To all ATAR students who have questions, please feel free to ask away in this call. The link to join is here: https://meet.google.com/qfs-vcnb-dqt This will be the first in many Q&As to come. Each call will last for 30 minutes.

These ground rules, derived from educational research and top-performing students, were laid out to ensure effective studying and progress towards the 98 ATAR goal. a) Learning Should Be Difficult – If learning feels easy, you're not actually learning. Struggle strengthens memory and understanding. b) Avoid the Illusion of Learning – Passive re-reading of notes is ineffective. Instead, use active recall techniques like flashcards and problem-solving. c) Struggle Before Looking at Solutions – Trying to solve a problem before seeing the answer leads to better retention and understanding. d)Treat ATAR as Levels in a Game – Aim for small, incremental improvements (e.g., move from 70 to 80, then to 85, then 90+). e) Failing a Test is Part of Growth – Failure is fine if you analyse mistakes and improve strategies for the next attempt. f) Study Smarter, Not Harder – Prioritise high-impact material (e.g., 20% of notes will likely contain 80% of the test’s content). TLDR, once you master learning how to learn. You can learn anything. If you found this valuable and want to see more of this - give it a like. It would mean the world to me knowing I helped ATAR students achieve their dream ATAR.

In Year 12, I was stuck. I had an 80.2 ATAR, and I felt like I was doing everything right—hours of study, tons of notes, and endless highlighting. But when I sat my exams, I’d blank out on key concepts or realise I didn’t actually understand things as well as I thought. That’s when I changed everything. In my final semester of 2024, I threw out all the traditional study habits and followed a new approach—one backed by research on how learning actually works. The result? I went from 80.2 to 90.45 in just one semester. Now, I’m giving you the exact 8 ground rules that got me there. Why Most Students Study the Wrong Way Most students—including me at the time—believe that: - Re-reading and highlighting = learning (it’s not) - Studying has to feel easy to be effective (wrong) - Testing is just for exams, not for learning (false) The truth? Learning is hard.If it doesn’t feel difficult, it’s not sticking. Once I stopped trying to make studying feel comfortable and started making my brain actually work, my retention skyrocketed. Here’s how. The 8 Ground Rules That Took Me from 80.2 to 90.45 1. Passive Studying is Useless - I stopped re-reading notes and started testing myself daily. - If you don’t try to recall what you’re learning, you’re not learning. 2. Struggling Means You’re Learning - I forced myself to answer questions before looking at the solution. - If a topic felt hard, I knew that meant it was actually being stored in my brain. 3. Quizzing = Learning - I did a quick recall test before every study session—even if I got things wrong. - Every time I retrieved information, it became easier to remember later. 4. Learn First, Get Explained Later - Instead of watching videos and taking notes first, I tried to figure things out myself. - Then, when I checked the answer, I was already engaged in the problem. 5. Spaced Practice Beats Cramming - Instead of focusing on one subject for hours, I mixed topics and spread revision over weeks. - This made me remember more with less effort.

The night before my English WACE exam, I wasn’t cramming, stressing, or flipping through notes trying to memorise last-minute quotes. Instead, I felt calm, prepared, and in control—because I had a system. It wasn’t always like this. Earlier in Year 12, I had bombed an English essay, scoring much lower than I expected. I was frustrated because I had studied, but I realised I was studying the wrong way. That’s when I started building an academic disaster insurance plan—a system that made sure I would never walk into an exam unprepared again. Now, we’re creating the ATAR Accelerator Course to give students the exact system that worked for me. We could release it now, but we’re not here to make something average. We want to make it so good it changes how students approach ATAR forever—so it will take longer than expected, but it will be worth the wait. Here’s a sneak peek at the system I used before my English WACE exam to ensure nothing could shake my confidence. Step 1: I Built a Safety Net with Master Summaries After realising I wasn’t retaining the content well, I stopped passively rereading notes and created one-page summaries for each section of the English exam. - For comparative essays, I summarised key themes and character contrasts on a single cheat sheet. - For short answer responses, I compiled a list of the most common question types and broke down how to answer them effectively. - For creative writing, I outlined potential essay structures, so I wasn’t making things up under pressure. Instead of flipping through random pages of notes, I had everything important in one place—no wasted time, no stress. Step 2: I Developed an Emergency Study Plan Life happens. There were times I couldn’t study as much as I wanted, so I built a last-minute study routine that focused on what would give me the biggest results. - The day before the exam: Instead of reading notes, I spent the morning reviewing my summaries and the afternoon practising essay writing under time pressure. - If I had only one hour to study: I would spend 30 minutes on active recall (writing down key themes without looking) and 30 minutes writing a timed response. - If I missed a class or didn’t understand something: I had backup resources—recorded lectures, online summaries, and study groups—so I was never left behind.

Ever wondered if that little number called “ATAR” is actually a game-changer or just another hurdle? I used to think it was the be-all and end-all for getting into uni. But what if there’s more to the story than just a single rank? ATAR stands for Australian Tertiary Admission Rank—a scale from 0.00 to 99.95 that shows how you stack up against other Year 12 students across Australia. Uni's use it to sort applicants for competitive courses. But here’s a question I kept asking: “Does a lower ATAR really mean I’m locked out of my dream career?” From what I’ve gathered, that’s not always true. There are heaps of alternative pathways like bridging programs, TAFE, or even mature-age entry if your number doesn’t go the way you hoped. If you’ve come across a path I don’t know about, let me know in the comments. Something else I kept thinking about: do you really need to pull all-nighters and smash energy drinks to boost your score? From my experience, consistent study habits (and giving myself time to rest) worked better than frantic cramming. Talking to older students and teachers also gave me tips I wouldn’t have figured out alone. But is that the same for everyone? If you’ve found another method that works better, I’m all ears. Finally, I realised that while ATAR can be important, it’s not everything. It’s one route, but it doesn’t define your entire future. If you’re asking, “What if I don’t get the perfect score?”, remember there are countless ways to reach your goals—even if it means taking a different path or a bit more time. Discovered a surprising shortcut or learned a lesson the hard way? Share your insights in the comments—because none of us has all the answers, and your story might be exactly what someone else needs to hear.