At the local high school in the small farming community of Wycheproof, in northwestern Victoria, only a handful of students are taking the VCE exams this month.
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One of them, Keely Allan, told ACM her final year hasn't been easy.
"It's been really stressful," she said. "You work your whole schooling to get to this point, so it's quite surreal to be here."
Wycheproof P-12 College is a small rural school that has fewer than 100 students.
Keely said studying in a small school comes with challenges and benefits.
"We have limited subjects, so we struggle to get teachers in rural towns," she said.
I've had to study accounting online, and that's been difficult the whole year."
The upside, she said, was the close support students got when they did have a teacher. "There's a lot of one-on-one help."
Her year group, she said, was particularly close.
Keely has been prioritising sleep and eating well. She hopes to study commerce at the University of Melbourne.
The school's VCE coordinator, Claire Ison, said students were feeling "naturally anxious" and some "overwhelmed" in the lead-up.
She urged students to plan their studies, attend revision sessions and look after their wellbeing.
"We encourage them to eat well, stay hydrated, get enough sleep and prioritise their physical and mental health," she said.
Importance of rituals
More than 1000km away in Lake Macquarie, NSW, Coden Smith walks his beloved dog each morning, a ritual vital for managing the stress of HSC, he said.
"It's good exercise for both of us," he told ACM.
Coden, a year 12 student at Toronto High School is one of almost 45,000 NSW public school students completing at least one HSC course this year.
Exams begin across the state on October 16, starting with English.
Coden admits English isn't his strongest subject, so he's been putting in extra preparation.
The rest of his subject load is demanding, including Maths Extension 1 and 2, Physics and Engineering.
"These are the subjects I really enjoyed in junior school," he said.
Support from his older brother, who has been through the experience, has been especially valuable.
Coden was dux of his year group and has already secured early entry to the University of Newcastle, where he hopes to study to become a maths teacher.
We had a really good cohort at school, so that's made it enjoyable.
- Coden Smith
Headspace's head of clinical leadership, Nicola Palfrey, hopes students remember exams are "just a moment in time" and don't "define them for life".
She said the pressure could feel overwhelming such as "now or never," but good planning and time management mde a big difference.
"Work out when you perform best, some people thrive in the morning, others later at night," she said.
"And don't give everything up. Walks, the gym, time with friends, those breaks actually help you perform better."
Ms Palfrey said young people often assumed older generations had "straight paths."
"They don't realise many of us didn't ace year 12 or took alternative routes," she said.
Carla Mascarenhas
Carla Mascarenhas is the NSW correspondent covering breaking news, state politics and investigations. She is based in Sydney. Contact her on carla.mascarenhas@austcommunitymedia.com.au
