New Zealand: Do it! but without a study abroad program Past Review
By Chloe W (ENVS, Lewis & Clark College) for
The Education Abroad Network (TEAN): Auckland - University of Auckland
It was absolutely worthwhile! The only thing I would change is going with the Education Abroad Network. I should have applied directly to the university, or, at the least, gone with a program that was honest about their rates (the Education Abroad Network raised their rates DURING the application process, after I had put in a deposit, and they guaranteed me a scholarship that I did not receive...).
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The academics were kind of a joke, but I took intro-level classes since University of Auckland is a bit iffy on accepting prerequisites taken from other universities. The class sizes were really large and although I had some great professors, most classes were pretty disengaging. I did take the Kapa Haka class, which I would highly recommend for international students! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program advertised itself as being very hands-on in terms of providing us with opportunities for travel. None of these opportunities, though, are included in the program fee. They gave us a presentation on the higher education system, warning us that the academics would be far more difficult than we'd been used to, which was not true at all (not just in my own experience, but for my peers as well). The supervisors were really, really nice, but sort of unnecessary. If you want to go abroad to New Zealand, I would highly recommend going, but not with a program. The program adds a lot of cost and doesn't really give you anything you can't do yourself with a little extra effort. The students who applied directly to the university got pretty much the exact same benefits as I did but at a MUCH lower cost! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
We weren't on a meal plan. New Zealand food is great though! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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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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 do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I had a great time in New Zealand--I met really wonderful friends, had incredible travel opportunities, and was happy about every single day. Absolutely loved it and would do it again in one second. |
Comments
Chloe was notified just after writing her review that our records indicated that she did receive a scholarship from TEAN, which was deducted from her overall program fee. There was a larger than normal program fee increase between the Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 based on major foreign currency exchange changes. We publish our Spring fees within the same time lines as other programs and we always try to provide the most accurate information we can, but foreign currency is out of our control and can be volatile. We also fully respect that some students may think back and wish they had not used a program provider after a program has concluded and they have much more knowledge then when they first started the process. However we just wanted to clear up the scholarship and fees related comments in this review.
deleted-1525099657EducationAbroad January 20, 2012
