MAHMOUD Khamis is the first in his family to complete the Higher School Certificate, and on Thursday morning, he woke up to an incredible result.
"I actually woke up to my ATAR, it was 8.46am. I'm honestly feeling elated," he said.
He was was one of five Merewether High School students to receive an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank of 90 or above, achieving the top result in his cohort with a score of 99.40
Mr Khamis, 17, was born in Egypt and his family migrated to Australia when he was just three years old.
Little did he know 14 years later and after a late enrolment in year 10, that he'd be named dux of one of the state's most selective high schools.
"It was a year of toil and hard work and I'm happy to see it pay off, it was something I was striving for. I think it's important to set goals in mind when you're working over long periods of time," he said.
"My family is so proud."
December 14, marked the end of pondering anxiety for more than 67,000 students across the state as ATAR results were released.
This year 17.5 per cent of students received an ATAR of 90.00 or above, 35 per cent received an ATAR of at least 80.00 and 51.8 per cent received an ATAR of at least 70.00.
While thousands of students had already secured a place at university through 14,000 early entry offers it was a tense wait for others who finally discovered if their score was enough to secure their dream tertiary course.
Mr Khamis aspires to study medicine and said his ATAR has opened a realm of opportunities.
"This result should allow me to apply to quite a few areas, but when it comes to uni applications it's something I'm really going to have to put thought into the next few weeks," he said.
Scoring ATARS of 90 or above, were his classmates Aditya Mehrotra with 99.35, Isaac Crookshank with 99.05, Ria Gupta with 99.00 and Braiden Stanborough received 99.25.
Mr Mehrotra said waiting for that first text message in the morning was nerve-wracking, followed by playing around with the ATAR calculator.
"I think we were all losing sleep, we all had a dream about a bad result but it was quite a relief for us all," he said.
He said his peers pushed each other to strive for more and it was a key factor towards succeeding in the HSC.
"We would meet up for English, Maths ... in the school library. We strived to improve all our marks overall and it was better than just having individual competitions," he said.
Mr Stanborough's plan to study medicine at UNSW was riding on his ATAR result and now he is feeling relieved.
"I put my overall marks in the calculator and I was like good okay, I can breathe," he said.
Ms Gupta said the entire HSC process had been daunting knowing the degrees that interested her had high ATAR requirements.
"I just kept working hard and had a really good support system. My parents were really supportive so I think that helped me get 99," she said.
"I've done a good job and to see how hard work has been worth it - I plan to study dentistry in Queensland next year."
St Francis Xavier's College Hamilton had two high achievers with Jack Breasley and Sophia Grace Bechly being named equal dux of their school.
Mr Breasley attained a score of 99.55 and said it feels "pretty amazing".
"I'm looking at uni's, I was waiting for today. Now that it's out I can make some plans," he said.
Ms Bechly achieved a 97.00 and said she couldn't have asked for a better result.
"I'm so stoked, honestly. And hearing all my friends, everybody did better than they thought they would - it's so good," she said.
She is moving to England in 19 days for a gap year and plans to go into Nuclear Medicine or Biomedical Engineering when she returns.
Belmont Christian College graduate Hugh Brindley scored a 92.25 ATAR and has a planned gap year for 2024 while he figures out what he wants to do.
"It's a bit controversial when you score that high but I need some time to figure out what I want to do next," he said.
Glendale Technology High School's Bilal Arrigo said adrenaline has been running through him since he opened his results to find a score of 98.00.
"I'm still trying to process it. I'm certainly happy with it," he said.
He said he felt proud to achieve such an impressive score at a smaller, local school after denying a spot at Merewether.
"There's a stigma around local schools that you can't get more than 90, I wanted to show that you can get a good result no matter where you attend school."
Classmate Yeseo Park (Jenny) said her ATAR result was 97.30 and the first thing she did was send it to some of her teachers.
"It's not often that we get band 6s in Glendale Technology High School - I think my teachers and principles are having a field day," she said.
"I'm genuinely so shocked. I remember feeling really anxious the day before and I was confident I'd get an 88 but I was so overwhelmed this morning seeing my marks. It's surreal," she said.
Ms Park plans to study a Bachelor of Pharmacy at the University of Newcastle next year and Mr Arrigo plans to study a Bachelor of Science (Advanced) with a double major in Biology and Organic Chemistry.
Glendale Technology High School principal Anthony Angel said the students' ATAR was their strongest result ever.
"Across the whole school we had significant growth. These are two well deserving students. One turned down Merewether, so it's a true example that if you have the drive and the motivation, and are willing to trust the support within school you can achieve results," he said.
More than 40 per cent of Newcastle Grammar School students received an ATAR of 90 or above.
School captain Alexander Macdougall scored 99.35, Katherine Wang and Jasmine Withford both received 99.15.
Newcastle Grammar School is ranked 52nd in NSW, and more than half of the students received early entry offers to universities and colleges in NSW, Australia and Internationally.
The honourable scores follow Wednesday's First in Course ceremony where 128 students were celebrated for achieving first place in a HSC course.
The state's Merit Lists were also released with a number of Newcastle students named.
How to manage unexpected ATAR results
Universities Admissions Centre chief strategy and engagement officer Kim Paino told students not to "lose heart" if their ATAR was lower than desired.
"You can still leave your first preference in place because lowest selection ranks change from year to year," she said.
"If your ATAR is higher than you expected, think carefully about what you want to study in 2024."
