Throughout Year 12, you'll inevitably find yourself punching numbers into an ATAR Calculator as a means of predicting your ATAR. These numbers will fluctuate throughout the year, depending on whether you receive a disappointing Biology SAC result, or if you aced that English Oral. You'll reassure yourself that you might not be getting a 40 in Chemistry, but a 35 would still get you a 95 ATAR.
So, what does it exactly take to get a perfect ATAR, and how can you achieve it?
This article breaks it all down!
Table Of Contents:
- A Few Disclaimers About Getting A 99.95 ATAR
- How To Get A 99.95 ATAR? (Jeff's Case Study)
- How To Plan For A 99.95 ATAR: Step-By-Step
- Subject Combinations By Curriculum
- Conclusion
- FAQs
A Few Disclaimers About Getting A 99.95 ATAR
Here at KIS Academics, we want to help you develop your Study Skills, refine your learning approach for your final years of High School, and provide you with extensive insight into the cogwheels of the ATAR.
So in this article, we will break down a former high school student's ATAR to its bare essentials. But before we delve into it, here are a few disclaimers:
- These features are not 'one size fits all'. It's important to remember that the graduate's year and school will all affect the outcome.
- SAC marks vary between schools depending on the level of difficulty of the assessment. There are myriad factors impacting how an ATAR is derived, so please do not use this as the ultimate guide on which you base all predictions of your future ATAR.
- KIS Academic Private Tutors have all done incredibly well in VCE. Their thorough understanding of the curriculum and high performances are why we hired them in the first place! Regardless of the scores featured, do not feel unmotivated. Use these to get more of a better understanding of how VCAA works.
How To Get A 99.95 ATAR?
Jeff is the Tutoring Team Leader of KIS Academics, and currently pursuing Medicine at Monash University. He achieved a perfect score of 99.95 in 2019.
When And Where Did Jeff Complete VCE?
Jeff completed VCE at Xavier College in 2019. This means that all Scaled Values and aggregate-to-ATAR values discussed are only applicable to results achieved in 2019.
If you are not sure how scaling works, you can check out our Comprehensive Guide!
What Subjects Did Jeff Take For VCE?
What Study Scores Did He Get For These Subjects?
| Subject | English | Physics | Methods | Specialist | Chem | Chinese SLA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw Score | 50 | 50 | 49 | 46 | 46 | 35 |
| Scaled Score | 50 | 50 | 50.2 | 53.04 | 47.97 | 43.65 |
For English, Jeff was also a recipient of a Premiers' Award. Achieving high in English is paramount to doing well in VCE, given that English is the only subject that mandatorily sits in the top 4.
His bottom two subjects, Chemistry and Chinese SLA, had 10% of their value contribute to his aggregate score.
What Was Jeff's Aggregate Score?
- Jeff's aggregate score was an impressive 212.39.
- This fit him into the 2019 aggregate range required to achieve a 99.95 ATAR, which was between 210.04 and 218.99.
How Did Jeff Perform In SACs?
- Jeff was a high-performing student throughout the year.
- He scored the overall top SAC score for his cohort for English, Methods, Chemistry and Physics.
What Did Jeff Get In His GAT?
- Jeff scored a 49 in Written Communications, 47 in Maths/Science and 35 in Humanities/Arts.
- Although there is no way of knowing whether a GAT score influences your final ATAR, it is in your best interest to perform well in the GAT, especially in the disciplines which correspond to your subjects.
How Do You Plan For A 99.95 ATAR? A Step-By-Step Approach
Jeff's case study shows what the numbers look like at the finish line. But how do you build a plan that actually gets you there? Here is the strategic framework our tutors — many of whom scored 99.95 themselves — use with students aiming for the top.
- Define your subject combination by the end of Year 10. Changing subjects in Year 11 is costly — you lose ground on content and familiarity. Research scaling tables for your state, speak to high-achieving alumni, and lock in your combination early. Choose subjects you're genuinely strong in, not just subjects that scale well in theory.
- Map every assessment task for the full two years. At the start of Year 11, create a master calendar with every SAC date, assignment due date, and exam. This removes the anxiety of surprises and lets you plan study intensity around peaks. 99.95 students almost universally describe this kind of planning as non-negotiable.
- Set subject-level targets, not just an ATAR target. Work backwards from 99.95. What mark do you need in each subject? In VCE, that typically means a study score of 45+ across all subjects. In HSC, it means marks consistently in the Band 6 range. Set these targets at the subject level and track your progress against them every term.
- Build a daily study system — not just a timetable. A timetable tells you when to study. A system tells you how. The most effective system combines: daily review of class notes (within 24 hours), weekly active recall sessions per subject, fortnightly practice assessments, and monthly full-subject reviews. The system runs year-round, not just pre-exam.
- Start past papers in Term 1 of Year 12. Most students leave past papers until Term 3 or the exam block. 99.95 students treat past papers as a training tool from the beginning of Year 12. Work through every available past paper under exam conditions. Mark them with the official marking scheme. Track your results by topic.
- Get expert feedback on your work — consistently. Self-study has limits. Without expert feedback, you can practise errors and entrench them. Working with a tutor who achieved 99.95 in your subject gives you access to insight that no textbook provides — how markers think, what distinguishes a near-perfect answer from a perfect one, and how to structure responses under time pressure.
- Treat your health as non-negotiable. Sleep deprivation degrades cognitive performance significantly. 99.95 students sleep 8–9 hours. They exercise regularly. They eat consistently. This is not balance for its own sake — it's performance optimisation.
- Build resilience for bad assessments — because they will happen. Even students who achieve 99.95 have assessments that don't go to plan. The difference is in recovery: analyse what went wrong, identify the specific gaps, address them within two weeks, and move forward.
What Subjects Do 99.95 ATAR Students Typically Take?
There is no single correct subject combination for a 99.95 ATAR — but there are patterns. High-scaling subjects consistently appear in the subject lists of students who achieve perfect or near-perfect scores. Here's what to look for in each curriculum:
- VCE (Victoria): Specialist Mathematics, Mathematical Methods, Physics, Chemistry, and a language (often Chinese SLA or another scaling-favoured language) are common. English or English Language is compulsory. Students who excel in all five high-scaling subjects have the best structural chance at 99.95.
- HSC (NSW): Mathematics Extension 1 and 2, Physics, Chemistry, and English Advanced are a typical 99.95 combination. Extension 2 Mathematics scales extremely well for students who can achieve high marks in it.
- QCE (Queensland): Mathematical Methods, Specialist Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and English are the most common subjects among top performers. The 75/25 internal/external split means consistent school performance is as important as exam performance.
- WACE (Western Australia): Mathematics Specialist, Mathematics Methods, Physics, Chemistry, and a language or humanities subject that scales well for the individual student.
- SACE (South Australia): Research Project A is compulsory and worth 10% of ATAR-eligible results. Strong Stage 2 subject selection — typically including high-scaling maths and sciences — is essential.
Use the KIS ATAR calculator to model different subject scenarios for your curriculum:
Conclusion On How To Get A 99.95 ATAR
As mentioned previously, Jeff's case study is just a reference point. The requirements for a perfect ATAR vary by year and by school. A 99.95 ATAR is not a lucky outcome — it is the result of two years of deliberate, strategic effort with almost no margin for error. The right subjects, a daily study system, expert feedback, and the resilience to perform when it counts are what separate 99.95 students from the rest.
If you'd like someone like Jeff to be by your side with your studies, you can request one of KIS Academics' top ATAR tutors today. Still looking for resources on how to maximise your ATAR? Check these out:
FAQs About How To Get A 99.95 ATAR
1. How rare is a 99.95 ATAR?
Very few students achieve it — and the number varies by state and year. In 2024, out of 57,194 students in NSW, only 51 students achieved a 99.95 ATAR. In Victoria, VCAA typically awards fewer than 50 students a 99.95 ATAR in any given year, out of roughly 50,000+ who sit VCE. Only the top 0.05% of students in the cohort achieve this ATAR.
2. Is a 90 ATAR top 10%?
An ATAR of 90 means that you did better than 90% of your peers and so you ranked in the top 10% within the state.
3. Has anyone ever gotten a 100% ATAR?
No one can get an ATAR of 100 because it is a rank, and the highest possible rank is 99.95. A score of 100 is mathematically impossible since it would require outperforming 100% of students, including oneself.
4. How does my school ranking affect my ATAR?
- The student ranked first in SACs will receive the highest moderated SAC score, regardless of their exam result.
- The rest of the cohort's moderated SAC scores are distributed based on their exam performance and internal SAC rank.
5. How difficult is it to achieve a perfect ATAR?
- Only the top 0.05% of students in the cohort achieve this ATAR, so it is really difficult.
- However, with consistent hard work and the right assistance, it is possible.
6. Is a 99.95 ATAR achievable if I'm not naturally gifted?
Yes — with important caveats. "Naturally gifted" is often a proxy for "started building strong study habits early." Many students who achieve 99.95 are not prodigies; they're consistent, strategic, and relentless. However, it does require a genuine aptitude for the subjects you choose and the ability to sustain very high effort across two full years. If you're currently performing in the top 5–10% of your class and are willing to commit fully, 99.95 is worth planning for.
7. Can I achieve a 99.95 ATAR in Year 12 if I underperformed in Year 11?
It becomes significantly harder, but not impossible. In most curricula, Year 11 marks don't directly contribute to your ATAR — so mathematically, a perfect Year 12 can still produce a 99.95. The practical challenge is that Year 12 content builds on Year 11, and students who underperformed in Year 11 often spend the first term of Year 12 consolidating gaps rather than extending. If this is your situation, start Year 12 with an intensive content audit and seek support early.
8. How does 99.95 compare across different states?
The ATAR scale is nationally standardised, so a 99.95 in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, WA, or SA represents the same percentile rank. However, achieving 99.95 in each state requires different subject combinations and different raw marks, because each state has its own scaling system and cohort composition.
9. Do extension subjects help or hurt a 99.95 ATAR attempt?
For most students, doing extension subjects (e.g., HSC Extension 2 Mathematics, VCE Specialist Mathematics) helps significantly — but only if you can score well in them. A poor mark in an extension subject can reduce your aggregate. Most 99.95 achievers do all available extension subjects in their strongest areas and achieve very high marks in them. Don't take extension subjects as a hedge — take them because you're genuinely strong in the area and have capacity to excel.
