My daughter is thinking of returning to NZ to go to university to study either psychology or law. Does anybody have any experiences as to which one or just in general? Her number one at the moment is Otago

Dunedin. Student party town and home of sofa burning.

Way to many scarfies in Dunedin.
they live in squalor. The standard of accomodation us truly dreadful.
I'm glad my boys went to UK uni's

Returning from where?

I suspect most European universities will have higher academic standards than most NZ universities.

From the UK. The universities don’t do exactly what she wants here and as of September fees are doubling, so affordability has to come into the equation

Universities here are scaling back massively, with budget cuts, many job losses and all but the most popular subjects being chopped.

https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/23-...chopping-block

The fees for the actual course are not rising it is th maintenance loans and grants “The UK government confirmed on Wednesday that maintenance loans and grants for undergraduate and postgraduate students would go up 2.8% for the 2023/24 academic year.” My two sons paid their way through University, they worked part time/full time before Uni and then during Uni and both studied at a local (ish) Uni and stayed living at home both finished Uni without any debts so it can be done. What course is your daughter wanting to study?

She wants to do either psychology or law, she’s not decided yet. She s in her first year of A levels, so has time. She wants to do behavioural science within psychology which she hasn’t found a course whic incorporates it yet. We’re hoping to have a whistle stop trip so she can visit Otago and Canterbury universities so she can compare them to here.

Have a look at LSE - pretty sure that's what one of my daughter's friends is doing there.

Will she not have to be resident in NZ for a set period to qualify for financial aid/grants.
the UK says you must reside there for the 18 months prior to commencing study to qualify for grants. I would imaging NZ has similar rulings or you will pay international fees.

She is an NZ citizen. She has already enquired with Otago and Canterbury Universities and is classed as a domestic student.

Citizenship may not be enough.
The fees free scheme has criteria around NZ school enrollment and credits earned overseas.
My son is a British citizen, but being out of the UK for more than 18 months made him ineligible for student loans, so while the uni classes you as domestic, the loan scheme doesn't
Double check everything 👍

Otago has a very good reputation for anything medical. They are redeveloping the campus with swish new facilities in Christchurch.

https://www.otago.ac.nz/christchurch/otago706965.html

I've just enrolled in post grad studies there, so far so good!

I'm horrified to see you post this.

It is what was thought of NZ and Australian universities back in the "dark ages" up until even the 1970s. I thought that kind of remark had disappeared.

There is no reason to expect that European/British/North American universities have "higher academic standards".

It was that kind of elitist thought that was made a mockery of in science worlds many years ago when it was realised that scientists coming out of Australia and NZ were better than their Northern Hemisphere equivalents!

My experience is in science, but I have no reason to suspect that the arts are any different.

Nz uni sector in the press almost daily with its struggles. Massive reliance on Asian students and now they've not come back in pre covid amounts the arse has fallen out of the market, jobs and courses being cut etc.

However if you do want to compare nz unis to uk and worldwide then there is global rankings... https://www.idp.com/indonesia/study-...aland/?lang=en
so whilst auckland is semi up there in the world list the rest are kinda so-so?