Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

You typically take three or maybe four courses (called papers) a semester. Each course consists of a weekly or biweekly lecture in addition to a smaller, weekly tutorial which you sometimes get to sign up for. The workload varies based on what type of course you're taking and the level of that course (as a general rule, science courses at Otago are more rigorous than liberal arts courses). There are fewer assignments throughout the semester than in a typical W&M class, and the final is worth more (generally 50% or more of your grade). Keeping that in mind, though, I found a semester at Otago less stressful than a semester at W&M.

On-site administration of your program

I was really glad I chose Arcadia. The in-country hosts (and especially Jane Gunn-Lewis for the South Island) were wonderful, and always just a phone call away. Jane had an 800 number linked to her cell phone for emergencies. She lived 5 hours away but made time to check in on us often and come visit as well. Both of the hosts were native New Zealanders so they were extremely knowledgeable. The program was great; we got a wonderful orientation as well as a really awesome adventure weekend, and a fancy dinner at the end. I had friends who did other programs to NZ and Arcadia seemed like the best one!

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in a small house owned by the university with two Kiwi hosts and two Americans. It was right next to campus and an easy walk to downtown, as well, so I couldn't have asked for a better location. I did have some problems with a flatmate who refused to clean up, but that's not much different than roommate problems you might find at home. The neighborhood was safe and full of uni students. The flat already had cookware, and I got lucky because someone had left sheets and a bunch of stuff in my room. The flat didn't have central heating (just a heater in the common room) and it was midwinter, so that was a bit difficult to adjust to. Some of my friends got electric blankets. There was a space heater in my room, but I didn't actually use it. The electric bill was prepaid and sometimes it would run out at inconvenient times; that was mostly a communication issue. Overall, the location was good but the dirty conditions were not great.

A wide variety of food is easily available at the numerous supermarkets. There are also a lot of good, and many reasonably-priced, restaurants. Vegetarian options are fairly easy to find, but veganism is rare and not well understood by locals, so can be difficult (though, note, there is a vegan restaurant in Dunedin called Circadian Rhythm). I shopped at New World, and my favorite restaurants were Velvet Burger and Anarkali. The Nite-N-Day stores (called the 24) were great for being open 24 hours.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Dunedin is a really fun city. Partying is big. Also, my program took us on a great Queenstown adventure weekend, where we went jetboating, hiking, bungee jumping (optionally), and more. I recommend traveling within the country as much as you can.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never really felt unsafe when I was there at all. Of course you want to be cautious, but even being out really late at night alone in Dunedin was alright. You should get an 18+ card instead of carrying around your passport to go to bars and clubs. The healthcare was free through the program (I had a bad cold-like thing and went into the student health clinic). You can find similar medication there, though sometimes it's under a different generic name (check online - for instance, Tylenol/acetaminophen here is paracetamol there). No specific vaccines; no major health issues.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I learned Kiwi slang with natives, but of course they speak English so not much opportunity for language learning. I did, however, take a short Maori language course and learned a tiny bit of that.

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• Apartment

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• Local Students
• Americans