Isaac Martin admits that living over the border in NSW but studying in the ACT may be a strange situation, but said it was the right one for him.
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"I live out on a farm in Gundaroo and I drove into school every day," he said.
"It is a privilege to be in the ACT system. It is strange when others are getting their Higher School Certificate results.
After a nerve-wracking wait, the Gungahlin College student found out his Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) on Tuesday afternoon. He received a score of 98.65.
The result allows him to get into his first choice of university course at the Australian National University, studying honours in engineering.
"I was pretty excited to find out, I'm really happy with the result," Isaac said.
"I found out the result when I got a call from the career adviser at school."
Having needed an ATAR of 95 to keep his scholarship to the university for next year, Isaac said the result was a relief and he was proud of his achievements.
For thousands of schools leavers like Isaac, the wait for results was over at 1pm on Tuesday as students from around the ACT and across the country logged in to find out their scores.
Among them was Spencer Collaviti, who received a perfect score of 99.95. While he said he was hoping for a high score, he wasn't expecting to do as well as he did.
"I'm pretty stoked. I was really excited when I found out, but also relieved as well," he said.
The Narrabundah College student said he was considering studying a Bachelor of Philosophy at the Australian National University next year.
"It's been a nice way to finish off, even though the graduation ceremony is on Wednesday."
Merici College student Rosemary Zielinski was also among the students who received a perfect score.
While most students found out their results online on Tuesday, Rosemary was told over the phone by her principal a few days before.
"I was buying used textbooks off Gumtree when I first found out. I found out on Saturday, but I had to keep the secret to myself for a few days," she said.
"It was a relief that the hard work throughout the year paid off."
After completing an extension course in physics at the Australian National University as part of her year 12 studies, Rosemary said she planned to go back to the university as an undergraduate to study a Bachelor of Philosophy.