[TrentBridge]

We are planning on arriving in NZ during summer 09. Our 18year old will have just completed his A levels and would like to go to university.

Does anyone know when he would start? I've been looking on websites and it seems it would be Feb 2010. Am I right in thinking this? I think I've read somewhere on the forum that school years start in May, so I'm a little confused.

Also, are there any league tables or independent reviews of university education in NZ?

Do NZ university entrants usually go to a uni away from their home (as is the case in UK)?

So many questions............

Right, off to walk the dog now in the rain and wind:( :D

S

[benandclare]

AFAIK school year starts in February

[willsken]

Yes the school year starts in Feb. Whether they go away to uni will depend largely what they want to study. Seems to me, from what I've picked up so far (not a lot though:D ) different unis have things they are recommended for and kids will choose them first.

[IanW99]

AFAIK school year starts in February

Technically school year starts beginning of January (just like a normal year) but the date that students go back to school is generally the end of January / beginning of February.

Tertiary education tends to run the same time e.g. start work in February, but some Universities have multiple entry dates so you would need to check with the specific university.

You can find a whole host of details regarding Universities from this :-Tertiary Sector Links (http://www.minedu.govt.nz/index.cfm?layout=document&documentid=4406&indexid=4328&indexparentid=1028)

NZ entrants are similar to UK i.e. they tend to go where the university is that they want to attend.

Ian

[ellenmelon]

uni here can start anywhere from mid to late february and sometimes early march, depends on the course. my private training institute run's alongside the high school dates in most courses, apart from mine as you choose which modules you want to do so you don't have holidays at the same time as the rest of the students.
each uni here is known for a specific subject but that doesnt mean the other departments are weaker...for example otago is known for health sciences and victoria for the arts/humanities.

[TrentBridge]

Thank you all for your replies.

IanW99, I've tried the link and there is some really useful info on the site. Thanks for that.:)

S

[alan999]

I'm sure I've read somewhere that you can start at the beginning of any semester, but I've only looked at Auckland. I clocked it for future use because if all goes well we'll get PR around Aprilish next year, allowing my daughter to get away with domestic fees if she starts second term. If she was to start in the first term then she'd be classed as international. All that happens is she'll complete her degree a term later.
Alan.

[dilanium]

I know I'm starting in the second semester, but I'm not sure if that's because my program is a special case.