University of Auckland Top Achiever Scholarships

Awarded to exceptional students, who have excellent academic achievement and demonstrated leadership potential.

Value

Accommodation benefits

Am I eligible?

You are eligible to apply if you are:

  • a New Zealand Citizen or Permanent Resident
  • currently enrolled in your final year at a New Zealand secondary school or kura
  • intending to enrol full-time in a degree at Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland in 2024 (or taking a gap year in 2024 and planning to enrol in a degree in 2025)*

*Māori students and Pacific students intending to enrol in a Certificate in Health Sciences, followed by a degree at Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland can also be considered for this Scholarship.

Applying for a scholarship

In the application form you will  will be asked to tell us about you and your recent education and extracurricular activities. This will include:

  • Whether you have participated in Māori performing arts
  • Whether you competed in the finals of academic, sporting or arts competitions
  • Whether you held senior leadership positions at school
  • If you have been awarded a community-based honour or attended leadership training or personal development programmes

Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland acknowledges that some talented students may face significant barriers to tertiary education and takes into account if you:

  • are the first in your family to attend university
  • are from a refugee background
  • have a disability
  • have care responsibilities for whānau
  • if you live, or attend school or kura, in a rural area
  • if you have demonstrated financial need

You can find more information in the regulations, or on the Am I eligible? page.

Remember to save your application as you go, and once all sections are 100% completed you can submit your application.

Applications for 2024 are now closed.

If you completed all your sections of the application by 23 August but your endorser is yet to complete their section(s), don’t worry! Endorsers get one extra week after the closing date to endorse your application. Once they do this, we will submit your application for you.

Accepting a scholarship offer

  • All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application in early October.
  • You will be given a date to accept an offer by. This is to allow for certificates to be prepared for school prize-givings.
  • If you are weighing up offers from more than one university, let us know your decision as soon as you can. You can always accept the offer and then let us know if you have changed your mind later.
  • If you decide to turn down a scholarship offer, your scholarship will be re-offered to another applicant.

Being paid a scholarship

To be paid your scholarship you will need to

  • achieve admission to Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland with an NCEA rank score of at least 270, a CIE rank score of at least 330 or an IB score of at least 36*
  • enrol full-time in an undergraduate degree or Certificate in Health Sciences
  • live in a University hall of residence (unless you hold an approved exemption)
  • enter your bank account details into Student Services Online

*If you are directed to enrol in a Tertiary Foundation Certificate (TFC) or a Certificate in Health Sciences prior to enrolling in an undergraduate degree, the Scholarships Office will discuss your scholarship with you.

You can start your enrolment in Semester One or Two. If you are planning to start in Semester Two we recommend you seek enrolment advice as you may not be able to start all programmes in Semester Two.

Living in a hall of residence

Your accommodation payments will be made directly from the Scholarships Office to your hall of residence, and includes the deposit. Additional costs such as extra activities (hall ball, floor/hall outings), incidentals (damage, lockouts, key replacement) or parking is not covered by the scholarship.

Please note, we do not recommend moving into accommodation unless you intend to enrol full-time at the University of Auckland otherwise you will be required to cover the costs of accommodation.

What can I spend the lump sum instalments on?

  • In addition to your accommodation being covered, you will be paid $2,500 in Semester One and $2,500 in Semester Two, after enrolment has closed each semester
  • You can only use these payments to cover study related costs such as books for study, additional hall of residence costs not already covered by the scholarship, travel to and from university etc. You can also save the payments and use them to pay tuition fees in your second year of study.
  • If you use the scholarship payments for items not directly related to your study, you might breach the terms of your tax-free scholarship. This could result in your scholarship being cancelled, and you might need to repay the scholarship.

Keeping your scholarship

To remain in accommodation and receive your Semester Two instalment you must

  • acheive a grade point average (GPA) of at least 6.00 in your Semester One courses
  • enrol full-time in Semester Two

You are also required to enrol in at least four consecutive semesters of study  at Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland. If you withdraw from study you will normally be required to pay back your scholarship.