@ such_such : For the maths comp, I came equal 14th im my year with a score of 72/135, which was a high distinction somehow...but my trial ranks for 3u and 4u were only around 40 out of 166 and 45/116, respectively. Same thing goes for another guy im my year. He's an Olympiad kid, gets PRIZES in the amc EVERY SINGLE YEAR, equal first im the unsw comp, which isn't multiple choice...etc etc... but he wasn't in the top 30 for 3u or top 15 for 4u. Mind you, we're both easily going to get high band 6s for maths, but it just goes to show that performance in the hsc is about effort and hard work.