With an ATAR of 97, Swansea High School student Tegan Taylor is nothing short of a genius… but that’s not all.
Despite achieving such a high score, the youngster said she refused to let her studies dominate her life, always finding time for socialising and exercise.
“I think having a balance of life and study is so important because it helped me avoid burnout, which I was very worried about,” Tegan explained.
“I experienced it a lot in Year 11 because I just stuck to studying the whole time and was really stressed about getting perfect marks.”
Completing two half marathons during her HSC, as well as playing competitive league tag, Tegan said staying active was her biggest key to success.
“I did lots of exercise and made separate goals outside of school, which was really helpful,” Tegan stated.
However, it wasn’t all easy for the whiz kid.
“There were definitely some low points for me where I just got in that rut of studying a lot,” she said.
“Especially around trials, I got very, very stressed where I felt I needed to be in my room 24/7 and I think that really affected me.
“But, I knew going into the HSC I needed more balance because it affected my results in the trials due to how stressed I was.
“I was stressing more than I was actually taking in content.”
Learning from her mistakes, she decided to take it easy, only studying for about two hours a day.
Tegan explained splitting her time between subjects Advanced English, Business Studies, Legal Studies and PDHPE was easy but her biggest challenge was Maths.
“It was my worst subject, she said.
“So, I ended up getting a tutor, she was really helpful, and it ended up being my best.”
Despite receiving an unbelievable score of 97 in the subject, Tegan insisted on remaining humble.
“I was kind of expecting an 80, I didn’t expect to get anything in the 90s, I just wanted to try my best and do the best I could for myself.”
Landing an ATAR of 97 was an obviously well-deserved reward, but still came as a surprise to the student.
“I was double checking I was in the right account,” Tegan said.
“I was so shocked, there was no part of me that was even expecting to get in the 90s.
“My mum and I were speechless, she had no idea what had just happened.”
She said the number was so high it changed her future study plans, turning down her early entry acceptance to study law at the University of Newcastle.
Now, she’s focused on entering the field of psychiatry, a career she never thought would be possible.
“I had a change of heart because I’ve always wanted to do psychiatry,” Tegan said.
“However, I never thought I would get the ATAR to get into medicine or anything like that.”
Time will only tell how far this genius will go, but a bright future is certainly in store.
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