IF YOU’RE A FIRST TIME TERTIARY STUDENT, YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR A FEES FREE EDUCATION. SEE THE STEPS BELOW TO FIND OUT HOW TO CLAIM YOURS!
Is this year your first year at tertiary education? Well you may be in luck cause you might be able to get your first year for free!
1. First, we need to find out if you’re eligible or not.
Visit https://www.feesfree.govt.nz and enter your NSN (national student number, same as your NCEA login). Don’t worry if you don’t know yours, just click Don’t know your NSN or don’t have one? and you can find out how to get yours. If you went through the CIE or IB pathway in high school, you probably won’t have a NSN number, you can skip to Step 4.
2. Choose your study plan.
This part is quite self-explanatory.
Choose Provider-based study if you’re going to a university or a polytechnic (e.g. UoA, AUT, Media Design School, Unitec, etc).
Choose Industry-based training if you’re going to do work-based training or an apprenticeship (e.g. electrician, plumber, builder, etc).
3. See your eligibility!
4. Enroll with your education provider.
This step will vary depending on the provider of your choice. Every provider at some stage will ask you how you plan on paying for your education.
Note: Fees Free Study =/= Student Loan. You don’t need to apply for a loan with StudyLink.
Here’s an example for enrolling with the University of Auckland. Just select Eligible for Fees Free Study. In some providers, you might not get that option so just select the option which says Student Loan or StudyLink or something similar (even though you don’t need a student loan).
*Screenshot from the University of Auckland, Student Services Online Enrolment Cart. *
Screenshot from the Media Design School Apply website. You can find out your IRD number from Inland Revenue. If you know your login details there, you can usually find it on your online banking website.*
5. That’s it!
Sit back and relax cause you’ve just got your first year free! Your provider will get in touch with the Government and they’ll sort everything out for you. If you need more info, visit the FAQ at https://www.feesfree.govt.nz/faqs/.
Since you’re gonna be at uni this year, check out the Niesh app where you can get free exclusive student discounts at places like Better Burger, Gongcha, Habitual Fix, and more! Get it here!
