Included Program Benefits: Students participating in Loyola’s Study Abroad Program in Auckland, New Zealand will receive roundtrip airfare to Auckland, tuition to the University of Auckland and student housing in the city.  Also included are three group trips on the North Island, New Zealand health insurance, Emergency Evacuation insurance, and an onsite coordinator for the Loyola group.

Program Costs and tips on cost of living:  The student spending range is typically between $3500 – 8000.  This range is impacted by eating out (cooking helps to control costs), how much students shop and drink, and whether or not they take a trip to Australia.  Students should buy groceries regularly to cook their meals to help control costs.  Clothes are fairly expensive in New Zealand, so shopping should be kept to a minimum if possible.  Amount of travel certainly does impact spending as well.  Students should attempt to plan travel in advance, and stay in hostels or camp (very typical in New Zealand).  In terms of textbooks, they are usually much cheaper than in the US.  Students should budget for roughly $500 New Zealand Dollars on textbooks (see www.xe.com for currency conversion).  One cost that should be taken into account is the internet.  Students have to pay for the internet and the cost is based on usage.  The cost can range from $190 – 380 NZD for a 19 week semester.

Health Services, Insurance Information:  Health services in Auckland are of a high quality.  Students receive New Zealand health insurance with the program, and it is to be used as the primary insurance while they are in New Zealand.  It covers doctor visits, pharmacy needs, emergencies, dental and vision.  The coverage runs from 31 days prior to the start of the semester to 31 days after the closing of the semester.  The coverage area is Australiasia: New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands.  The insurance also includes coverage for personal effects (baggage insurance as well as property insurance).

Link to Consular Information Sheet:  It is important for your son/daughter to know as much as possible about the country he/she will be living in or visiting. The U.S. Department of State provides American Citizens with information on each country/territory around the world. Here is the link to the Country Specific Information on New Zealand, along with Travel Alerts and Travel Warnings.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_984.html

Visa Procedures / Airline arrangements:   Students are required to get a student visa from the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, DC.  In order to get a visa, students must have a passport that is valid for at least 3 months after the planned date of exit from the host country.  Students should apply for a passport as soon as they know they are applying to study abroad.  If the student already has a passport, the expiration date should be checked to ensure that it meets the date requirement.  Loyola facilitates the process of obtaining student visas.  The New Zealand student visa does not require any unusual or extraneous paperwork that students would have to gather.  The director completes the application with the students, puts together the necessary documentation and takes the applications to the Embassy.  The Embassy will process them and return them to the International Programs office.  Once received, we will contact the students to pick up their passports with the visas in them.

We purchase group flights for the students.  The flight is typically out of JFK or Newark, connects in LAX or SFO, and then continues to Auckland.  Students are responsible for getting themselves to the airport to meet the group flight.  If a student lives on the West Coast and wishes to meet up with the second leg, that is fine.  Please be sure that International Programs is informed about that as soon as possible so it can be taken into consideration when making the flight arrangements.  Students are allowed to change their return tickets once they arrive in New Zealand if they wish to.  They are responsible for making any changes themselves.  When the flights are booked, the students will be given information about the airlines, baggage rules, change rules and airports.

Banking / Money Issues: Students are not encouraged to open a New Zealand bank account while studying in Auckland due to the high fees associated with them.  Instead, they should use their regular bank account, debit and credit cards while in New Zealand.  You should check with your bank to make sure that the student’s debit card will work overseas, and find out what fees are associated with using the account internationally (do the same with any credit cards).  Students will be able to withdraw money from any ATM in New Zealand (as long as the account has a debit card instead of an ATM card).  Bank of America is partnered with Westpac Bank in New Zealand.  That means that students with BoA accounts should be able to withdraw money from any Westpac ATM without incurring any fees (there is a Westpac ATM on campus, and they are also all over the country).  Using a debit or credit card ensures that students will get the best exchange rate of the day.  Credit/ Debit cards are widely accepted in New Zealand (including in taxis).  Students should make sure that they are signed up for web banking for all accounts that they will be using overseas.  That way they can monitor any fees that are being charged, as well as know their balance in American dollars.  When using ATMs in New Zealand, all information and dispensed currency will be in New Zealand Dollars.  Check www.xe.com for the current currency conversion.

Packing / Getting Ready: Students studying in New Zealand will have the chance to speak with past Loyola-Auckland students regarding the latest tips on packing.  The climate in Auckland is generally temperate.  As it is in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are reversed.  Auckland experiences mild, wet winters (June – August), and warm, dry summers (December – February).  The fall semester has temperatures from the 50s – 70s.  The spring semester will experience the same in reverse—starting in the 70s and finishing in the 50s.  There are big variations from the Northern to Southern ends of New Zealand: the north is subtropical, while the south gets arctic winds and has snowcapped mountains year-round.  Auckland itself is one of the sunniest places in New Zealand, but also receives high amounts of rainfall (there are rainforests nearby).  Students should bring a good pair of sneakers, a rain jacket, and a fleece jacket of some sort.  They should also bring travel-sized toiletry bottles (you can’t purchase them there), a good backpack for long weekend trips, and females should bring make-up (it is very expensive in New Zealand).  Students should plan on purchasing hair dryers or straighteners in New Zealand if they plan on using them.  Students should bring New Zealand plug convertors for their laptops and chargers.  They do not need electricity adaptors for those items as they work on international electric currency.  If students wish to purchase any linens or towels, they should do so in New Zealand.  There is a very cheap store called the Warehouse (similar to Wal-Mart or Target) where they can purchase anything they need so that it does not take up room or weight in their suitcases.

Misc: Communication is another concern for parents.  There are several options for communicating with your son or daughter while they are in New Zealand.  All students will have phone and internet connections in their rooms.  Phones are provided, and students must pay for the calls that they make on them.  Phones are set up for incoming calls, which are free, but students must activate their accounts to make outgoing calls which will cost $30 NZD per month (that includes free local calls).  Students can buy phone cards with great rates for calling to the US (some for only 3.5 NZ cents per minute!).  International phone cards that you buy in the US will not work well or at all from New Zealand.  Have your student wait to buy them overseas.  With the calling cards (purchased in New Zealand), students will dial a local number (so that is included in their $30 NZD per month outgoing calls fee) to access them to dial home.  You should also look into special rates for calling to New Zealand through either your cell phone or land-line phone company.  Most companies have them, but just do not advertise them. 

Another option is a program called Skype.  Skype is an internet-based calling system (www.skype.com/download) that enables you to call for free or inexpensively.  All that is required is an internet connection and a microphone for the computer.  You can call computer-to-computer for free.  You can also call from computer to a landline or mobile phone at very cheap rates (The rate to call to a New Zealand phone is 2.1 cents/minute).  This works well in a few combinations—computer to computer, or the student’s laptop to your home/cell phone, or the student’s room/cell phone to your computer.

Finally, your student can always purchase a cell phone.  We recommend purchasing a phone overseas because many of the international cell phones that are sold in the US do not work well abroad and you must unlock a certain chip in them to be able to use them abroad at all.  It is much simpler to buy once there.  Some students purchase cell phones from students who studied in Auckland the previous semester.  That is the cheaper way to do it.  Students who have studied in Auckland in the past are usually split on the issue of whether or not to get a cell phone.  Usually only half of the group does opt to buy one and the other half feels it is unnecessary.  Making outgoing calls on a cell phone in New Zealand is quite expensive.  Incoming calls, however, are free.  If your student does purchase a cell phone in New Zealand, they do not have to sign a contract but can do prepaid minutes (pay-as-you-go) instead.

Websites:

University of Auckland 
New Zealand information     
Auckland information 
Currency conversion
The World Clock