In a month or so, my exchange is coming to an end. I have absolutely loved my time spent studying at Vic Uni and living in Wellington, but there are things that I would have liked to have known prior to I embarked on my semester abroad in New Zealand.

Thus, beware that side effects of a semester abroad may include:
1. Getting a piece of your heart stolen by Wellington (and the New Zealand scenery in genereal)
2. Meeting friendly and easy-going kiwis
3. Getting friends from all over the world
4. Improving your English skills
5. Getting out of your comfort zone (whether it be traveling around by yourself, bungy jumping, skydiving, establishing a new life in new surroundings, etc. )
6. Drinking cheap, great tasting coffee and craft beer
7. Seeing cute and adorable lambs everywhere
8. Experiencing the great Wellington night life
9. Being awed on a daily basis by the beautiful Wellington surroundings and the New Zealand nature when going on trips
10. Drinking world renowned wine
11. Working out with an amazing view over Wellington at the Vic Uni Recreation Center
12. Making new friends while getting smarter and strengthening your resume when joining the Victoria International Leadership Programme
13. Enhancing your ability to make an excuse for treating yourself to a night out or a dinner at a restaurant (e.g. remember to celebrate the fact that Wednesday is the middle of the week, or that a restaurant has 2 for 1 meals on Mondays)
14. Being able to make all your friends back home jealous with every picture you post on Facebook or send them via Snapchat
15. Not wanting to leave Wellington because it has become your home away from home

Studying at Victoria has been a worthwhile and growing experience. Typical of most large universities, it is easy to be anonymous and fade out of the classroom. However, Victoria's University Hall accommodation makes a strong effort to help you find your niche, regularly facilitating bonding within the international community. Regarding Wellington, it is by far the best place to study in New Zealand. It has such a cool culture, is so walkable, and never boring. Even though study abroad is often oriented toward travel, at least 75% of your time is spent in your city of residence. Wellington has heaps of attractions nearby and great nightlife.

I really enjoy my time at Victoria University. Both students and teachers are very friendly, helpful and supportive, creating a welcoming atmosphere. The courses I’m taking (Spanish and English studies and New Zealand flora and fauna) are very interesting. They come with an average workload, not too easy and not too demanding – I’m having the perfect mixture of studies and leisure time to enjoy the life in Wellington or to go on weekend trips. The midterm break was perfect for a trip down to the South Island. The library is a great place to study in the quiet zones or to work with friends in the many comfy working areas. The view over Wellington is amazing!

The Victoria International office offers a free airport pick up service including a welcome packet with useful information and a sim card. There were two days of international orientation with introductory courses, final enrolment and course adding/dropping. The latter took a little too much waiting time. The third day was an optional trip which was lots of fun and perfect to get to know better the other internationals. The Vic International team is always friendly and will help you with problems and sorrows, just go there and talk to them. They also organize fun events now and then.

Other people’s reviews here mention problems to get to know kiwis – for me that was no problem. I chose one of the cheaper catered halls which means that it is not directly next to campus but also that there are less international students but more kiwis living there. The distance to uni is no problem at all, there is a free shuttle service which takes about 8-10 minutes to Kelburn campus. The hall offers a great community and many activities, events and trips. So just pick a hall that is not likely to be every international student’s first choice and you will probably live with both - internationals and kiwis.

Wellington is a great city and Victoria University is a great university!

Victoria University of Wellington offers a welcoming, friendly and inspiring educational experience as an international student. My campus (Kelburn) has great facilities to improve your learning and social time around lectures - The library, The Hub, A Recreation Centre - many of them with a beautiful overview of the Wellington city centre.

The unique Wellington experience is made up by the beautiful waterfront, scenic surroundings with parks and nature reserves, lots of cafés, restaurants, bars, shops and the like, cultural attractions, festivals and events and an always friendly atmosphere and people - all packed into a city that you can cover by foot in just one day. But do not be fooled, Wellington and its surrounding hills holds enough activities, views and attractions to always go somewhere new - not to mention the rest of New Zealand, which offers limitless possibilities, fantastic nature and is easy to travel around by car or bus.

So if you're looking for a great and unique studying abroad experience, with a focus and academic gains as well as free time activities beyond compare, Victoria University of Wellington is the place to go!

Studying abroad was something I knew I wanted to do before I even applied for college, let alone knew where I wanted to study and what degree I wanted to pursue. I chose to come abroad all the way to New Zealand because coming from the U.S. I really couldn’t come much further and that was the goal. I wanted to immerse myself in a new culture, experience new things, and most of all I wanted to find myself. New Zealand is amazing if you love trying new things and seeing new places constantly. I’ve done more and seen places I never could have imagined before coming to New Zealand and because of that this has been the greatest experience of my life.
Yeah, you are taking a huge leap. You may have never left your hometown before and you’re looking at coming to a whole new part of the world- but take the leap. You won’t regret it and I can promise that. The culture shock may hit you, and it may be hard, but you’ll come out stronger and knowing yourself better. If you want to experience life from a new perspective and create a memory that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life….then come to New Zealand.

I do enjoy the days in VUW and Wellington. Beacuse I am in the last year in my home institution, I do not have the pressure to gain enough credits. Hense, I can fully enjoy the life here.
The air is very clean here. So does the food and streets. People in Wellington are very enthusiastic. They are always ready to help the others. So I never feel lonely or any kind of uncomfortable here.
Those staff in the international office of VUW are nice and patient. If you have any questions, just go and ask them.
If I really need to say something not that good in Wellington, it would be the weather. Wellington is fulled of strong wind. It often rains occationally as well. So a rain coat is extremely necessary!
The atmosphere in VUW is free. If you are not that shy, it is easy for you to make a large group of new friends from different countries with the same hobbies.
In one word, both of Wellington and VUW are the good places to experience the new life and learn about something new about other culture.

My welcome by the Victoria International team was very smooth with a free taxi ride to my accommodation and a useful welcome which included a free phone SIM.

International orientation was useful and concise only spanning over two half days.

My only negatives with the studying here is the library printers and availability of course books from the library. These facilities are better at University of Leeds, my home university.

Overall, I am quite pleased with my experience here at Victoria University of Wellington.

The experiences I've had so far in Wellington have been great. I have been pleasantly surprised by how well taken care of I feel from the university and the "package" that it offers for exchange and study abroad students. The insurance that VUW recommends has already saved my bacon once!

VUW is quite lovely, although it's been difficult for me to get to know my kiwi classmates. I suppose that's just how it is, most people you will get to know well will probably be other international students. Make sure you join one or more of the university's many awesome clubs though, you will meet people and have a lot of fun at the same time.