There are five categories of achievement:

• Premier Award: 5-10 students awarded $10,000 per year for three years
• Outstanding Scholar Award: the next 40-60 candidates are awarded $5,000 per year for three years
• Scholarship Award: recipients receive $2,000 per year for three years
• Top Subject Scholar Award: $2,000 per year for three years
• Single Subject Award: one-off award of $500 (maximum of $1,000)

Each category has it’s own requirements and students are only eligible to be in one category (the one exception is that you can win the Top Subject Scholar Award and a Single Subject Award in a different subject).

Even if you only considering taking scholarship exams, I highly encourage you to spend some time on the NZQA website. Check out the past premier award winners and their achievements, the standard required to receive a scholarship, the percentage of scholarships awarded and more.

Here is the link to more comprehensive information about different scholarship awards and their associated prize money: http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/about-us/our-role/legislation/nzqa-rules/assessment-including-examination-rules-2016/7/3/2/