On Monday morning, tens of thousands of young Victorians woke up to receive their ATAR marks and for many it was a proud moment.
One of these students, who he himself and his family would have been ecstatic, was Mazenod College’s Alexander Tsipos, who achieved a perfect ATAR of 99.95.
Tsipos, the College Dux, has earned the highest possible ATAR score and the first in Mazenod College history to do so.
The half Greek and Italian Australian tells Neos Kosmos that he had high expectations but never would have imagined a perfect score.
Surprisingly, he also shared that he actually found Year 11 more challenging than Year 12.
“This year was a big workload but because I did two year 12 subjects last year, I honestly found last year a bit harder because it was just a new experience doing all that study,” he told Neos Kosmos.
“I had got used to everything I prepared for in year 11, all the techniques. Honestly, this year was a bit smoother sailing.”
The two Year 12 subjects Tsipos did last year were Italian and Religion and Society, with the latter seeing him recognised at the Premier’s VCE Awards back in July.
As for this year, he achieved outstanding Study Scores in his subjects – a 47 in Chemistry and Mathematical Methods and a 50 in English Language.
Now Tsipos is left with a decision to make. He has been offered two scholarships, one is the Melbourne University’s Chancellor’s Scholarship, that would see him most likely study a Bachelor of Science before moving to a post graduate in Law or Engineering.
The second scholarship is from Monash University and is the Sir John Monash Scholarship for Distinction, to do a double degree in Engineering and Law.
At this stage he remains unsure which he’ll choose but he is set on doing something in engineering or law.
This wasn’t always the case however, as Tsipos says he changed his goals through high school.
“At first, I wanted to be an architect, but then realised that wasn’t really for me. In the later years, I realised I really liked math and science, so that’s why I thought the engineering pathway.”
In year 10 he did a legal subject and enjoyed that, so that’s why he’s thinking something in that field too.
The half Greek, who remains connected to that culture on his father’s side, also said that he may look to learn Greek again, having done a bit in his early years but never stuck with it.
Lastly, he wished to thank Mazenod College, who were “the biggest help” for him.
“My teachers were so supportive and they went above and beyond in making sure that I would be able to get the scores that I did. I owe my school for everything that I achieved.”
