New Zealand vs Philippines Grading System

How does the New Zealand grading system work?

New Zealand universities use a 9-point GPA scale where 4 is typically the minimum pass.

How does the Philippines grading system work?

Most Philippine universities use an inverted 1.0–5.0 scale where 1.0 is the highest grade and 3.0 is the minimum pass. Some US-affiliated institutions use a regular 4.0 GPA scale instead.

⚠️ Most Philippine universities use an INVERTED scale — 1.0 is BEST, 3.0 is minimum pass. Some use a regular 4.0 GPA. Check your transcript carefully.

Do New Zealand and the Philippines mark to the same standard?

No — and it is the difference in marking culture, not the arithmetic, that makes a direct comparison mislead. Here is how each country actually uses its own scale.

What a good grade means in New Zealand

New Zealand marking sits close to the Australian pattern: an A grade starts around 80% and A+ marks are awarded sparingly, so a B+ average is a solid degree rather than a modest one. Postgraduate entry is generally framed as a B average or better in your final-year courses, and universities describe that as an indication of readiness rather than a hard cut-off — applicants below it are commonly routed through a postgraduate certificate or diploma rather than refused outright.

What a good grade means in the Philippines

The inverted scale is the single most consequential thing on a Philippine transcript sent abroad: a 1.25 is an excellent grade and a 2.75 is a weak pass, and an admissions officer reading it the other way round will draw exactly the wrong conclusion. Latin honours — summa, magna and cum laude — are awarded against these averages and translate far more reliably than the numbers do, so lead with them where you have them.

Will a grade from New Zealand get you into the Philippines?

We do not yet hold published entry requirements for the Philippines, so we do not compare your grade against a bar we cannot cite. The conversion above still tells you how your result reads in the Philippines terms.

NZ GPA 9 (A+) → 4.0 US GPA. GPA 7 (B+) → approximately 3.3.

What goes wrong converting grades from New Zealand to the Philippines?

the Philippines runs an inverted scale where 1.0 is the BEST grade. A converted result that looks alarmingly low is usually an excellent one.

Mistakes specific to New Zealand grades

• Reading the nine-point GPA against a 4.0 scale. A New Zealand 7 is a B+, not a near-perfect result, and the difference is large.
• Assuming the whole degree counts. Postgraduate entry usually looks at your final-year or highest-level courses.
• Treating a shortfall as a refusal. A postgraduate certificate or diploma is the normal bridging route into a New Zealand master's.

What should you do next, applying from New Zealand to the Philippines?

1. Check the course, not the country. Entry requirements are set per programme and revised every cycle. We hold no published national bar for this destination, so the course page is the only figure that binds.
2. Do not read the two scales the same way round. the Philippines runs an inverted scale where a lower number is the better grade, while New Zealand runs the usual way. This is the single most common misreading on this route.
3. Check whether an evaluation is even required. Unlike the US and Canada, Philippines universities commonly assess foreign transcripts in-house. Confirm on the course page before paying for a report you may not need.
4. Get your documents moving early. Universities normally require your transcript sent directly by your institution rather than as a copy from you, which takes longer than most applicants expect.
5. Read both systems in full. How New Zealand grading works · How Philippines grading works

What do these grading terms mean?

GPA (Grade Point Average)

The US way of expressing an overall grade, on a 0–4.0 scale where 4.0 is the top — so a 4.0 is roughly what a 90–100% or a First Class would be elsewhere.

Honours degree

A bachelor's degree that includes a higher-level final year or research project — in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand it is often an extra year, and master's entry can depend on it.

Percentage scale

A 0–100 marking scale — but the numbers are not comparable across countries: 70% is an outstanding result in the UK and a modest one in India.

Transcript

The official document from your university listing every subject you took and the grade you got — not the same as your degree certificate, and universities abroad want both.

Degree classification

A named band your final result falls into — First Class, 2:1, Distinction — used across the UK, Ireland, Nigeria, India and much of the Commonwealth instead of a single number.

Credential evaluation

A paid report from an approved company that restates your foreign qualification in local terms, which many US and Canadian universities require before they will assess you.

Frequently asked questions