Program Reviews

My time in NZ was amazing. You need to remember that whatever program or place you go to that your experience is your experience alone. This sounds like a generic statement, but I felt myself straying from this idea when I first arrived in NZ. One of my best friends had done the same program in the same location (Auckland) a year previously and i realized i was subconsciously holding myself to all these standards, thinking I had to have as good of a time as she did...somehow this was translating into the idea that i had to have the same experience as her and therefore do things the way she did. There was only one problem that I seemed to keep running into with this plan...I wasn't her. I kept felt like I was failing in following her exact footsteps. Luckily it only took me a couple weeks to realize how flawed my expectations were....I finally realized- wait, you aren't her. You don't do things the way she does.... You see...back at our school at home, she's an athlete, runs with a big crew, is a social butterfly and finds comfort and safety in that big group- even if she doesn't know all of them that well. That's what she did in NZ too to some extent, so I heard (from her). But that's not how I do things at all...I usually have singular friends, and i get to know them really well and get really close with them. I feel like I have somewhere around 8 best friends. Most of my friends qualify as best friends...I don't have acquaintances as much. I share my time among them... Sometimes they end up being friends with each other, but i prefer being in small groups or even paired off with a different people each day..bouncing around between friends and getting different experiences from each of them. My friend operates very differently. So why should i expect myself to be like her here? The truth was that I thought that her way of doing things was going to be the only equation for success in NZ, when her equation didn't even fit into my kind of calculator. I threw these non-applicable standards out the window upon reminding myself that I'm my own person and would do things the way i do things, and that it would work out for me because I'm me. Boom. Try to make these kind of big ideas clear in your mind righ rafter you get there. The transition will be hard- moving in somewhere, not knowing where you are, navigating a foreign city, feeling alone, etc. But you will get through it all, I promise. Things won't seem so foreign and you will begin to adjust and feel more like yourself in this seemingly strange new place. If I, The Queen of Dysfunctional Transitions, did it (and succeeded nonetheless) you can too.

This kind of existential pondering aside, it was important for me to make friends with people outside of my culture. It wasn't that i didn't want to be friends with any Americans, but i needed to remember that i was in this melting pot of cultures- NZ brings all kinds of people from all different places to its beautiful shores and I needed to make use of that. I now have friends in Germany, Norway, Sweden, South Africa, France, New Zealand and more. It's so interesting to learn from different cultures and find your similarities and differences and feel united with someone so different from you, only to find out what similarities bring you together.

See as much as you can, but know that even if you can't see it all, what you DO see will be enough, if not more than you expected originally. I did an 11 day trip in the south island by camper van. Some people do 3 months in the South Island...I knew i wouldn't be able to see it all in 11 days, but what i did see was amazing, and something to be grateful for. Everything you miss will probably be amazing, but just as equally as amazing as the things you DO see. Be grateful, it's all good.

Be patient with yourself as well- it's okay to have relaxed lazy days in bed with netflix- even if you ARE in NZ. Sometimes i felt the pressure to always be doing something when I was there- some adventurous activity, or going somewhere new...but the truth is, you would burn yourself out if you met that expectation every day. You're still human, even if you are in NZ. You need to chill sometimes and reset, especially if you plan on soaking in and fully experiencing the places and things you do end up seeing. The best part of my trip was befriending a kiwi who could show me around. It's fun to explore with other foreigners who are fresh off the plane just like you, but having a native show you around to secret spots and immerse you in things is priceless. He has become one of my best friends and I know this trip and experience would not have been the same without him. Likewise, you bring things to them too and it's rewarding. He has expressed that without me he never would have been befriended so many people from other cultures and also expressed how cool it was to learn to truly appreciate his country through my discovery and appreciation of it. So go learn from a Kiwi and help them learn too! He's also the one who I rented a camper van with at the end of my stay for a trip around the South Island. It was his first time there too (even as a Kiwi) and he said he never would've done it without meeting me and says it's the best trip he's ever been on. That being said, the South Island is definitely a must do. A whole other world. Breathtaking. Your friends and family will think your photos from there are fake.

A final word of advice: Yes, the program is through the University of Auckland, but remember it's more about Auckland/NZ than university. I'm a top student at home, but when in NZ (if your grading situation allows) try to ease up on yourself academically. The classes and assignments are probably less challenging then what you are used to, so don't burn yourself out putting more work into things than you have to- you came to NZ to see NZ, not the UoA library. I was fortunate to not make this mistake and tried to beat it into my mind that "grades here don't matter" and "screw studying, I'm going to Coromandel for the weekend," but I saw several friends have trouble easing up on the academic efforts and I think their experience could've been better if they got out of the library a little more!

Have fun. Have an Open Mind. And take Pictures, but don't forget to put the camera down sometimes as well...the eyes are the original camera after all :)

At the University of Auckland where I spent one semester, I made many new friends and had an amazing experience. One story in particular comes to mind for this review, but I have countless others that could describe how incredible my time in New Zealand was. I am a biomedical engineering student at Penn State University, so when I was abroad I was required to take at least one engineering course. The one I chose was BIOMED 201, and on the first day of class I learned I was the only American in the class, surrounded by students who all seemed to know each other. On the first day of class, I arrived 5 minutes early, and the rest of the students arrived 5 minutes late, all together from the last class they had. It made me very aware that I as the outsider in this new community. Fast forward a few weeks to the BIOMED and ENGSCI (engineering science) department field trip. I was offered a place on the trip as I was technically in the program, and I wanted to experience the trip with the class. It was a 3 day trip to a town called Rotorua, and on the way we visited many biotech companies based in New Zealand. I arrived to the buses on the day of the trip a few minutes late, and was the very last one on the bus. In fact, I had to flag down the trip organizer who had no idea who I was, and stop the bus from leaving so I could hop on. I didn't know a single person on that bus and immediately felt this trip was a mistake. After an hour bus ride we made our first stop and I finally broke out of my shell and began to talk to some of the students. By the time we reached our hostel, I had many new friends and felt accepted into the group. After a night of drinking, pool, and story sharing, I had my first group of kiwi friends. By the end of the trip, I was close to a lot of the students and even learned about how biotech companies operate in New Zealand. The trip was both educational in a career sense, and helped me assimilate into the university culture. After the trip, I began spending more time with these students and truly felt apart of the University of Auckland. The students were very interested in American culture, and I was more than happy to share. My new friends helped me plan trips across New Zealand with their personal advice, and my travel buddies and I were able to see a lot of awesome places off the beaten path. If I were to ever return to Auckland or anywhere in New Zealand, I feel like I would have many contacts and friends to go see. This story reflects my experience at the University of Auckland as all of the students and faculty I interacted with were friendly and interested in what I had to say. This made my trip to New Zealand more immersive and truly a life-changing experience.

During the year of 2015, I studied abroad in Auckland, New Zealand at the University of Auckland. I only intended to stay for a semester, but the country captivated my heart within the first few weeks of being there and I extended my exchange to a year, completing two semesters at the university towards my Public Health Degree.

While abroad I became connected with Church Unlimited in Auckland, where I was engrossed in a life that only can be explained through experience. The opportunities I was given were incredible, from speaking in front of the entire congregation to preaching at a youth service to leading and mentoring young girls, the opportunities still amaze me to this day. I have become a voice for the young generation at Church Unlimited and a high-caliber leader in such a short amount of time. Come January I am planning on returning to New Zealand to be an Intern at Church Unlimited. Through the Internship, I will be able to expand my horizons through working with the youth, obtain work ethics that can be only learned through experience, and go deeper in my walk with God.

I feel God calling me back to New Zealand to not only work with the youth, but to reveal to me more of who I am in Him. This internship will help me with my future goals and will not be a wasted year, but a year of hard work, commitment, and growth. Taking a year off from my current studies will help me find who I am and the purpose I have for being here. This internship will help me determine where I want to take my Public Health Degree after I graduate. I am excited to see where this next year will take me and I cannot wait to be able to share the stories I will obtain with my family and friends when I come back in December.

"A semester was too short, a year was not long enough, so I am choosing a lifetime."

It had challenging academics which is what I was looking for. There wasnt much of a campus community because many students commute from home. The campus itself is beautiful. The teachers are very open to talk to you. The four classes I took were lecture classes with about 70 students each, but they provided tutorials. Most sfudents don't stay in campus dorms.

I had a great experience in New Zealand and absolutely loved the country. I was in Auckland all of three weekends while I was there, so I got to see all different corners of the country, and still didn't have time to do everything I wanted. Auckland is a good location to do this, but BUY A CAR, and LIVE WITH LOTS OF STUDENTS. I found finding an apartment in the city and getting around to be hectic to say the least. University of Auckland is a large school that it seemed like the majority of students commute to from home. It didn't have much of college culture or college feel to it and student social life was limited I found. There's heaps to do in the area though! I had an incredible time exploring all areas of the country and would recommend the program to anyone that's into the outdoors!

I didn't think one semester would be long enough to fall in love with a place like I did with Auckland. The city is beautiful, vibrant and amazingly safe compared to the big US city I attend university in normally. The university is huge but by joining the campus Glee club, I met fellow nerdy musicians and found a family of friends in the short time I was studying abroad. The classes are more final exam-oriented than classes in the US, so that was a strange transition, but the classes seemed to be of the same difficulty level of classes at home.

The University of Auckland was a great place to study abroad because it allowed me not only to get to know a city well, but to see a good deal of an amazing country.

Auckland itself has so much to offer, being the largest city by far in New Zealand. But it also allows access to all the amazing sites that you'll want to visit. Between rental cars, buses, and planes there is no part of the vast wilderness of New Zealand that you can't reach.

I also really enjoyed my classes at UoA. I took an introductory course about Maori people and culture that I would recommend to any international student studying at the university, it really gave a great background on New Zealand's political and social history.

The housing was new, clean, and easily accessible to campus. All of the interactions that I had with staff from the university were positive, and the International Office made it clear that they were available for support.

I've only been home a few weeks now but I'm already thinking about coming back to New Zealand at some point in the future!

Loved my experience in new Zealand. Easily the most beautiful country I've ever been to and I can't wait to go back. I found the academic rigor to be quite a bit less than my home university which I actually appreciated since it allowed me more time to explore the surrounding country.

I absolutely loved my study abroad experience! I am so glad I went to the University of Auckland. New Zealand is the most amazing country. There were so many amazing moments that I experienced, but the best moments were the times when I would just stop, closing my eyes, and just soak in the fact that I was in New Zealand. One of these moments was when I was traveling back from the south island on a stop in Wellington. My friends and I were only there for the day but we saw so many amazing things like the Te Papa museum and Botanic Garden and the harbor. It was an amazing day filled with adventure that really reminded me to take advantage of every opportunity.

I've wanted to study abroad since as long as I can remember, but I did not have a clear idea of where I wanted to go. I ended up in New Zealand because I wanted to go somewhere far far away, a place I had never visited before. And goodness, New Zealand is a breathtaking country! It made me wish I had opted for a longer program so that I would have time to see it all.

I chose the University of Auckland because I wanted to study in the city of Auckland and because there were good options for me to begin my studies there. The university staff are incredibly helpful and kind and made even my biggest troubles seem almost non-existing. The university city campus is only a few minutes away from the bustling Queen street and I even managed to score a room about half an hour away by foot. Housing was not taken care of through the university, hence my average rating.

Through this program I met people who became very important to me and I grew a lot a person. :)