We aim to set our students up in the best possible way for tertiary level study, as well as Career Development into the future.
A rank score will be set each year by tertiary providers which will guarantee entry to a tertiary course of study. The required rank score for admission to courses generally increases each year (refer to our 2018 Courses of Study Guide: page 26 for NCEA and page 28 for CIE).
Students should not aim to attain the minimum tertiary entrance requirement but should always aim to maximise their rank score.
International students will be required to achieve higher rank scores than New Zealand students.
This rank score is calculated from CIE AS and A Level grade scores or NCEA Level 3 credits. For the purposes of tertiary entrance in New Zealand, universities only calculate either the best six CIE AS/A Level grades or the best 80 NCEA Level 3 credits, which are then converted to an overall points total. Universities will not calculate a combined total.
It is also very important to check out entry requirements and prerequisite subjects. We have provided the Entry Requirements for New Zealand Universities in the Courses of Study Guide and the University of Auckland’s Table A and/ or Table B subject requirements for their degrees. We recommend you check the most up-to-date requirements via the university websites or visit Schoolbox and click on the “Uni Entry” tile.
Students should note special entrance requirements. For example, for University Entrance only two of Accounting, Business Studies and Economics may be selected. For Mathematics only one A2 paper will count for credits and Numeracy.
Each tertiary provider and each specific course will have its own entrance requirements. Students should not assume these are uniform - different universities can set different entry requirements for the same programme.
First year university
Some universities will guarantee entrance to a course of study if a student attains a minimum required number of points, calculated from their CIE grades (Guaranteed Entry Score) or NCEA Achievement Standards.
Students entering university with a GES should note that their chosen university will be expecting them to attain a calculated Grade Point Average (GPA) or Grade Point Equivalent (GPE) in their first-year course of study. Therefore, it is important that students seek to attain the highest grade possible in their first year, and subsequent years, at tertiary level.
Read ‘A guide to University Entrance’ in our 2018 Courses of Study Guide for more information on entry requirements for NZ universities, gaining UE with NCEA and CIE, and calculating your rank score for NCEA and CIE.
