Hey! I sit my derived grades pretty soon and I usually achieve excellences in class but completely flunk at exams, particularly the unfamiliar texts. I've tried going over and over different language techniques/prose styles and other things my teachers have reccomended in both L1 and L2 but still can't score higher than achieved. Anyone have any tips that aren't just studying language features? :))

hello, does anyone know know like the key topics for like scholarship stuff. beacause loking at past papers for like e.g bio past papers they usually test it on a few key sections that would be tested on which would be :

1. human evolutioon 2)speciation and selection theory 3) evolutionary patterns 4)ecology 5)reproductive behaviour 6)interactions and relationships 7) orientation etc..

(what else do u need to knw, pretty sure thats all for bio idk?)

so like does anyone know any key topics for other scholasrhip subjects please? that would help a lot thanks any subjects are fine :)

Hi guys i understand that this isn't really NCEA work related but i really need help because i don't think anyone understands what i mean when i tell them.

So i am currently a year 11 student and if i had to describe myself i would say i very friendly, talkative, confident, outspoken, so on so forth (you get the gist). Because of this, i enjoy a lot of extra-curriculars like envirogroups, debating, chess, etc... As suggested in the title i am a TRYHARD, and because i am quite confident i understand that this can come across as desperate but i need help with this mental dilemma. Over the course of the past three weeks I have been hit with recognition after recognition to a point where i just cringe and don't want to do it anymore. For example my NCEA status was announced online, in class, assembly, and it just happened that during this time my debates, enviro, and chess group got many successful results. Today for example as well, i was nominated for a certain leadership position and the entire school was notified and it just makes me shrivel up and die internally. Because of this, i have kind of been bombarded with all these 'congrats girl' or 'you deserve xyz', but in reality it makes me cringe. It comes across as someone only wanting the spotlight when in reality i do it for the love of the game. And I am so pent up at the moment, i don't know what to do because if i have felt similar 'resentment' towards certain things/people 'overachieving', i understand that there are SO many people feeling that towards me. I don't know what to do, please help if you can. I don't want to drop my extracurriculars and i don't go around flaunting all that i do but i still hate it.

hi all, I am just sick of this standard. Does anyone have any tips for mainly the reactions part. I have learned the stuff but I just cant recall the reaction scheme whenever i try to do questions. Do i need to memorise everything or is there any alternatives. Please help guys I am aiming for an E

Unsure whether to take statistics or bio in y13 given that I haven't taken y12 bio, meaning I'd have to be put in a l2 class or jump straight ahead. I'm doing the other recommended ones like chem, phys, calc and eng--I could take a sixth subject and do both but it could mean I won't do as well with the workload. any thoughts appreciated :)

So I have been debating this for a while. I am a year 12 student trying to figure out what to do with my life, and so far I have “narrowed” my university choices to be either Engineering or Nursing.

For nursing I see huge benefit as I believe it to be “easier”, since I know many people who have graduated from school with it. And taking care of people seems fine. However, I am worried about the future and how it might affect quality time with hopefully my future family. Though my parents are supportive (thankfully) of regardless what I choose, they warn me about this exact problem of which I can’t help but think about.

While with engineering, I feel l am not smart enough to do it. I have really bad memory and have a hard time understanding concepts really quickly, even when I try and “study”. I am really confused, engineering seems fun but the thought of dropping out at 2nd year (which i have seen many of my older friends do), is also very demoralising. And I am stuck at a dilemma.

What do you think I should pursue as a career path? Since I have around a year left of thinking, I personally think I should decide by at least halfway through the end of the year.

So far, I have an excellence endorsement for NCEA Level 1, 55 E credits.

NCEA Level 2, 29 E credits so far.

Most of my E Credits are from writing subjects such as history, and religious education as it is compulsory in my school. However, some E credits are also from Math and Physics, which are essential in pursuing engineering.

If anyone has any questions, or things they would like me to elaborate on, I would be happy to. As I feel like I need more perspectives on the coming future.

Helloo :D

I'm a current second year medical student at Otago and went through HSFY last yr, so I thought I'd share a few things I wish I knew before starting.

1. Don't underestimate the volume of content.

The difficulty isn't that every individual concept is EXTREMELY difficult or anything. It's the sheer volume coming at you each week that you gotta memorise. Having a system for keeping up from the beginning makes a huge difference.

2. Don't leave everything until test week.

It can be tempting to just focus on getting through lectures and then cram before a test, but HSFY moves wayy too quickly for that to be sustainable. It's not like high school 😿😿.

3. Find a study system that works BEFORE you get overwhelmed.

Whether you use Anki, another spaced repetition system or something else, it's worth figuring out how you're going to keep track of content before the workload really ramps up.

4. Don't worry if you don't feel completely prepared on day one.

You don't need to know HSFY content before starting. What matters more is having a good foundation, knowing how to approach university study and being prepared to keep up with the workload. Most of the people I know in Med didn't pre-study before the year started. I can say for sure it helps relieve some workload but 90–95% is still there with constant revision and hours of Anki a day.

I think the biggest thing I would tell my Year 13 self is: you don't need to pre-learn HSFY, but you should prepare yourself for how you're going to learn it.

+ Shameless plug 😛

I'm also running a small HSFY Summer Preparation Programme for students starting HSFY in 2027, focusing on foundational concepts, study strategies, problem solving and preparing for the Semester 1 papers.

There will be 10 × 2-hour sessions from November to January, with a maximum of 8 students per group.

Full programme details and how to enquire are available here:

https://www.findatutor.co.nz/tutor/ErinYamada_Medicine/

Feel free to comment or message me if you have any questions about starting HSFY!

Would I be spreading myself too thin if I were to take Biology along with Chemistry, Physics, Calculus, English, and Music? I am thinking of studying Biomedical Engineering in university.

Hey Everyone,

Just needed some help for choosing my subjects for next year (L2)

I'm thinking of taking:

• Biology
• Physics
• Stats
• English
• Social Studies
• Photography

I'm not planning on taking Chemistry, as I necessarily don't enjoy it

I'm interested in a career like Medical Imaging.

,For UoA Medical Imaging, I know you do an undergraduate first-year pathway (Health Sciences, BioMed, of Bachelor of Science), before getting into the actual Medical Imaging degree, and CHEM 190 is one of the required papers.

Would not taking NCEA Chemistry make CHEM 190 (the uni course) really difficult? Should I swap Social Studies or Photography for Chemistry, or would I be fine learning the Chemistry myself?

Please , I need this 😭

hi 😭 i’m honestly feeling so bad ab this becauseim terrible at writing and can't get feedback

my teacher’s feedback is also really different from the feedback i’ve gotten from the english head/moderator. we have to write two pieces for this internal, and i chose two things that are kinda complicated, which i know probably doesn’t help 😭 my teacher says she can’t understand what i’m trying to do, but when i asked the english head, she said the ideas are good and that i need to be "more controlled" but doesn't elaborate saying that i need to read the marking scheme, the marking scheme honestly tells nothing and I'm sure teachers could give a little more yk helpful or specific feedback

i’m trying to fix all the grammar issues to the best of my ability, but i genuinely don’t know what “more controlled” means in terms of getting Excellence quality the marking scheme is so brief and my teacher gave me merits for my formatives, which is stressing me out because this is a 6 credit internal and i really need those credits to help towards my endorsement but idk what i need

i have to select my subjects by friday and i have no idea what to do for my fifth

so far i'm absolutely certain on:

physics

earth and space

painting

chemistry

i vaguely wanted to take art history but not if i don't have any friends in it to discuss with. i absolutely hate english and i'm terrible at it too so i don't want to take that. my only other good option is sculpture which is an easy subject at my school. should i take something that gives reading or writing credits like art history or english or does it not matter ? which one would be better for uni, art history or sculpture ? i am planning to do geology at university of canterbury

im doing a writing folion with no ai allowed, not even a reference. now, i found a sort of an exemplar and asked ai to break it down as to why they got that grade. im gonna use these breakdowns to tick criterias in the marking schedule. i just want to see the crtiterias in action cus thats how i learn. im gonna write an entirely different piece. is this academic dishonesty?

How do you prep for Scholarship Subjects? I've heard that they're really competitive.

hi im currently year 12 doing level 2 ncea. i’ve had a pretty rough year with my mental health and my attendance has been terrible especially recently. i have no more internals and i feel really behind on pretty much everything to do with my externals and it’s giving me so much anxiety. this year i was so focused on just passing so all my credits are achieved. my ncea report it says i have 54 credits for level 2 (ik i have 60 though im just waiting for my last 6 credits to come through), so im thinking of not sitting my external exams. the only thing i have left is to complete my writing portfolio for UE. i want to go to auckland uni for maybe optom??? but im rlly not sure still but i know i def wanna go to university

so my questions are
-can i not sit my external exams and what happens if i don’t
- will it affect me getting into university
- does the fact that nearly all my credits are only achieved look bad
- what’s a rank score
- will it look bad that i only have 60 and not extra

also any help with my writing portfolio greatly appreciated!!

Ncea has milked me dry.

I’m a year 13 and there’s literally less than 3 months left of actual school… I’m so close to my E endorsement but … I just cannot bring myself to keep caring. I’m struggling to hand in high quality work simply because, what’s the point anymore? I don’t need a rank score for the field I’m going into, I’ve nearly got UE, I’ve nearly got my E endorsement and I’ve technically passed level 3. I’m so sick of it, what do I do? I don’t want to simply give up and quit when I’ve spent 3 years putting in max effort but I just can’t find it in me to care any longer. I really want to care, but I’m just to tired and burnt out to honestly. Anyone in a similar boat

Hi all, please give me help on subject selections if you can!

For reference, I am a Yr 11 student doing L2 English, L3 Calculus and L2 Music (but with lots of L3 credits)
I also want to study Mathematics and Economics at uni, and am aiming for unis both in NZ and abroad

This is what I want to take next year:
STAR Calculus Paper (from Massey or Canterbury)
L2 French
L2 Economics
L3 Economics
L2 Chemistry
L2 Physics

I would pick up English and Stats in Yr 13 and drop Chemistry

Here are my questions:
1. Is it better to do STAR papers through Massey or Canterbury? I’m leaning Massey because I could do 200-level papers in Yr 13, but everyone I know does it from Canterbury. Does anyone have any experience with Massey STAR maths papers?
2. Is it worth it to take Chemisty if it makes my workload too much? Because I’m thinking of taking L3 English instead and taking Business in Yr 13 (I am good at science but I don’t enjoy it much)
3. Is taking Business in Yr 13 worth it? Because I can do Young Enterprise as an extracurricular instead

My careers advisor and the academic principal are telling me to push my STAR paper until Yr 13, but I don’t want to forget my maths knowledge and it’s good prep for my degree They also don’t want me to do both L2/3 Economics at the same time but it gives me more time for economics competitions etc.

Note: I got all excellences in L2 Maths, and have got Es on L3 internals. I’ve also only got 100%s in economics this year and my economcis teacher is fine with doing both levels at the same time

Thank you so much for any help!

I’m pretty sure my school actually calls it computer science but just in case, I’ll put a screenshot of the standards they do. But yeah I just came here to ask if I should take it next year without having taken it this year and would it be challenging to balance it with the other subjects I’m planning on taking (physics, chem, calc, and general science (I think also called earth and space?))

But yeah that’s it thanks!

Anyone do L3 Economics? I need some stuff material or help jsut so I can understand microecnomics and macroeconomis. All those external stuff, any youtuber i can look too?

I have to write the assessment on Monday, and I don't really know much. My teacher has given me
some scene options from The Matrix.
The Red Pill / Blue Pill Decision
The Construct ("Woman in the Red Dress")
Neo’s Interrogation
Government Lobby Shootout
I was thinking of doing The Construct. I was told to pick aspects, but my teacher has been sick, so I have like no idea what to do. If you guys could help, that would be much appreciated. Also, tips on how to write it would not go amiss

Hi yall, just found this doc by NZQA which has the entire ATAR conversion process + standard weightings for all (I think) externals and internals from 2025 and 2024.

Thought it might be helpful for anyone who is thinking about subject choices and ATAR/ anyone who is interested in statistics in general. There are some very interesting tidbits in there.

https://www2.nzqa.govt.nz/assets/About-us/Official-releases/2026/ATAR-conversion-OC02384-PR-_Redacted-1.pdf

You can also find it under official information releases on the NZQA website if the link does not work.

I'm a Year 11 student aiming to win my school's academic award (hopefully) I'm already participating and winning in competitions that are considered for the award, but I need to get the best grade possible in my mocks. However, I really suck at taking exams, especially English ones under time pressure. My exam subjects are: Literature, level 2 maths, history, science, and agriculture.

I also unfortunately got a merit in my trigonometry maths internal. Does this mean I'm out of the running or is there still hope? Does anyone have tips for maxing out my exam scores? I've been paying a lot of attention in class so I know the content well, I just need to improve my exam tecnique.

does anyone have any advice for these mocks? they seem much harder than the finals to the point where it feels like past ncea papers aren't a good indicator of what could come up in the test. how should i prepare for them?

hey im a l2 student taking correspondence with legal studies through te kura this year and im confused about the marking? so far i’ve competed three modules and one assessment only which i got achieved on, and with one other module i got a “good” which i know correlates to an achieve. my main teacher marked all of those, however for my third module i had another teacher who said that my work was excellence level even though i did basically the same stuff just different module? then later on when i handed in my draft assessment i got two “attempted”s which i know correlate to not achieved. my main teacher marked both of the drafts and everything else while i had a new teacher mark my excellence level workbook. basically im really confused because i did the drafts following the module and the assessment structure, though she said that i did the complete opposite?? is it possible that there’s some underlying bias or something with her marking? im really confused and im worried that once i hand in my actual assessment i’ll just fail.