I will ALWAYS miss my days in New Zealand Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Teaching was much different than in the US. We had less opportunity to help our grade and there were fewer graded papers/tests to do. And you were much more on your own, with little help from professors or teachers. The writing style was also much different and the professors had NO sympathy for you being from oversees. The grading scale was much lower, an "A" was from 85-100%, and an "E" started around 50%. The workload was great but I would highly recommend against any foreign economics classes. It is a foreign economy with MUCH different rules the America's, and it is a lot harder to learn about the history of the economy. However, the foreign culture classes gave me so much insight into the current state of the culture and why things are the way they are.

On-site administration of your program

My program took care of everything. And any question I had, I was emailed back incredibly fast with either an answer or telling me that they were taking care of it. Whether it be payment issues, trip and excursion questions, internet issues, or even just to see what I was doing, they did everything.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Many of my friends and I credit our housing to the reason why we had such a great and life changing experience. The people we met in the housing have become my best friends. The lead staff member in our housing, Caron at Stafford, was more than helpful. She hand picks each room after reviewing all applications and was there to help me with whatever I needed, even holding stuff for me as I left until I sold it. The housing was very clean, however we did need to buy our own bedding and some cookware. The location of my housing was terrific also. It was close to the waterfront, close to the bars and downtown, and close to campus. All in all, I definitely would mark the housing I was in as a great part of my experience.

We cooked our own food but when we ate out it was delicious.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

My orientation program was amazing and a well rounded cultural introduction to the country. My mid-semester excursion was also a once in a lifetime experience to which me and two friends used the trip as a jump start to another week of a trip. I could go on forever on these trips and how much fun I had, but the stories would be too long. I will say that I will remember the trips, experiences, and people from the trips forever.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

With the exception of a couple teenage punks that tried to start trouble downtown every once in a while, we felt very safe. My program also pointed out the medical care given through the university. The healthcare in New Zealand was free and I was able to take advantage of it. I also needed dental work when I had a tooth knocked out and all of that went very smoothly.

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

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• Dorm

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• Americans
• International Students
• Local Students