She was one of more than 2000 students who received their results early due to a technical glitch. At first she thought it was a cruel hoax, and then she was prepared to wait.

"The pressure was building up," the Aquinas College student said.

When she finally opened the message on Monday morning, the aspiring film and television student was happy with what she saw, an ATAR of 80.2. After the nerves wore off, she said she felt "a bit disappointed".

More than 44,000 students were overcome by relief and happiness or pangs of disappointment as they received their hard-earned VCE results via text messages and online.

One student commented that his ATAR was as high as the weather forecast for Melbourne on Monday – a top of 31.

Melbourne's four select-entry state schools and top private schools predictably achieved the most impressive results.

At the select entry Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, 81 per cent of students achieved an ATAR of 90 or more, while at Suzanne Cory High School, one third of students achieved ATARs of 90 or more. At Nossal High, 54 per cent of students finished in the top 10 per cent of the state. Dux Yong See Foo received an ATAR of 99.9 and has been offered scholarships at Monash University and the University of Melbourne.

Yeshivah College was one of the top performing private schools, with 78 per cent of students finishing in the top 10 per cent.

At Bialik, 67 per cent achieved this milestone, Huntingtower 60 per cent, Presbyterian Ladies' College 58 per cent, Korowa 57 per cent, Strathcona 55 per cent, Beth Rivkah and Shelford Girls Grammar 54 per cent, Leibler Yavneh College 53 per cent and Mount Scopus and Camberwell Girls Grammar 52 per cent.

High-performing, non-selective state schools included Balwyn High and Box Hill High, where 38 per cent of students achieved ATARs above 90. At McKinnon Secondary College that figure was 37 per cent.

Schools from across the state celebrated their success stories.

It could be hard to get out of bed sometimes, said Braybrook Colleg's dux Chi Vu, who scored 99.05. She remembers feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

"My teacher kept calling me up, saying 'why are you still in bed?' I got up and did the exams and I'm so glad I did. My teachers believed me and helped me believe in myself."

Her friend Dung Cao received an ATAR of 93.45, which she hopes is high enough to achieve her dream of becoming a dentist.

At the school speech night, she told everyone that her mother, who scrimped and saved to help send her daughter to Australia as a child, had never smiled.

That was because her mother lost her front teeth in an accident and was self-conscious. Inspired by her mother's sacrifice, Dung wants to be a dentist to restore smiles.

Now that the results have been released, universities have begun wooing the top students with lucrative scholarships.

The University of Melbourne offered scholarships to 52 high achievers, which entitles them to a free place in the undergraduate degree of their choice and an annual allowance of $5000.

Scotch College graduates were the big winners - almost as many Scotch students were offered a scholarship as the total number of female students from all other schools throughout the state who received an offer.

Some 10 Scotch College graduates received a scholarship offer from the University of Melbourne, compared with a total of 11 female students. Six students who received an offer were from government schools, while 46 were from independent schools.

- with Harriet Carter, Luke Michael, Will Arnott, Laurence Rosen and Tara Cosoleto