I came to New Zealand expecting adventure, and was not disappointed. Dunedin is situated so that within 4 hour drive you can reach almost all of the lower half of the South Island. Otago, Canterbury, the West Coast and Southland are all open to exploration even just for a weekend. As an avid backpacker the tramping tracks here are unparalleled by any others I have done in the world. If you are coming to New Zealand to see the country then the University of Otago is the choice. After travelling most of the country (including the North Island) my personal opinion is that national parks on the South Island are the most beautiful. Fiordland, Mt. Aspiring, and Mt. Cook National parks are where I spent most of my weekends.

Even when not travelling Dunedin is a fun city, albeit slightly on the cold and wet side during the winter. The University Flats will likely put you into contact with many like minded international students. It will not be hard to find a good group of friends to go on adventures with. However it does take more work to get to know the Kiwis well. As an international student I found them friendly, but also fairly uninterested in becoming friends. While this was expected, it is was difficult to get entirely immersed in a kiwi lifestyle when you aren't living with them. Kiwi hosts (a local that lives with you in your flat) are great and very helpful.

Academics were different from my home university but not overly so. For the classes that I took (Humanities type classes) the main differences were grading. Most of the weight for the semester comes from the final and a mid-semester essay. Classes were engaging for the most part and generally not too difficult. I cannot speak for more specific science classes however.

Overall you cannot go wrong with this school. It caters to many different interests and you can find something to do almost every weekend. Fed up with going out to town? You can easily drive an hour north and camp on Long Beach and go surfing. Surfing isn't your style? Head to the mountains and go skiing and hang out in Queenstown. Want to get away from civilization? Drive an hour north of Queenstown hike for a day into a hut and you will find yourself about as remote as it gets with only alpine parrots for company. Pairing a good academic school with opportunities to see a lot of what New Zealand has to offer is exactly what the Uni of Otago does.

I had never traveled internationally before but Dunedin was a very easy city to get accustomed to. Great college town. The university is easy to navigate and beautiful! My flat was really nice and close to campus. I was paired with other great international students and a kiwi host that made adjusting to abroad life much smoother. There were a lot of extra curriculars to choose from through the University to keep me involved on campus, too! The classes were larger than at my home university but I never felt I couldn't come to a professor for help. Classes were intellectually stimulating but certainly not overwhelming. Best experience of my life studying abroad here at Otago!

Housing-

I would highly recommend making accommodations through Uniflats. Having a Kiwi Host to show me around Dunedin and explain words like "sweet as!" and "jandals" definitely eased my adjustment to New Zealand. It also helped living with other international students who were going thru the same adjustments I was. It didn't take long to grow close to my flatmates and feel like I had a family away from home. Overall, the Uniflats community provided great facilities and a friendly atmosphere.

Academics-

Coming from a small liberal arts school of 3,000 students where classes are discussion based and the professors know all of their students names, studying abroad at a school of 21,000 students was a harder adjustment than I expected it to be. It wasn't that the classes were more difficult per say, they were just different from what I was used to meaning that I needed to adjust my learning and studying styles.
My largest class at my home university has been 28 students. Here, my largest class had 500 students enrolled in it while my smallest had about 50. Since the classes are so large, each class has a weekly tutorial of about 20 students where a Teacher's Assistant reviews materials and questions can be asked. I found these tutorials helpful as they provided more one-on-one interaction and were more engaging than listening to a lecturer.

Dunedin-

From walking along George Street to explore the various cafes, restaurants, bars and shops, to walking on St. Clair and St. Kilda beaches, Dunedin has a lot to offer. The best way to describe it is as a lively college town. It's also easy to travel to other parts of the South Island, like Queenstown, from Dunedin. There's truly no other city in New Zealand that I would have wanted to have this study abroad experience in.