Program Reviews

Not many places can top New Zealand's views and environment and I'm happy to be spending the semester in a place as diverse as Auckland. The student body makes it easy to meet students from different parts of the world with varying interests. I've enjoyed meeting others through clubs and sharing my own background as well. Though courses keep me busy I have definitely found some great friends in the clubs I have joined during my time at University of Auckland.

Loved the experience at the university. There is a great social scene, the location of the university is perfect, and everyone is very nice. Classes were great and offered me a new opportunity to grow as a student. Also enjoyed the ability to travel around and explore the country on weekends and holidays. Getting to meet so many amazing people and see some incredible places have made this such an epic experience.

Studying in Auckland has been wonderful! It took some time to make the city feel like home, but I love it now. And I may be biased because I don't like cities anyway, but I needed to go to the University of Auckland for certain classes I wanted to take. But I'm happy to say this is a GREAT university. I feel safe, I love the campus, and it's easy to feel removed from the city if that's what you want. There's lots of parks in the city and especially near the campus. Albert Park is beautiful! If you love big towering palm trees go here!!! I love seeing the lit up sky tower at night too. There's lots of ways to spend the day in Auckland, like taking a ferry to a nearby island, climbing Mt. Eden, free museum entries, biking to Mission Bay Beach... I think there is something for everyone! The downside is that the night life is just OK (most clubs have a cover charge), and this city is pretty expensive in general (groceries!!)

I love my classes at the uni of auckland! Amazing how it's such a big university with so many students but I still feel like my lecturers care about my academic growth.

Traveling around New Zealand has been AWESOME. Definitely go to the south island if you are studying in the north island! And vice versa. See as much as you can. New Zealand is beautiful.
I haven't traveled to Australia or Fiji since being here but a lot of people have so that's easy if you want to do that.

There are so many clubs to join when you arrive at University. I would suggest that every student join as many clubs as their interested in as it can be difficult to gage who is the most active, especially if you come by yourself like I did. I recently got my scuba license and went on a trip with the Auckland Underwater Club. It was a blast. I had so much fun. I saw so many fish and other underwater creatures. I would highly recommend everybody get their license.

Studying at the University of Auckland has been a pretty great experience, particularly because of it's great location for travel. Classes are just challenging enough compared to my home institution that it gives me a bit of break from school and stress and allows me to learn how to be independent and do things for myself like cook and travel. I enjoy how accessible all different types of activities are from the University, from different clubs, to night life, to traveling to other parts of New Zealand.

I am a exchange student from Sen Yat-sen University in China. Since I am the only one student getting the opportunity to be exchanged in New Zealand, I was very nervous and anxious at first. But it turns out that my worry were totally redundant.
In terms of study load, I feel quite easy to catch up with my papers since I only enrolled in three papers, which means I can have much spare time to experience the life living and travelling here. The life is cozy and comfortable with the companion of new friends as well as the beautiful scenery.

I have met so many interesting people here at the University of Auckland. My flat is very diverse and so is the student village. There are always people keen to hike or enjoy the outdoors on weekends here. Over the break, I was able to travel to New Zealand's South Island to explore many of the hikes. One of the photos I shared is of Mt Cook. Here I am wearing my home University's department of Environmental Science shirt and looking at Mt Cook. This shows the broad range of my education this university has given me.

It has been more than 6 months since I came here.
I literally have had amazing time staying in Auckland.
Compared to Japan, there is nothing and sometimes I feel inconvenient.
However, Auckland has a lot of greens, which makes me always feel relaxing.
I also have met great people and made fabulous memories with them.
Heaps of things have happened only in 6 months and I really feel how fast time flied.
Auckland, New Zealand is the place where people can both work hard on something and relax.
Since I came from Tokyo, where everything moves busily, I am able to stay comfortably in here.
I strongly recommend to choose New Zealand as a place to visit, stay and study.
I love to be in Auckland so much.

Arriving in New Zealand was one of the most terrifying and coolest mix of emotions I have ever experienced. It is the farthest I have ever been from home and I feel like I fit in better here than I have anywhere else I have been. I have made friends from across the globe ranging from Norway to South Africa. Studying at the University of Auckland has open my eyes to Pacific islander rights, different environmental issues and how New Zealand deals with them, and culturally different ways of how people interact. It has been incredible and I have grown as a person more than I think I ever have in my life.

Everyone is so nice and kind here, especially to strangers! I'm from the southern USA, and at least the way I was raised, you are polite to others (I have actually shocked a fellow student when a server was trying to get his attention, and since I didn't know him and wasn't in the mood to call him "Dude" I got his attention with "sir" as I was taught to as a child, which made him look at me with wide eyes (not the bad kind)). Here in New Zealand it's like everyone has been given "nice-and-kind" shots. I am an antisocial introvert with social anxiety, so asking people questions that I think are stupid really takes a lot out of me, especially things that are known generally by people here. However, when I work up the courage to ask my questions, the people are really understanding and make it seem like it wasn't as stupid as it sounded to me in my head to ask about. It has actually boosted my courage, and has me doing things and going outside of my normal comfort zone. I always wanted to try skiing, and was able to do that, even though I didn't get more than one day on the slopes due to weather, but the second day I tried (the sound of steel on icy snow might just stick with me) and when I went to cancel my lesson that I signed up for the instructors I talked with were very understanding and gentle with me (I might have been on the verge of tears due to having gotten stuck at the top of a slope with no apparent way down without falling), making jokes and trying to get me to cheer up and have a good experience instead of a bad one. Also when I was stuck some students who were there on a school trip for snowboarding gave me advice on how to get down the slope since I was visibly terrified, and when I mentioned that I was scared of falling again since I did it three times the day before they said at least it was only three and not like 30 times so I should be proud of myself.
There are more instances like these, where people are willing to help and be kind to someone, and that has made my trip so far very enjoyable and will continue making my trip enjoyable and a trip I will never forget.