Absolutely incredible! Past Review
By A student (Stetson University) - abroad from 02/14/2018 to 06/10/2018 with
The Education Abroad Network (TEAN): Wellington - Victoria University of Wellington
I gained insight into Maori culture, a love of the outdoors, and valuable academic learning experiences. The program was absolutely worthwhile and I will be looking into any and all post-college opportunities they offer.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
My overall educational experience at VUW was really amazing - the teachers were all incredibly accomplished and easily accessible and the classes themselves were interesting. Resources were also readily available and both the TEAN staff and VUW staff made sure the students were aware of them. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administrations of both VUW and TEAN were absolutely amazing. Everyone with whom I spoke was kind, knowledgable, and very willing to help. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My living arrangements were very nice! I stayed in Everton Hall (very close to campus) in a flat with four roommates, all of whom were nice and easy to live with. The staff of Everton Hall were all incredibly sweet and made me feel very welcome. |
| * Food: |
Any food that I had was absolutely incredible. I did not have a dining plan, but I ate on campus at the cafes quite a bit and anything I had was great. The food provided by TEAN when we had our orientation in Queenstown and then later on excursions in Wellington was always completely delicious. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Both TEAN and VUW provided experiences to interact with the local culture. For example, during TEAN's orientation in Queenstown, the staff there had made arrangements for a professor from the University of Otago to come and teach us all about Maori culture. VUW offered many different events also related to Maori culture and discussion about it. Wellington itself is also a diverse and culturally rich city, with tons of different museums and cultural immersion opportunities. I felt very strongly that both TEAN and VUW encouraged participating in those opportunities, and I spent most of my off days doing so. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
The healthcare at VUW was both incredibly easily-accessible and free, due to the insurance provided by TEAN. |
| * Safety: |
I felt incredibly safe in Wellington at any hour of the day. I would recommend to future students that they be cautious and aware of their surroundings (as they would in any city) but I never had any issues. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I absolutely loved everything about the program and the city. I have no regrets about choosing TEAN, VUW, or Wellington. |
Finances
|
* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
I found it incredibly easy to live within budget. Wellington has many different farmers' markets (all of which sell cheap produce) and there are several different grocery stores to choose from to find specials on anything else you might need. And, finally, the exchange rate from US to NZ dollars really works out in favor of being from the states. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 150USD (I took external voice lessons and paid for a muay thai gym membership, however. Without those, I spent about $60/week). |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Go to the farmers' markets! They are absolute life savers and they have completely delicious produce. Also, make sure you budget enough money for food - Wellington has many different and completely amazing restaurants and food trucks, and you'll probably spend more than you anticipated. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
|
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
I did not take a language through TEAN, but I took French through VUW. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 200-level |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Take advantage of any and all opportunities to speak the language. Often, there is little natural opportunity to speak a foreign language, so you have to make time: form a study group, go in and talk to the professor during office hours, go to foreign films and events, and anything else you can think of. |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | TEAN did a fantastic job of preparing me for the specific program, so I really had all the information I needed. The only thing is that I wish I had known how amazing the food was going to be in Wellington, because I would have budgeted more money per week to eating out. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
