Student Guide New Zealand

About Newzealand

The System of Education

New Zealand’s education system is extremely classy and ranks high in the world.It is a unique combination of traditional values and infused with modern day innovative creativity, that create leaders required for the current day and time.

Education in New Zealand focusses around students, guiding them to imbibe a sense of team work, process information, innovate etc. Students have an excellent chance to Horne their skills through the unparalled guidance of qualified and experienced faculty.

College Fit: A host of options to choose from are available at colleges or universities. Though mediums of ranking are available, but the concept of “fit” is also essential. The GPA* of students that enrol are important, but majors that are existing, the location, number of students already existing, and university culture , all put together, combine a student’s decision. There is a mix of publicly funded and privately supported colleges / universities.

Renowned student terminals – The top universities in New Zealand are University of Auckland, University of Otago, University of Canterbury, Victoria University of Wellington, and Massey University (all are ranked at the same level).

In New Zealand, Auckland is the focal point of universities. The best universities are located in cities like Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, and Napier-Hastings. New Zealand had about 17,000/- students (approximately), during the academic year 2016-2017. , IT/Computing, Engineering, Visual Communications, Business Studies and Tourism & Hotel Management are the programs that are popular among Indian students, in New Zealand.

Is New Zealand safe? – New Zealand’s crime rate is extremely low compared to other places, and has a wonderful healthcare system. Although it is safe for students, but one should be responsible aboutone’s own personal safety and items. Segregate your original documents(passport and credit cards), from your photocopies. In the case of an emergency, do call 111 for assistance.

Life of Students in New Zealand

Accommodation

Students have the option to decide whether you want to live in university managed accommodation, or in a private household. University managed accommodation offers you cooked meals that are qquite cost effective.

Once you decide on your preference, the accommodation office at your university will guide you with available options – This is how you get started. If you are thinking of renting from a private household, the accommodation office will guide you by providing a list of private properties and landlords in the particular area.

However, wherever you decide to stay, you should ensure the correct details of the contractual rights and responsibilities you need to adhere to. As is common, you will be required to enter into a tenancy agreement, which you should go through in detail before you agree to the terms and conditions .

Orientation Program

Orientation (one week), is absolutely essential for your know how that you have reached. You will be introduced to the university and what it offers, as well as you enrol in your respectiveclasses. It is very important that you read your guidebook, given to you by the college. The guide takes you through the details of the admission process.

Activities you can indulge in –

Apart from sports colleges offers a host of extra-curricular activities, such as Music, drama, science and literary societies are offered in all colleges without fail. Also, there are opportunities for outdoor education and other free time activities you can partake in. Visits to, to places relevant to the courses of study such as art galleries and museums, theatres and concerts, religious centres or historical sites, scientific companies etc. will be a part and parcel of your interesting college life.

The process of Admissions –

The Requirements –

Requirements depend on the study programs and their respective levels. Each program / course, has a particular English language requirement that Indian students need to meet. Also, a minimum academic percentage of 65% and above in Class XII is the criteria. Although, there are Foundations and Diploma programs that are available for students who have marks less than 60%. 18 years is the minimum age for joining a degree program.

Please Note – The actual numbers might vary from university to university.

Documents that are required to be submitted are as follows –

Attested copies of mark sheets of Class X, XII, and Bachelor’s degree (in case applicable).
Minimum of two academic reference letters from professors who have taught you in the recent past.
In case of work experience, two letters of recommendation from the employer/manager who know you and your professional capabilities.
Statement of Purpose.
Resume / Curriculum Vitae.
Photocopied score records – IELTS / TOEFL.
Portfolio (only applicable for students applying for art and design courses and architecture programs).
Others (Certificates / achievements in sports at the state and national level and extracurricular activities).

Time Frame

Almost all colleges in New Zealand accept online applications. Do go through college websites in order to apply, where you will have to create an account on the college website to feed your basic information, submit the scanned versions of your documents, as well as pay application fee. This account will update you on the status of your application. Choose your preferred website of the colleges to know the application process.

Application fees – An application fee is a must and the amount will differ from college to college and course you choose. Thus, kindly cross check with individual colleges regarding their application fee.

Steps: The general steps to apply for admission are below –

Research for colleges and courses.
Contact schools and visit websites for correct information.
Zero down your list of schools.
Take the entrance exams – GMAT, GRE, TOEFL, IELTS.

Write SOPs and request for LORs.
Apply to the colleges that suits your interests.
Appear for video interviews for the colleges that shortlisted you.
Once accepted, apply for a student visa.

SOP: Introduce yourself through A Statement of Purpose (SOP) to the college and the important admission officers. Write it in first person and state the reason for your application. Highlight why the college should accept you. The style of writing should be professional and should also reflect your personality as well.

Essay: Essays are mandatory and needs to be submitted by prospective students, since it is an integral part of the university admission process. Students may be required to write one or two essays, along with a few optional essays too. Common topics include career aspirations, strengths and weaknesses, skills, experiences, and reasons for choosing a particular school.

LOR: A letter of recommendation (LOR) is a reference letter written by a third party describing the qualities, characteristics, and capabilities of the prospective student, recommending him to the college as per the individual’s ability to perform a particular task or function. The third party could be a professor, manager etc.

Intake seasons

New Zealand generally has two intakes that are January and July, but certain universities offer multiple intakes in September and November. Your admission process should start around six months prior to the application deadline. Most universities have 3 deadlines during one intake. It is up students choice as to which deadline to aim for. You need to complete your language and aptitude tests at least 3 months before the deadline. The final three months are meant for filling the application form correctly.

Now for the February intake,It is necessary to ensure that the ‘complete application process’ along with appearing for interviews and visa application process should be complete between October & November).

If you wish to join a vocational course, then some courses open admissions even in March, April, May or July.

Exams

Language exams

Foreign English Language Testing System (IELTS), Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Pearson Test of English (PTE) are all the basic language tests, required to be taken for the purpose of getting admission to colleges. These follow different formats, structure and result bands. These tests are all different in various ways but many colleges ask for any one of the results. So it’s the student’s choice to decide which exam to appear for.

Repetition of exams: IELTS can be taken for an unlimited number of times. TOEFL can be retaken as many times as wished, but cannot be taken more than once in 12-days. It’s the same with PTE; it can be taken as many times as one wishes to. You must wait to receive your scores before you can book your next test.

Fee: The exam fee is Rs 12,650 for IELTS, Rs 12,410 for TOEFL and Rs 10,900 for PTE.

Time to apply: If you are looking at the January intake you should appear for these exams by June so that you can apply before the first deadline. The universities you will be applying to will mention which exam results they will accept. But if they give a choice to go for either of these, then the choice depends on you. The time required to prepare for IELTS/TOEFL/PTE would depend on the existing English language proficiency. You may require two to four months of preparation before the exam date.

School Costs

The tuition fee varies according to different universities, courses and the city. The tuition expenses in New Zealand might be up to 10.78 Lacs per annum for an undergraduate course. And if you want to apply for a post-graduate course, the cost would be approximately 11.42 Lacs per year.

Health insurance

You are required to hold appropriate and current medical and travel insurance as a condition of your visa regardless of the length of your stay in New Zealand. The New Zealand government’s “Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students” requires all international students to have health and travel insurance during their period of study. It is the university’s responsibility under the Code to ensure all enrolled international students have proper health and travel insurance policy for the duration of their student visa. Most of the times universities provide the health insurance to students and the cost is included in the first-semester fee. Studentsafe is the most popular insurance provider in New Zealand.

Scholarships

Candidates with strong academics, good performance on standardised exams and extracurricular achievements would be eligible for scholarship awards and financial assistance. Merit-based and need-based fee waivers are awarded to international students. To benefit from these opportunities, one has to make sure to send all the required documents by particular deadlines. In addition to this, the presentation of the application is also important because one is judged by the image one projects.

Documents required: Here is a list of the documents usually needed for a scholarship application, although the requirements may differ:

Academic records and photocopies
A recent CV
A letter of intent, which acts as a cover page
Certificate of language proficiency (TOEFL or IELTS scores)
Letters of Reference (LOR)

Educational Loans

Student eligibility criteria: The first thing is to be aware of whether you are eligible to apply for the loan. The general eligibility criteria that are followed by all the banks are:

You should be an Indian national
You must have a strong academic record
You must be seeking admission to a professional, technical or other course of studies. Most banks maintain that the selected course should be job oriented
You must have secured admission to a foreign university institution
You must be above the age of 18 years or else your parents can avail the loan

Eligibility of course: You may not get a loan on every course. Here are the kinds of courses that qualify for the education loan.

For Graduation: Job oriented professional or technical courses offered by reputed universities
For Post Graduation: MCA, MBA, MS or even diplomas

Loan amount: If your total fee is Rs 10 lakh, the bank may offer a loan of 80% of the amount and you will have to bear the balance 20%. This is called the margin amount. The maximum loan amount banks offer for studies abroad is generally around Rs 20 lakh. If your tuition fee amount is Rs 30 lakh, you’ll have to manage the rest of the funds by yourself. Some banks charge a processing fee, while others don’t. It may be a fixed amount or a percentage of the total loan amount. So if the bank charges you 1% as processing fee, that will be an additional cost you’ll have to bear.

Documentation required: You will have to provide the acceptance letter sent by the university reflecting that you have been selected for the course and the schedule of fees. You will also need to show the mark sheet of the last qualifying examination to show your academic record.

All banks have different requirements for documentation, so you need to confirm with the bank first.

Repayment: Repayment starts only after the course period. If the student gets employed within one year after completion of the course, the repayment should start immediately after the expiry of one month from the date of employment.

If you do not secure a job within a year of completing the course, then repayment starts irrespective of whether or not you are employed. The loan is generally to be repaid in 5-7 years after commencement of repayment. If the student is not able to complete the course within the scheduled time, extension of time for completion of course, he may be permitted for a maximum period of two years. Normally, you get up to a maximum number of 10 years toclear the loan.

Visa

Terms &Conditions

If you want to attend a university or college in New Zealand, a student visa is mandatory. Following documents will be required for the application purposes:

Valid passport – Your passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your period of stay in New Zealand
Completed Student Visa Application Form (INZ 1012)
Application fee payment receipt, as you are required to pay Rs 11,760 before your interview
An offer of place – You need to have an offer of place from a New Zealand institute/university. The forms are usually issued after the tuition fees have been received
Letter from your current institution confirming status as a study abroad student
Health insurance receipt
You may be required to show Health and Character certificates, to prove that your intention of staying in New Zealand is genuine.
Two passport sized photographs

Note: Additional documentation may be required. During the personal interview, additional documents may be requested by the interviewer. These may be documents to prove evidence of your academic or financial status.

Transcripts, diplomas, degrees, or certificates from schools you attended
Scores from tests that your college required, such as TOEFL, GRE, or GMAT
How you will pay all educational, living and travel costs

Process

The average time taken by the New Zealand High Commission for the visa procedure is anywhere between 8 to 12 weeks depending on the individual’s background. So the students need to apply for their visas at least three months prior to their course commencement.

As an international student, you must complete your course within the minimum course duration listed on your acceptance letter. If you do not yet have a job offer, you may apply for a Post-study work visa. Visas granted are valid for up to 12 months and allow you to work in a temporary job while you look for a job in your field.

Work permit

You can work part-time for up to 20 hours per week if your programme of study meets one of these criterion:

It is at least two years in duration
It leads to a New Zealand qualification that qualifies for points towards an application for a Skilled Migrant visa.
It is a tertiary institution, and the main purpose is to develop English language skills – you must also have an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) overall band score of 5.0, or above in the general or academic modules.

You may work full-time during all vacations if you are enrolled in a full-time programme of study of at least one academic year’s duration. If your full-time programme of study has a duration of at least eight months, and is a minimum of two semesters, but is less than 120 credits, you can work full-time during the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

Visa for spouse

In most cases, the spouse and dependent children of a student will be granted a visitor visa for the same duration as their partner or parents’ stay. Spouses of student on Work Visa can work full time in NZ. However, the dependents of students on visitor visa have no work rights.

Checklist before departure

Pre-departure list

Book airline tickets
Arrange accommodation in New Zealand
Arrange transportation to/from the airport to home in New Zealand
Arrange your banking requirements – consider buying traveler’s cheques
Check baggage and customs limitations
Clear all paperwork with your home educational institution

Get your documents in order and make photocopies and store safely –

Passport
Airline tickets
Travel insurance certificate
Letter of Acceptance (LOR) by the educational institution
Important addresses and phone numbers
A bank statement showing proof of funds
Prescriptions for any medication you are carrying
Traveler’s cheques—if applicable
Medical and immunisation records
Academic history and university transcripts

Once you land

Stay on Student Visa: When you enter New Zealand, you may remain there as long as you are enrolled in the school to complete your academic program. After the program commences, you may apply for the temporary Post-study work visa (open) for a maximum of 12 months. If you are a student with an offer of employment, you may be eligible for a Post-study work visa (employer assisted) for a maximum time frame of three years.

Post Study Options

Placements

Indian students are used to the concept of campus placements and on-campus recruitment for getting jobs. There is no concept of placements in New Zealand, like most other foreign countries. Most New Zealand universities have a cell called a Career Services Center, which helps you get jobs and helps you prepare for interviews. The on-campus recruitment is always driven by student interest. Companies that recruit through the university do not offer a job directly. What they offer is an internship. Companies like to see your work for few months before they hire you full time.

Work Visa

If you are a student with an offer of employment relevant to your qualification, you may be eligible for a work visa for a max of two years. You will need to provide proof of the relevance of your job offer to your qualification, and the proof that you have completed your qualification in New Zealand that meets the Study to Work related qualification requirements.