and disliking a subject will tank your study score faster than scaling can lift it. Pick subjects you genuinely enjoy and can score well in; let scaling be a tiebreaker, not a strategy.
It's almost never raw intelligence. The difference is usually three habits: ATAR-99 students do more past papers (often 2–3 per subject per week from Term 3), keep a written log of every mistake and re-attempt them weekly, and concentrate marginal study hours on the subjects where extra marks lift the ATAR most. None of those habits require natural ability — they require a planner, an honest mistake log, and someone (a tutor, teacher, or study partner) keeping the planner honest.
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