Study Abroad at the University of Auckland, NZ

Coming from Norway and having completed a previous exchange in Australia, this experience was really different in a good way! The nature (especially in the South Island) is absolutely stunning and unlike anything I've seen anywhere else. Learning about the rich and diverse culture and history of Auckland and New Zealand was really interesting, and as an engineering student the quality of the courses were also to a high standard. These and a bunch of other things made my stay unforgetable!

If I were to give any advice it would be to try and meet people early on through events like the ones SASS have, and if you live in accomodation where you share space with others that is also a great place to meet new friends. Once the semester starts it can be a bit more hectic in terms of work load (depends on your courses), so settling in at the start is really benefitial. Finding one or several travel buddies will also make it cheaper and more fun because you can share some of the costs, as well as the good memories you'll make!

I am ending my semester at UoA, and I have really enjoyed my time here. The students and faculty are kind and accomodating, and I felt a lot of support from everyone I met. Accomodation at Carlaw Park is expensive but worth it for the apartment-style housing which is clean, has private rooms, and a large community of students. The city is quite walkable to grocery stores, pharmacies, clothing stores, and restaurants. The airport, train system, and bus system is a great way to get around! The campus is nice, but definitely feels like you're in a city, and you should be prepared for city life!

I really enjoyed my semester at UoA. It was academically interesting and fun to meet new people. I would say that the biggest issue with the program is that UoA is a commuter school which I didn't realize before coming here. This makes the community somewhat lacking and it is hard to meet Kiwis. Most of my friends during this time have come from my residence hall (TTH) and local church I joined. Overall the hall experience has been fine but I would say if you have the $ do not live in TTH. It is good for making friends but other than that is poorly cleaned and stressful. The kitchen is terrible and the bathrooms are often dirty. It is fun to meet other international students though. Everything has tradeoffs I guess.

Extremely rich semester, the University offers great support, the classes are interesting, and environment very good.
I lived in the student accomodation, which allowed me to meet a lot of other students, both kiwis and internationals.
We do not have a lot of lectures, allowing us to travel and to discover the country. Travelling is easy (but expensive, like the life in general here).
Opportunities with companies in the city are great, I had the chance to build a nice network for future opportunities and supposedly come back in a few years.

I’m so grateful I came to New Zealand and especially to Auckland! It’s the heart that pumps energy and zest into modern Kiwi life. I’ve learned a lot about the native Maori culture from my studies here, as well as the environmental policies that New Zealand implements which should be an example to the rest of the world.

All the faculty and staff in the Study Abroad office are friendly and welcoming, with plenty of opportunities to meet other internationals and locals alike. I highly recommend doing the Waipapa Noho Marae Experience the first weekend! It’s where I made all of my friends from all over the world and helped acclimate me to the cultural climate of NZ before classes started.

Looking forward to finishing off my semester here and coming back for more!

The Study Abroad Department at the University of Auckland is amazing! They are willing to help you with whatever problems or questions you may have concerning academics, school life, and clubs! They gave my study abroad program a whole orientation session to talk about general information about the University of Auckland as well as important academic dates that we should keep in mind. They also organize fun events throughout the semester for study abroad students! They are keen on helping students succeed here at the University of Auckland! They also have available for study abroad students a whole room called iSpace that is available for us at anytime to chill between classes or have get togethers there. I am extremely happy with the Study Abroad department here!

All the clubs available to join and trips to go on are wonderful. Last weekend I went out kayaking with the AUCC and planted trees in a conservation of one of the nearby rivers to help keep the silt out of the water that is affecting the habitat of the local fish. It was a lovely time meeting people and having fun exploring the outdoors. This coming weekend I will head out with the AURAC to go climbing and have more fun outside. I have some experience on indoor rock walls but have never done any outdoor climbing. This will allow me to go out on a beginner’s trip and learn about lead climbing and belaying and get to try my hand at bouldering. I’m really looking forward to it and all the other excursions that I will go on during the rest of my time here.

It has been a month since I came to the university of Auckland, I have know lots of things about this university, and I'm looking forward to my future lifeas an exchange student, I have my own student card and account, I can use all kinds of school equipment like other normal students here, such as printer, computer, books and so on; I can also choose all the courses offered by the university of Auckland without any restrictions. When I have any confusion in my study and life, I can directly contact my advisor, who will help me through the difficulties. She also introduced me to ELE, a place to improve my English ability. I am very satisfied with the overseas study program of the university of Auckland, which is a very exciting experience to me