THEY may have already graduated from their respective four schools, but it's back to school this week for just more than 100 Snowy Monaro Higher School Certificate students as sit their final exams and officially end their high school days.

The students, from Cooma's Monaro High, Bombala High, Jindabyne High and Snowy Mountains Grammar School (SMGS), returned from school holidays on Tuesday to sit the compulsory English paper one, followed today by English paper two.

They will continue sitting exams for their various subjects up until Friday November 8.

Monaro High has 34 HSC students, Jindabyne High 33, Bombala around a dozen and SMGS around 35.

With graduation ceremonies held in the final week of term three, the students now concentrate on their exams, which will determine their ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank), a score required for admission to university courses.

While school spokespeople have stressed that the HSC is "not only about the ATAR", for some students, like Cooma's Lottie Walker-Broose, it is a crucial requirement for following her dreams to study medicine.

Lottie, 18, has spent the entire school holidays studying as she aims for an ATAR as high as possible to study at the University of Sydney.

She will sit examinations in biology, PDHPE, modern history, English advanced and maths standard.

"I am a little bit nervous and also excited," she said.

"It is the end, and new beginnings, just exciting to move on and be able to explore new places and do new things without the stress of school.

"I am feeling pretty good about the exams."

Lottie made a decision to prioritise her HSC studies at the start of Year 11, reducing other activities in favour of study.

The Snowy Mountains Grammar School graduate had not had any holiday time during the school holidays.

"Most days I go to in to school to the library, which has been opened for us during the holidays, from 9am to 4pm and then I come home and do an hour of two of tutoring with an external tutor and then I spend two or three hours doing some extra work," she said.

"Then at 8.30pm I relax and do it again the next day."

She said she had been grateful to her school for its support of all the HSC students in the lead-up to the exams.

"SMGS has been great at equipping us with the necessary resources, helping to alleviate the gap that rural students face with the HSC.

"Teachers have been giving up their time and going beyond the call of duty to support us."

Lottie said most of her study comprised going through past exam papers, going over areas she had gotten wrong and doing specified questions in those areas.

"Just reviewing material and as many practice questions as I can get.

"Although my dream course is direct entry to medicine, to keep me less stressed I have a backup plan of a Bachelor of Medical Science. As well I have received about eight early entries to a few unis around Australia, so it takes some of the pressure off."

Lottie is keen to start studies in 2025 and hopes to qualify as a neurosurgeon.

"I love the concept of helping people," she said.

Her advice to other students facing the dreaded HSC is to keep pushing until the end "as even if you don't think you can get there now, you can get there in the end".

"From personal experience over the past years, going from a C average to an A average, I see the power in consistency and determination in achieving my goals," she said.

Jindabyne High's principal, Kelly Henretty, Bombala High principal Doug Whittaker and Monaro High principal Jai Lester all told The Monaro Media Group in August, when the students were undertaking trial HSC exams, that they felt confident in their students' ability to tackle the exams with confidence.

Around 30 percent on average were focussing on the ATAR for university admission, while many were planning to take gap years, start work, or undertake alternative study.