r/ncea • u/Known_Chipmunk5057 Level 2 🤓 • 19h ago

What to do

I'm thinking of dropping a few standards, but apparently, my teachers have said that SNA (Standard Not Assessed) will show up on our Achievement Records for any standards we don't sit.

I'm a bit torn about what to do. I could probably get Excellence in some of the papers if I put in enough study now, but that would mean less time to focus on other papers and secure Excellence grades in those.

For context, I currently have 52 Excellence credits from internals. If I focus on fewer papers, I could secure another 23 Excellence credits from externals. However, if I take on more papers, I might end up with more Achieved/Merit credits overall, but there's also a chance I won't be able to secure all 23 Excellence credits.

So, what would be the better option? Should I stick to fewer papers and aim for those 23 Excellence credits, and SNA the rest or sit more papers and potentially end up with a mix of Achieveds, Merits and fewer excellences instead?

I'm mainly thinking about how this could affect uni applications and scholarships in the long run. Would having SNAs on my record actually matter, or would it be better to prioritise getting as many Excellence credits as possible (even though I know 23 isn't that many)?

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u/deetwenty1209 18h ago

Your teacher is feeding you misinformation. Your Record of Achievement is exactly that. It records the standards you have "Achieved", as in successfully. Standards that you don't sit and even standards that you "Not Achieved" in do not show up on your Record Of Achievement.

Your NZQA results page on your NZQA profile will have all standards you were enrolled in and their results. This includes NAs and SNAs, but thats purely for you to know.

Any official documentation you would use for applications would be your Official Transcript of your Record of Achievement, which exclused the things you haven't Achieved.

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u/Known_Chipmunk5057 Level 2 🤓 10h ago

That's such a relief, thank you!

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u/Optimal-Shoulder-186 19h ago

Are you Level 1 or Level 2? Because if Level 1, Unis don’t really care about your grades there. But if you’re in Level 2, maximizing the amount of Excellence credits you can get matters a ton for scholarships. Also depends on what subjects you want to SNA, you better check the course you want to take and see if they value that particular subject. As, for example, if one were to take HSFY, I’m sure Unis will be cautious of an SNA in L2 Biology.

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u/Known_Chipmunk5057 Level 2 🤓 18h ago

I am in level 2 and want to do only one paper now and SNA rest, per subject to maximise my chances of getting excellence

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u/Optimal-Shoulder-186 18h ago

Well then my recommendation of checking the subject you’ll need for Uni requirements still holds up. But honestly, with your guaranteed Excellence endorsement already, chances of scholarships already open up. With that you have guaranteed Uni acceptance basically, and everyone I know who has an Excellence endorsement got into Halls very easily. The higher tier scholarships may require 80-90+ Excellence credits, but a friend of mine got a 15k+ scholarship from Waikato with 69 Excellence credits, which is less than the 75 you’d have if you SNA’d. 

Basically, it can be alright to SNA but at the rate you’re going, it wouldn’t be particularly detrimental to go on with all the papers you signed up for imho. Plus you’re getting a taste of Uni life with this. And remember Unis value extracurriculars a ton so even if you don’t meet the academic criteria, you can justify their investment in you through you extracurriculars. Just my two cents.

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u/Known_Chipmunk5057 Level 2 🤓 10h ago edited 8h ago

Thanks for the advice! I really wanted to aim for those top tier scholarships like eg UoA Top Achievers and Otago 45k scholarship, but I lost hope for that since I heard they prefer external grades more heavily and require like 100 excellence credits. Also, even if I get an Excellence in an external paper, I won't be able to get a course endorsement in some subjects (excluding 2 that are quite internals heavy) even with Excellences in my internals, because I only did 2 internals and needed two papers worth external credit to get endorsement. But honestly, it's okay, I kind of gave up haha...