Alex Williams will discover if he has made it to university next week.
With a Universities Admission Index (UAI) of 87.1 and equal billing as the State's top Higher School Certificate (HSC) student for agriculture, Mr Williams, 19, probably has little to worry about.
But the young Vacy man has other things on his mind.
Halfway through his Year 12 studies, two years ago, Mr Williams was diagnosed with the life threatening acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
As a result Mr Williams, then 17, was forced to abandon his HSC studies at Dungog High School and begin chemotherapy in an effort to save his life.
"I started a two-and-a-half year chemotherapy program soon after my diagnosis so I stopped school for a while," Mr Williams said.
But two years into the treatment Mr Williams relapsed and in September he underwent a double cord blood transplant in Sydney.
So far his prognosis is looking good.
"Because of my illness it's taken me two years to do the HSC so I'd have to say I'm very happy with my results," Mr Williams said.
"I certainly wasn't expecting a mark of 95 in agriculture so as you can imagine, I'm thrilled."
Mr Williams plans on deferring university for a year and will hopefully head to Sydney to study science and agriculture at university in 2007.
He will also continue dedicating his time as a member of Canteen.
"I need to take this year off to get well because it's only been a few months since the transplant but I've certainly learnt to be patient during the past couple of years," he said.
"I guess I don't feel that different from other young people my age but I suppose I am a bit wiser and I have realised that things can wait in life.
"It took me two years to finish the HSC and I had a lot of setbacks but I have done it and that's all that really matters. Since my illness I've learnt that some things are more important than others."