Your Education High School Exchanges Brochure YOUR EDUCATION BROCHURE 2018 | Page 13

GOING ON A HIGH SCHOOL EXCHANGE
AND MANAGING NCEA
Are you considering going on a semester or full year high school 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 stories and feedback from past Your Education students about how they went on a semester or
full year high school exchange and successfully managed their NCEA credits.
“I completed my exchange from August 2015 - January 2016 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 in 2016 as a fully eligible
Year12student.ThiswasbecauseIacquiredtheLiteracyandNumeracycreditsnecessarytobeginYear12.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.
"My American exchange was for my second year of NCEA, level 2 in 2016. 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 in 2017. 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 a Full Year programme during her Year 12.
JOIN OUR RETURNEE CLUB
Going on an exchange will change your life like no other experience can. Our
Returnee Club provides a fantastic opportunity for you to share your amazing
experience and inspire other students to embark on their own exchange
adventure. Here at Your Education we understand that hearing about your
overseas adventure is invaluable for our future exchange students and
therefore we have a great reward system to thank you for helping us spread
the word. Right now, if you are thinking about going on an exchange, you will
know that speaking to another student who has already been can give you
an incredible insight into what you can expect. Without our current returnees
being part of this club we could not offer you such great, first-hand
knowledge. So, don’t forget how these returnees inspired you and when you
return we’d love to have you join us in spreading the word to others on just
how life changing a High School Exchange really is.
@youreducationabroad
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