Vice-Chancellor's Scholarship

This Scholarship is awarded based on your results at Level 2 or higher in the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) or an equivalent qualification. Consideration will be given to candidates with rank scores equivalent to a University of Auckland entry grade point equivalent (GPE) of 7.00 or above achieved as at the time of scholarship application, external credits and credit weighting, and results in specific subject.

• Applicants enrolled in NCEA are assessed based on their total amount of Level 2 and 3 external credits gained at Year 12, weighted by Excellence, Merit and Achieved status.
• Applicants enrolled in CIE are assessed by the total AS/A2 level grades gained at Year 12, and any NZQA Scholarship results achieved at Year 12.
•  Applicants enrolled in IB are assessed on the total number of SL and HL course grades achieved or predicted, and any NZQA Scholarship results achieved at Year 12.

• If you are awarded a scholarship, you will be given a date to accept your offer by. This is to allow for certificates to be prepared for school prize-givings.
• All offers are conditional on awardees meeting the requirements to take up and be paid the Scholarship following entry to the University.
  
• Applicants offered a scholarship will be sent a link to an online acceptance form and a date to accept the scholarship by.
• You will be asked to indicate which semester you intend to begin your studies i.e. Semester One or Two 2026.
  
• By accepting the Scholarship, you are confirming you understand and accept the entry requirements and conditions of the Scholarship outlined in the regulations.
  
• 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.
  

Accommodation offer

Accommodation offers will be made within the Accommodation Portal and will confirm the Hall of Residence you have been offered.

To accept the offer:

• Log into the Accommodation Portal.
• Click onto the offer link displayed on your homepage.
• Click on Save and Continue and you will be taken to your Residential Agreement.
  
• Review the Residential Agreement, and tick both boxes as the bottom of the agreement, to indicate you have read and understood all the terms and conditions of the agreement. Click Accept and Continue.
• If you are currently under the age of 18, you will need a parent or guardian to first co-accept the Residential Agreement before you will be able to do the same.
  
• You will not be required to pay a deposit and administration fee as these will be covered by your Scholarship.
  
• A copy of the Residential Agreement will be sent to your email address.

What happens if I don't respond to the scholarship offer in time?

If you don't accept your offer or make contact with the Scholarships Office, your offer will be forfeited and the Scholarship may be reallocated. There are no extensions to the acceptance deadline, please make sure you accept or decline your offer by the due date.

I have applied to places/universities overseas and I haven't heard back yet - can I get an extension of the acceptance date?

There are no extensions to the acceptance/decline date. Please respond to your offer from us as soon as you can – and before the closing date. If you receive an international offer at a later date and do not intend to start with us, please let us know as soon as possible.

If I later decide to not take up the Scholarship, am I still required to stay in accommodation?

No, if you later decline your scholarship offer, you will not be required to stay in accommodation. You must also withdraw from your accommodation contract.

I've been offered a scholarship but don't want to stay in accommodation - what do I do?

A place in catered accommodation is a key part of many of our scholarship offers. We can consider waiving the requirement to stay in accommodation under certain medical conditions. If you think this applies to you please let us know.

Being paid your scholarship

To be paid your scholarship you will need to

• achieve admission to Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland with a an entry GPE of at least 7.00
• enrol full-time in an undergraduate degree¹ 
• live in a University hall of residence (unless you hold an approved exemption)
• enter your bank account details into the Personal Bank Account section in Student Services Online. You will need to be enrolled in your first semester courses to be able to access this. To avoid any delays in your payment, make sure this is done before the start of your first semester of study. This must be a New Zealand bank account.
  

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 before the start of Semester One as you may not be able to start all programmes in Semester Two.

¹ For the purposes of this Scholarship, full-time study is considered as enrolling in at least 100 points over two semesters in one year (Semesters One and Two). Any study undertaken as part of a Summer Start programme will not be counted towards the first 100 points of undergraduate study. Read more on how many courses to enrol in.

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.

When do I get paid the $10,000 part of my scholarship?

• In addition to your accommodation being covered,  the $10,000 component will be paid in instalments each year as shown in the table above. Payments are usually made in the fourth week of semester, after enrolment has closed.  

What can I spend the lump sum instalments on?

• You can only use these payments to cover study related costs such as tuition fees, books for study, additional hall of residence costs not already covered by the scholarship, travel to and from university etc.
  
• 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.

What happens if I don't meet the scholarship entry requirements, will I lose the scholarship?

When your Year 13 results become available in January, the Scholarships Office will check to make sure you have met the requirements for eligibility to take up the Scholarship.

Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland entry-level scholarships are designed to provide support to exceptional students during their studies towards an undergraduate degree at this University. We intend to award our scholarships to students who are committed to studying with us.

The University reserves the right to seek repayment of funds made under this Scholarship from students who:

• withdraw from enrolment after payments have been made, or 
• transfer to at another tertiary institution without completing at least four consecutive semesters of study at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.

What do I need to do to keep my scholarship for the second semester?

To remain in accommodation for your second semester of study and to receive the lump sum instalments of your scholarship you must

• achieve a grade point average (GPA) of at least 7.00 in each semester
• enrol full-time each semester