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New Zealand: I Will Return Again
Australearn: Wellington - Victoria University of Wellington
Program Information
Victoria University of Wellington is located in Wellington, New Zealand’s vibrant and cosmopolitan capital city. Victoria offers students the opportunity to live and study in New Zealand’s cultural, political, and intellectual capital.
Victoria has a strong research focus and was established in 1899 making... More
| Provider: | GlobaLinks Learning Abroad |
| Location(s): | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Year Founded: | 1989 |
| Website | Take me there! |
Review By:
Ian F. (Geography, Western Washington University) on January 19, 2012
Overall Rating
Personal Information
| * Start Date: | 2011-07-04 |
| * End Date: | 2011-11-28 |
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Victoria University of Wellington |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The grading system in New Zealand is bassed on an average of 50%, so an A is anywhere from 100% to 85%, B is 85% to 75%, and so on. Instructors also grade more rigorously than those in the US, so it took a little time to get used to getting lower percent grades on assignments but still having about the same letter grade as usual. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The programme at the beginning was wonderful, but they just kind of left us alone once we were in the University setting, whereas a few other programmes had weekly adventures. There are pros and cons to both styles though. |
| * Housing: |
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| * Food: |
Vegetarian and gluton free options. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
My programme didn't arrange any trips after the initial orientation, but I did travel all over the North Island with friends, and did sections of the South Island with my family. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Wellington was an extremely safe city and the hospital and healthcare system were great as well. I never felt unsafe walking around at any time of day in Wellington. |
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* Home Institution Advising:
How well did Western Washington University prepare and support you for your time abroad? |
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Finances
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* 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) |
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Language
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same program? | Yes |
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | This programme was pretty good, they took care of most of the paperwork and their website was easy to use. I would recommend this programme to more outgoing, independent students who are fairly good at meeting people. |
| * What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile? | Yes, very much so! I lived in France for 7 month in high school, but this was completely different. I would love to live and work outside the USA now, and hope to potentially study (maybe even go to grad school) aboard again. |
Comments
Thanks, Ian, for your feedback! We'll be sure to take this into consideration for future students. We're so glad you LOVED Australia!
Anonymous April 19, 2012