Choosing Your VCE Subjects: What Really Matters for University Pathways
Choosing the VCE subjects that suit your university pathway can feel daunting. These subjects not only act as prerequisites for many tertiary courses but also mark the culmination of your secondary schooling. Working with a Melbourne VCE tutor can help you confidently select the subjects that align with both your strengths and your university goals.
The Most Important Aspect of VCE Success
The completion of the VCE results in each student receiving an ATAR score, which serves solely as a prerequisite for institutions for selected tertiary courses. Whilst this score is important, success in the VCE depends on more than your final ATAR.
Developing Habits and Mindset
Developing productive study habits through mindset adjustments and daily balance will benefit not only your results but also your capacity to achieve them. Breakthrough Education’s experience as one of the best VCE courses in Glen Waverley has found that treating study like a job is an effective way of maintaining a study structure.
Non-negotiable study hours during the week, whether in the morning or afternoon, can allow you to take a more extended recuperative break on the weekends. Many students have found success in timetabling out essential study and assessment timeframes on a week-by-week basis, providing them with a guide of what to expect from the week to come.
What Do Students Think?
Breakthrough Education students who have completed our VCE Program learn how to shape their weeks to create long-lasting habits that lead to the best possible outcome. Past students from our VCE classes in Melbourne have finalised their courses with an understanding of how to study in a stress-free, balanced manner, developing effective routines that yield results.
Balance in the VCE: Passion, Scaling, and Prerequisite Planning

The choice of VCE subjects is a balance of passion, scaling, and prerequisite planning. Our private VCE tutors in Melbourne can shape your choice with you, ensuring you know precisely which subjects will help you achieve your goals.
Passion: The Driver of Motivation
Even with the added benefit of the best VCE exam preparation in Melbourne, achieving a high-performing result is near impossible without passion. Motivation can wane even for the most dedicated students, making passion an essential element of every VCE study method.
An eagerness surrounding your subject choice is one of the best incentives in any study routine, and it comes from each student individually. Choose subjects you’re passionate about, and the desire to develop evidence-based habits surrounding them will follow.
How Scaling Works in the VCE (and How It Impacts Your ATAR)
Each ATAR mark is a scaled result, meaning your raw score is adjusted in each subject by comparing it to the performance of all other students completing that same course in the state. It provides a fair comparison of grades for each student, ensuring they’re graded not only by their performance but also by the intensity of the subject.
Subjects like Specialist Maths will be scaled up due to their difficulty, whilst other courses like Business Management won’t be significantly affected.
How to Decide?

Balancing your passion and university plans when choosing VCE subjects for the highest possible ATAR can feel incredibly difficult. Still, it’s essential to select those that will benefit you in both regards. More challenging subjects can be addressed more effectively by scaling them up, benefiting students who lean towards more academically intensive options.
This shouldn’t dissuade you from choosing subjects that genuinely support your long-term goals. Many university courses have specific prerequisites you’ll need to meet.
ATAR and VCE Advice From Past Breakthrough Education Top Scorers
With over 90 students having used Breakthrough Education as one of the best tutors in Glen Waverley to achieve a perfect 99.95% ATAR score, our prior graduates are experts in applying the best techniques and tools to develop a study pattern that helped them achieve their goals.
What Should You Focus On?
Developing a weekly study system and strict timetabling of their hours outside of school meant they were able to stay on top of their game by the time VCE exam preparation in Melbourne was looming.
Some students used technological calendars and alarms to plan their weeks clearly in advance. Hindsight is one of the best educators of all, and many of our graduates wished they had started working with a VCE tutor earlier in their education.
Not only do Breakthrough Tutoring concisely teach course content, but we also foster methods that can be applied to all areas of your at-home study routines. Enrol in a course with Breakthrough Education, and let our effective programs shape your habits.
Exclusive Insights From Kevin Xiao – Tutor who has personally taught 90 Students Who Scored 99.95
Kevin’s years of tutoring experience have led him to a developed understanding of the importance of choosing subjects in the VCE and of how to create a routine that will yield the highest possible ATAR. He recommends combining passion with dedication, ensuring the subjects you select are ones you’re willing to apply yourself to.
The key difference between students who score in the top percentile of their cohort is their ability to apply themselves, bringing both quantity and quality to their studies. Kevin understands that high-performance students should be treated as high-performance athletes, and that effectively coaching them to the best possible results has been proven time and time again by our record results.
Breakthrough Education’s track record positions us as one of the best VCE tutoring services in Melbourne, and each student we’ve helped through these formative years credits their success to our program. Kevin’s top recommendation is to enrol on our VCE tutoring program, and let us guide you through these essential study periods.
Final Thoughts: Building a VCE Plan That Works for You
Treating yourself as an athlete over the next few years is one of the best ways to inspire the success you need to achieve your prerequisite pathway results. Build a VCE plan that aligns with your goals and opens the door to your preferred university course. Work with one of Melbourne’s leading VCE tutors and start your pathway with confidence.
Enrol in a VCE course with Breakthrough Education today and take control of your ATAR future.