New Zealand is an awesome place to be!
People may rag on Palmerston North alot, and I'll admit its not a place you'd have any reason to visit, but it's actually a wonderful place to live! There is far more programming available for international students here to get out and explore the country than there is at Massey's Auckland/Albany Campus as well. And because of its location, Palmy is within easy access of both Wellington and the mountains.
Speaking of which, exploring the country, especially the South Island, simply MUST be done while you are here. If you're not the outdoorsy type, though, this might not be the country for you. Outdoors activities whether its tramping/hiking, skiing, mountain biking, or more niche like jetboating, bungee jumping, skidiving, whitewater rafting, heli-hiking, etc. are HUGE here. Be forewarned though, New Zealand is EXPENSIVE, so SAVE UP before coming here, as in, several thousand dollars more than you think you'll need. Also, Auckland and Queenstown are both overrated - I'm just sayin.
As for Massey itself, its OK. I was here on a bilateral exchange program so I only pay my home university's tuition to be here which is nice, but some more programming for internationals, and especially exchange/study abroad students would be appreciated.
For accommodation though, I cannot recommend the homestay program here highly enough. You basically get all the comforts of home, including home cooked meals and included utilities, for a rate which is quite reasonable compared to the cost of dorms/halls.
What would you improve about this program?
As I said before, more programming for international and exchange students. Also more support tailored for the exchange cohort and attempts to build community within it would be nice. There is a separate exchange support office to the International Student Support centre, but its not easy to find, so functionally you end up running all your questions through the ISS office.
Massey is also still working alot of bugs out of its new student portal software. This made signing up for courses annoying and had me getting overdue fee notices when I was fully paid up.
Response from Massey University
Kia ora Yihang, it's great to hear you enjoyed your time with us at Massey University and enjoyed the academic and social aspects. We hope you treasure your memories with us!
Kind regards,
Shivani Rajan