Wagga Higher School Certificate (HSC) students are just days away from receiving numbers that could shape their lives.
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Results are released across the state on Thursday and the Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks (ATAR) are released on Friday.
But recent graduates and Wagga tutors are urging students not to be defeated if they do not see the numbers they want.
Alex Williams graduated from Mater Dei Catholic College last year with an ATAR of 93 and band sixes in community and family studies and legal studies.
“I was absolutely stoked with my results, I had to refresh the page a couple of times,” she said.
She had her heart set on attending university to study law but after a year working as a receptionist in a law firm, her plans have changed.
“It’s really helped me sort out my priorities and what I want to do for the next 30 years of my life,” she said.
Miss Williams has enrolled in criminology and international security studies at Australian National University next year.
“When you get your marks, enjoy it or think about what you could do, analyse what you should do,” she said.
“I’d recommend students look at other opportunities, don’t have tunnel vision and do what’s best for you.”
Rachael Corneus-Randall from Advanced Learning Centre has spent about 10 years tutoring HSC students and said the emotions and reactions are much the same every year.
It is the culmination of hard work but Mrs Corneus-Randall said it does not have to be a defining moment.
“You can’t change the result but you can focus on what you do with that,” she said.
“If you don’t get the results, there’s lots of different ways of pursuing the career you want, it might just take a bit longer.”
Mrs Corneus-Randall advises students sitting their HSC next year to make study notes and use the Christmas break to start preparing.