Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Ready to go home but excited to come back August 01, 2024

By (Environmental Chemistry, Middlebury College) - abroad from 02/26/2024 to 06/20/2024 with

University of Otago, New Zealand: Study Abroad Programme

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I loved learning and experiencing Māori culture, hiking a ton with friends, and exploring the area. It was worthwhile.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Courses were relatively easy and not super engaging.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I liked my flatmates, and the UniFlats office was somewhat helpful. The UniFlats generally were in rough shape though.

* Food:

Very expensive, but nice to make your own food and not have a dining hall!

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Student insurance had very good coverage. However, my experience with doctors was that they were not very thorough. I had a persistant staph infection from late April until July. I saw 3 student health doctors and they put me on 3 rounds of the same antibiotics. They never tested me for staph. When I got home, I went to the doctor, who tested me and found out I had a antibiotic resistant form of staph, that could have escalated to MRSA if I had not gotten treatment sooner!

* Safety:

Generally felt safe walking around but was nice to have a friend at night.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

I had a great experience and would love to come back to NZ someday.

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)

Food and gas are very expensive but the exchange rate was good.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? ~$70USD on food, ~$50USD on gas, although was traveling a lot, ~$20 other
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Shop at Countdown, and buy the cheapest produce at the farmers market. Travel with friends to lower gas costs if driving!

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Direct Enrollment/Exchange

* Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? Direct Enrollment

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
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?
  • Hiking a lot!
  • Māori classes
  • Volunteering at random places with a friend
* What could be improved?
  • Hard to meet kiwis (locals)
  • Some classes uninspiring/not challenging
  • UniFlats sometimes unresponsive to issues in flat
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? You don’t have to be best friends with your flatmates, but you also can be! Meet as many people as you can.

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 Avid Adventurer
The wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

HIST245: Global Migrations
Course Department: History
Instructor: Angela McCarthy
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Minimal critical thinking was required, most information was just regurgitated. 3 papers made up our grade, one of which was just summarizing a paper my professor had written.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

MAOR108: Waiata
Course Department: Māori
Instructor: Karen
Instruction Language: English/Te Reo Māori
Comments: Challenging performance class with super interesting lectures about Māori culture, stories, performances. Amazing professor and tutors, and great final performance!
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

MAOR110: Conversational Māori
Course Department: Māori
Instructor: Craig/Taipa
Instruction Language: English/Māori
Comments: Intro language course for Te Reo Māori. Included conversations about Māori culture and history, as well as basic pronunciation, vocabulary, and sentence structure.
Credit Transfer Issues: