Studying abroad in New Zealand was mind blowing, Go for it! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The school system was set up a lot different but was fairly easy to adjust to. At the University of Otago they had a lot less class time and more out side work such as reading and outside research. Most of the classes that i had labs as well. The biggest difference i noticed was the grading and the weight of exams. 50% and up was a C, but this did not mean it was easy to get a C. They were very difficult when it came to grading every paper or essay exam you took you started at 0 and were awarded points. Your lab attendance and assignments were 25-45% of your grade and the rest of your grade was left up to an 3 hour exam at the end of the semester. Overall was not to bad adjusting but the last exam was more brutal than i was used to.

On-site administration of your program

Was very easy to get access to support services and every one was very helpful. My expectations were met and every one was very helpful.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Where i was set up was amazing. An apartment building in Dunedin with international students and every appt had a Kiwi host. It was awesome living with people from all over the world. Dunedin is an awesome college down, could study at the library as much as you needed then enjoy the very entertaining night life of dunedin, no weekend was a dull one. All of the student housing is a quick walk to class and the campus is beautiful. Did need to get sheets but you can get a sheet package there and that is what i would suggest, you can order that at the Otago housing office and it will be waiting for you when you arrive. Thats what i did and it worked very well. Just about everything was supplied for the kitchen and rest of the house.

Food was very good i thought, just had to be careful not to eat out much because that got expensive. In dunedin there are many grocery stores all within a quick walk of housing so getting groceries was not a problem. You do have to be a little careful with buying meats and cheeses because those were fairly pricey in New Zealand but the easiest way to get around that is go to the farmers markets on saturday and get those things for a much better price. There were farmers markets all over the place, they were not hard to find. One big difference is the food there do not have as much preservatives in them so the food does not last very long so i was shopping weakly. Between being smart about what i bought at the supermarket, splitting and making dinners with roommates, and going to the farmers market you could keep your cost down and eat very well.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Australearn really did a great job of showing us some amazing stuff. Between cave exploring, visiting and getting to know Maori culture and jet boating down crazy rivers was unbelievable. They really did a good job of adjusting you to the new culture and took very good care of you. The staff was very fun and did all they could to help you out. The first trips they took me on got me thinking about the trips i would take when i got to Dunedin and the trips to Mt Cook Milford sound are trips i will never forget for the rest of my life.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I felt very safe while i was in New Zealand. Not once did i ever feel like i was endanger. The people were extremely nice and tried to help you as much as they could. I got lost my first weekend in Dunedin and felt perfectly safe asking any one where to go. I felt overall very safe with Australearn as well. Within the first week of arriving i felt very sick and had some weird symptoms happening to me and the Australearn crew did not mess around at all, they had me to a hospital right away and stayed with me in the hospital until 2:30am and were very supportive. If it was up to me i was just going to try and ride it out and not go the hospital but they made me and i am very grateful that they did.

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

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• Apartment

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• International Students