hey sorry about the late reply twas during the time of my b'day

yes I'm about 20mins drive away from both places as I'm quite Central, I went to Auckland Uni but had some friends tat went to AUT and UniTec
I asked them and here's wat they say

as mentioned yes UniTec is different from AUT, their teaching styles are different

at AUT, they focus more on the lectures and just the nitty gritty stuff not much actually learning how to interact,

both are different but if u can afford to live near to the city, my friend suggests AUT as the lecturers and notes they give there are better

hope this helps

Both Malaysians and Kiwis - there're elitists everywhere. Though I do think Kiwis are generally more egalitarian and less elitist. It's partly a reaction against the British class system (most of the early migrants came from the UK). It is also partly cos in a small country, competition is less stiff, so there's less need to grab every advantage possible (compare it to China for example, where there is a hug difference between Tsinghua Uni and some unknown forestry college from Yunnan).

I can also understand the Malaysian mentality, because if people pay huge international student fees, it's natural they want the best outcome. If there's a better option, why not go for it?

I think there is some merit in the poly vs uni thing, but it is course specific. For example, engineering - many polytech graduates do 'upgrade' Masters at Uni of Auckland after graduation. I find universities are generally better for the more academic, 'traditional' courses and polytech for the more vocational, hands on courses. I don't know much about mass comm, so I can't comment on it.

And of course, at the end of the day, the most important factor is the student. If you are motivated and inspired, you will do well. And if Unitec's style of teaching suits you better, it should help with the motivation aspect. That's why I think, if it suits you, go for it.

If job prospects are what's worrying you - don't. Kiwis don't care as much about the uni/degree/grades, but more about work and other experiences. I know a few polytech grads who are happily employed in various industries in NZ. If you want to secure a job in NZ upon graduation, make sure you gain work experience while studying/during the holidays. Preferably in a related field, but if not, anything will do. Even flipping burgers in McDonald's is valued in NZ.

Anyway, if you really want to be elitist, AUT isn't quite on the same level as Uni of Auckland. But then, we could then say why come to NZ? Go to Australia instead since Uni of Melbourne ranks higher. And so on, and so on... Out of curiosity, what other institutions in NZ offer mass comm?

I seem to be rambling on... now sure if I even answered your question.

This post has been edited by wornbook: Jun 14 2009, 09:12 AM

hey dude, i'm currently holding a degree in BBM from university of sunderland.
i'm planning to study MBA in NZ.
Any university u guys can recommend?

i have a lecturer whose wife is teaching in Taylors and they did some comparisons. turns out Taylors have spanking new and clean facilities whilst TARC ones are worn out and old. which i don't really mind. most of my mates work on their own laptops and i think what TARC offered is decent enough. except for the horrendous toilets!

happy belated birthday dude! thanks for having the heart to reply!

did you just mention you have friends studying in UNITEC? omg i would love their contacts and chat up a little on the place. is that possible? NZ is very unlike Australia, where you can get firsthand experience from any Tom d*** Harry. 8/10 of people consider Australia without even thinking! i wonder why... it really feels like the entire Malaysian population is crazy about Australia. in fact, i was one myself, before my friend told me about the place, and i finally gave some serious thought about it.


hey dude please do ramble on, i really do appreciate talking with you all.

i agree about the less competition part. i heard Kiwis are very laid back, much unlike the rest of the world, fighting to be the first, competing relentlessly... it can get a bit tiresome to be honest. but it's funny, though. i have come across several hate sites for NZ where the locals themselves condemn the place. wtf?

i have already experienced the so-called academic approach that TARC offered. my school has been trying very hard to fight for 60% coursework - 40% exams scale, but unfortunately the old hags in TARC have too much dignity up in their noses to consider it since they think exams are always the most important. in the end, students like us work very hard for our assignments, and only left with little time to study up for exams that always seem impossible to score. it's easy to pass but never easy to excel as a mass communication student. you need to stand out - not provide the most 'accurate' answer in exams. and how do you prove you're outstanding in an exam where there is no definite answer and no room to show off your creativity?

so it's a little challenge for myself to try out a polytechnic after the things i've been through in an academic-focused learning environment.

i am also relieved to hear about the job prospects issue. frankly Malaysians have gone a bit too far with the elitist mindset that all the jobs we dy eem 'low class' are all now handled by immigrants, which are now causing problems to our country. our own people have too much dignity to do anything lower than what they have studied for. there was a brief whirlwind regarding the overwhelming amount of immigrants we have in the Malaysian news, isn't it?

i'd definitely try and expand my horizons in NZ, have plans to stay there... make full use of the 2 year visa they offer to students after they graduate...

and to answer you, University of Auckland, Massey University, University of Canterbury, AUT, UNITEC, and some other lesser known polytechnics.

reason why i didn't consider the first 3 is because they do not offer Public Relations. and frankly, the course syllabus is so dead-on academic, i already can feel a wave of nausea sink in. they'll be forcing you to read 1000001 year-old scholarly articles by some old fart, which i don't think will help much in the creative industry.

again, dude, thanks so much for the advice!

Hello all
hav been reading this forum for a while
well ive receive an offer to study Bsc in Biomed at UQ and B in Biomed in VUWelligton.
Can u guys gve any ideas which is best?
In terms of good education,lecturers,city,malaysians there,locals there,muslims etc..
Is it true that education there are more laidback than in Msia atleast?
Any VUW students here who can share their exp studying there??

i'd try to help u if regarding muslim thing in nz.

as i'm not in VUW. and also didnt read much on choices

what i could tell u bout welli form my experience, it's just damn hilly..

anyway, last april i went back to malaysia, found that the milk in msia quite cair. like more to water with milk
any brand that could try when go back malaysia later?? tried HL milk also not that good

It's dudette. No Y chromosome.

Kiwis are a funny bunch. They can be fiercely patriotic and proud to be Kiwi but at the same time, they can be very negative about everything to do with NZ. They mock the British (Poms) and at the same time dream about going there on their OEs (overseas experience). They complain lots, though frankly, they're much better off than so many people. You see the newspapers often referring to Kiwis as a pessimistic lot.

The laidback thing is really good. On the other hand, it can get really annoying when you want something done and need some action. "She'll be right" - the typical Kiwi statement that reflects the attitude - can be infuriating sometimes. Other times, it's a reality check that there's no need to stress yourself out over minor matters.

NZ has many faults, but it has many positives as well. Don't expect too much, but at the same time, have an open mind and enjoy the experience. Expanding horizons - that's the right attitude.

Is it a 2 year visa now? It used to be 1 year.

It really does sound like a vocational, non-academic course is right for you. I personally lean towards the more academic side of things, cos I find it interesting. But I can definitely see why many people are just not interested in "1000001 year-old scholarly articles by some old fart". LOL.

It's great to see you've done your research and know what you want. It might be a tad early to call, but based on your attitude, I think you'll be successful and have a great time in NZ. You don't know how rare you are - most people just ask "which uni is the best for this course?" or "which degree can earn more?". Sigh.

I guess I was lucky though. My course (law) was really academic and exam-based (normally 80%) but at least the lecturers didn't stick to a strict marking criteria. Original ideas/discussions were valued and rewarded with top marks. Some people say the lack of the criteria results in subjective marking, but there was no feeling of injustice when results came out.

I can't say too much about Biomed, but I can say a few things about UQ.

Cost of living wise, UQ(Brisbane) will be a bit more expensive than VUW(Wellington). Wellington is also VERY windy, while summers in Brisbane will be as hot as Malaysia.

I personally would say you'd get a reasonable education both in UQ and VUW, so personally I would base on where I would go on other factors. There are direct flights from M'sia to Brisbane, but going to Wellington will involve a transit somewhere, either Auckland, Melbourne, Sydney or rarely, Christchurch.

cool, same here. no 'Y'.

i nearly broke down when i went through a forum that had all Kiwis themselves cursing their tiny island to bits. at that point i was nearly on the verge of canceling my plans till i was able to think with a level-head. just like this forum, which Malaysian would praise their own country? we're full of complaints ourselves, so i guess Kiwis and M'sians are equal on this matter. i shall rest my case and not judge NZ by that dreadful forum. *makes a mental note not to be overly creative with using Google*

thanks for the praise, but i think hold on to that first. i seriously dunno what i'm expecting there, not much back-up support or word-of-mouth from people's experiences of the place (which is very unlike Australia *pouts*) other than bright flashy websites illustrating how beautiful NZ is. like i haven't heard of that before! lol. guess what i can do now is just to take the plunge and have fun! so now that i've made my decision (just emailed over my final bit of results to the agent), i should really work down a list of 'to-dos' and get myself prepared. but you said don't expect too much... i certainly hope NZ wouldn't fall below my expected standard...

now! some info about you, where did you get your law degree from? are you still in NZ or are you back here already? and i can really relate the the marking scheme thing... sometimes these things are just too subjective to be determined just by a 'score' given by a lecturer. and it's your luck! if you meet with an old windbag, be sure your originality will go to the drain... they tend to abide by strict codes and ethics.

i've did a bit of scouring this thread, seems that you mentioned the job prospect there sucks? and we should be prepared to do low-waged jobs like flipping burgers before hopping onto something more rewarding? i don't mind flipping burgers while studying but if i were to continue that 2 years after i graduate, that'd be dreadful. i have my sights on the beauty industry... NZ is no NYC nor London nor Italy, but i believe this sort of industry thrives on everywhere that has modern and fashion-conscious people. or any vain women in short.

sE_vIxEn, which forum did u went through??

some sorta expat exposed or something. didn't bother bookmarking something so dreadful. try googling 'New Zealand sucks'. was trying to dig out some raw bad perspective about the place from real people hence the stupid keywords.

http://www.expatexposed.com/

It's my favourite entertainment reading these days. Some of those complains can be really silly. Btw, they're mainly immigrants to NZ from countries like US, Canada, England...

To be fair though, a lot of their complains are based on fact - the housing is poor, job opportunities limited, salaries low (compared to Aus, US etc, but high compared to Malaysia), politicians are stupid (but whose aren't?), and the people can be really provincial and racist. It can be quite boring too.

But for the positives - the air is clean, the people more considerate/polite, law and order is generally respected, traffic good (even the shocking Southern Motorway is way better than KL traffic), and the pace of life slower/less stressful. All this in comparison to Malaysia of course... can't speak for other countries. If you love scenery and the great outdoors, NZ is the place for you. If you like city living and a happening life, don't come here.

Fact is, it's not for everyone.

Personally for me, I don't intend to live here for life. Gain a few years work experience and I'll hopefully go off to see the world. Or maybe back to Bolehland.

Job opportunities are limited because the market is so small. As for low level jobs, it depends on the person... From what I see, people who do low level jobs while studying have a far better chance of a graduate job upon graduation. Unless you're doing an Arts degree. Generalizing of course. It's also heavily dependent on fields - engineers and doctors don't seem to have problems finding jobs. Commerce is another thing. Surprisingly, IT too, despite the govt's claim that there's a shortage of skilled IT people.

I won't lie to you - being a foreigner, it won't be easy for you to get a 'proper' job upon graduation. There's this fear you won't fit into the company culture or you can't speak English. Also, many jobs aren't advertised - people are recruited internally or thru word of mouth. That's why I advised you to do part time work to help build the CV. Employers will be less nervous once they find you have worked and can fit into the NZ work culture, whatever that is.

I did my degree in Otago. Fun place with lots of crazy Kiwis. Took me quite a while to find a job too. Law is a tough field though, with an even stronger old boy network.

lol, even for part time job i found it quite hard.

coz i applied through SJS for more than 5 times already. never got one.
especially as an international student.


but since one of my friends already working somewhere, he told us there was vacancy, and i applied for that.
even as a stock loader at supermarket through mouth to mouth

wao... so hot here... seems like quite interesting

roadtour starts sunday

haha, you know which website i'm talking about huh. i think it's really time to just throw back and anticipate adventure. am never going to step into that website to mess up my mind again! as for the good and bad, well i guess you can't have everything, and you never know anything till you've really experienced it. it's a good head start though, after talking to you, at least i know what to expect and brace myself.

as of now, i'm waiting for final confirmation from UNITEC, then that'll decide whether i'm really going to NZ or not. do keep your fingers crossed for me!

thanks for all the advice, it's really good to talk to someone experienced like you.

IM in new zealand now

very cold and very bored

Yeah, this is the coldest period of the year.
Which part of NZ is that?

This post has been edited by tehtmc: Jul 7 2009, 06:10 PM

wellington

going to orientation tomorrow

how about you ?

lst winter in windy city is it?
Enjoy the wind, the hills and the cold. hehe
Been there before, now in Malaysia.