Your Education High School Exchanges Brochure 2019 Your Education High School Exchange Brochure | Page 11

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GOING ON A HIGH SCHOOL EXCHANGE
AND MANAGING NCEA
Are you considering going on a semester or year exchange but worried about how it will affect
your NCEA credits? If you are prepared to work hard and you have the support of your school,
it’s possible to go on a longer exchange without having to repeat any NZ schooling. Read below
some of the feedback from past Your Education students about how they went on a semester
or year exchange and successfully managed their NCEA credits.
"My American exchange was for my second year of NCEA, level 2. Before I left, I had several meetings with my deans to make sure that my school would
be able to accommodate me leaving for a year. The outcome of these meetings decided that I was able to effectively “jump” over level 2 and progress to
level 3 when I returned. The side effect to this is that instead of bringing the 20 credits from level 2 that students are allowed, I had to achieve 80 level 3 credits,
instead of 60, in order to pass. As the American school system was very different, there was no way to bring credits from that to NCEA. The only downside
to this was that for application to universities, I could only use my level 3 credits. This meant that I was unable to apply for certain scholarships that required
the use of level 2 credits e.g. the Victoria University Excellence Scholarship. Fortunately, there are many other scholarships available for many other criteria
so this was not much of a problem for me. Overall, it just meant that I needed to work a little bit harder in order to pass my final year of high school
and guarantee my place in tertiary study." - Olivia went to the USA on an Academic Year programme during her Year 12.
“I completed my exchange as a Year 11 student. Although I missed Year 11 end-of-year exams, I was able to complete my semester abroad
and come back to New Zealand as a fully eligible Year 12 student. This was because I acquired the Literacy and Numeracy credits necessary
to begin Year 12. Although I technically did not pass Level 1 NCEA (as you need 80 credits to pass and I was only able to get 45 before I left),
my dean said due to my excellent academic results prior and my ability to self-manage and prioritise my studies before and after my exchange,
she saw no issue in allowing me to take part in the Your Education High School Exchange programme. Although this worked out for me, this
may differ for your high school. My advice would be to talk to your school dean and get them to discuss with you the best possible options that
suit your relevant needs, wants and desires regarding your programme.”
- Adam went to the USA on a Semester programme during his Year 11.
@youreducationabroad
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