Careers Information for Subject Choice

Subject Choice Guidance 

Please note: 

• Minimum entry requirements do not necessarily guarantee a place on a course. 

• Selection to some courses is also based on additional requirements such as portfolios, auditions, interviews or CVs. 

• The Careers Adviser is available to help students with career planning and assessment, subject choice, work related information, university and scholarship applications and STAR courses (out-of-school career related courses). 

• Any parent wishing to discuss their daughter’s future plans can call and make an appointment with our Careers Adviser, Charlotte Murray, on 376 6568 ext. 726. 

Thinking About Tertiary? This is a very useful website https://www.thinkingaboutuni.nz/

Entry Into Ranked Degree Programmes 

Due to the cap on the number of funded places for domestic students in tertiary education, many New Zealand Universities have adopted a ranking system to enable them to limit numbers of students where programmes are oversubscribed. While there are some points of difference, the format of the ranking system is the same for each university. 

To be selected into a course you will need to: 

• achieve University Entrance 

• fulfil any specific requirements e.g. portfolio, achievement in specified subjects 

• achieve the Guaranteed or Preferential Entry Score (as stated by each University) - a rank score will be calculated as outlined below 

Rank Score – how is it calculated using NCEA? 

• based on your best 80 credits at Level 3, over a maximum of five approved subjects 

• awarding 4 points for credits with Excellence, 3 points for Merit and 2 points for Achieved 

• there is a maximum of 24 credits per subject; any credits above this limit are excluded 

• Level 3 credits achieved in Years 11/12 may be counted towards your best 80 credits 

• credits obtained in any “required” subject do not have to be among the best 80 credits for ranking purposes 

If you achieve fewer than 80 credits, the rank score will be based on the number of credits you have gained. 

NB: University of Auckland ranks all of its degrees for guaranteed entry. 

How To Navigate A Tertiary Provider Website 

• Subjects or Courses – usually show specific subjects you can study listed alphabetically (e.g. accounting, environmental studies, forestry, literature, marine science, theatre studies, tourism etc) and the name of the qualifications you can study these subjects in (e.g. tourism may be offered as a study option within a business/ commerce degree). 

Some tertiary provider websites have a section to help you decide which study pathway might suit you best. 

Not all universities will offer the same 

• degrees or qualifications 

• range of subjects 

• flexibility in combining study options 

Check that the tertiary provider you are planning to attend offers the subjects and qualifications you want to study in a way that suits your learning style – hands on? research focus? collaborative? individual? 

The best tertiary provider is the one that suits you the best. Combining the information on the website with a visit to the campus will give you the best idea of whether the tertiary provider you are considering will be a good fit for you. 

University of Auckland 

AUT

University of Waikato

Massey University 

Victoria University of Wellington

University of Canterbury 

Lincoln University

University of Otago