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Auckland Uni Halls of Residence

peachy

Member
Hi all,

seeing as the Otago halls of residence thread was created in 2010 and now contains a wealth of information on many Otago Uni halls (163 pages' worth, in fact!) I thought it was about time that one was set up for Auckland Uni! ^_^

Feel free to ask questions on anything relating to Auckland Uni's halls of residence. I hope this becomes a valuable resource for many prospective students in the future!!
 

Cogswell

Regular Member
I've been accepted into Carlaw Park this year, and I have no idea what to expect.
I know it's relatively new, but what is there?
Is there a 'games room', ie. pool table, table tennis table, pianos, etc?
Is there a main common room to meet people?
Are they 'apartment-like' places with 3-4 bedrooms, and does it feel like an apartment or a proper home?
Are there many activities to unite everyone in the hall, or are people just generally friends with the other few people they share kitchen/bathrooms with?
What age group are the people in this hall generally?

I kinda wish it was catered as well so I didn't have to cook, but I guess I can't really choose considering I applied really late.
 

AvatarRoku

Member
I've been accepted into Carlaw Park this year, and I have no idea what to expect.
I know it's relatively new, but what is there?
Is there a 'games room', ie. pool table, table tennis table, pianos, etc?
Is there a main common room to meet people?
Are they 'apartment-like' places with 3-4 bedrooms, and does it feel like an apartment or a proper home?
Are there many activities to unite everyone in the hall, or are people just generally friends with the other few people they share kitchen/bathrooms with?
What age group are the people in this hall generally?

I kinda wish it was catered as well so I didn't have to cook, but I guess I can't really choose considering I applied really late.

I got accepted into CPSV too. Are you going in an apartment with friends?
 

Bon

Member
I've been accepted into Carlaw Park this year, and I have no idea what to expect.
I know it's relatively new, but what is there?
Is there a 'games room', ie. pool table, table tennis table, pianos, etc?
Is there a main common room to meet people?
Are they 'apartment-like' places with 3-4 bedrooms, and does it feel like an apartment or a proper home?
Are there many activities to unite everyone in the hall, or are people just generally friends with the other few people they share kitchen/bathrooms with?
What age group are the people in this hall generally?

I kinda wish it was catered as well so I didn't have to cook, but I guess I can't really choose considering I applied really late.

It's the University's newest hall – really nice, and in great proximity to a lot of things e.g. City Campus, Britomart, Parnell, the Domain (roughly 20-25mins easy walk to Grafton, 10mins if you go really fast). Its won quite a few awards in regards to its architecture and design actually.

There's no games room per se, just a pool room and a basketball hoop outside. No musical facilities either sorry, but you're more than welcome to play in your room. There's a large main common room/communal area with a kitchen and outdoors patio/BBQ area which is really nice and used quite often during the year for get-togethers and hall events.

There are apartments with 2/3/4 bedrooms. Each apartment comes fully furnished with a lounge, kitchen and bathroom. The apartments are quite big for a university residence so it can definitely feel like home if you make it out to be one :) You can deck it out as much or as little as you want. I think you can get a good balance in that sense since I still had that feeling of being away from home and living independently, which is quite nice. Beginning to cook your own meals is an adventure at first, but having a few recipes up your sleeve that you can pull out anytime is great (e.g. lasagne, homemade pizza are good ones).

If it's your first year away, try your best to get along to different hall events and get to know your flatmates well! I think getting to know who you live with, if you don't already, will make it a lot more comfortable. You can request to live with certain people (i.e. friends) before you move in. In my experience it wasn't as hall-y as the traditional first year halls like University Hall and O'Rorke, but since my flatmates and I had already been through that we tended to keep to our own.

Most residents, if not all, will be above first-year, so a lot of second and third-years with a few international and mature students (i.e. PhDs, a few families even). Overall it's a really balanced hall.
 
What sort of things do I write when they ask me to "Tell us about yourself."? This is for Auckland btw. Please help me, I don't really know what to write. They have a 250 word space limit I think.
 

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rustyedges

Moderator
Moderator
What sort of things do I write when they ask me to "Tell us about yourself."? This is for Auckland btw. Please help me, I don't really know what to write. They have a 250 word space limit I think.

They want to know anything and everything about you (in 250 words :p) . It can be anything: where you're from/family is from, where you grew up, what sports you play, if you can play any instruments, what your hobbies are, what books/music/movies you like, about your pets, what you like to study at school, what you want to be when you grow up etc. etc. What you say or don't say shouldn't be too important (unless it's a massive red flag).
 
The exact question is " Tell us about yourself. How do you interact with new people? Are you sociable, or do you prefer to spend time on your own? What is your study / sleep pattern (i.e. do you like to stay up late and study)?"
 

Stuart

Administrator
Emeritus Staff
The exact question is " Tell us about yourself. How do you interact with new people? Are you sociable, or do you prefer to spend time on your own? What is your study / sleep pattern (i.e. do you like to stay up late and study)?"

Hi,

There is no one answer to this. Try to answer them as honestly as possible. You don't have much to lose.
 

Andromeda

Forum Lurker
Erm hello, I'm 99% sure this is the right thread to post to but I might be wrong :/
ANYWAY!
I really like planning ahead for University despite it being several years before I'll actually be going, and I was wondering which hall of residence would be best suited to me?
Some extra details:
- I'm aiming to do the science-majoring-in-biomed entrance to med but am willing to fall back on health science if necessary, however science is my first option because despite my love for English due to the apparently major differences between uni essays and college essays I think science would be the safer option? Also, I really do like science :)
- I'm from a relatively small town in the North Island (<10,000 people) and my parents don't have stupendously well paying jobs, so maybe something on the cheaper end of the spectrum? (though my dad has been saving up for me and my sister for a long time, so I probably can do the pricier ones as well)
- I would like the hall to be quite close to the City & Grafton Campuses (because I think that's where I'd need to go for the BSc entry?? Don't quote me on this), be it walking distance or a bus or whatever, though I'm pretty sure they all are haha
- I'd also like the atmosphere to be pretty manageable? Like, pretty quite when it's nearing exam time and nothing too loud or anything. Idk maybe I'm just being picky but I can't stand people being noisy when I'm trying to study :/
- I'm a teensy bit socially awkward and not the best at making friends, so maybe a hall that would make social interaction available since I am trying to break out of my shell a bit :)
- FULLY. CATERED. I cannot cook whatsoever D:
 
If you don't mind, when will you be going to university? I don't know for sure, but all of them are the same size if you add food too. Huia is 9000$ something if you cook by yourself (but if you're several, like 3, years away from going to university, you might learn to cook in that time frame!) Uni hall residence is the newest one and people say it's really good because it has all the smart people haha, so you might find that atmosphere helpful. There are the 2 main residential halls that have good reputations in Auckland for academics, although I heard somewhere O'rorke has a somewhat "party" atmosphere but I guess that'll be true when it's 300+ 18 year olds, I dunno?

University Hall & O’Rorke: A Visual Shootout | The Inside Word at the University of Auckland
That's written by students studying at the UoA
 

Andromeda

Forum Lurker
Let's just say 3+ years... ;)
Haha true, but I'm that kind of person who would rather not cook if I didn't have to :lol:
Yeah, Uni Hall seems pretty good w/ the newness and the atmosphere but idk is it expensive?
A lot of people and websites have said that O'Rorke is the best but I would prefer a less party-y atmosphere so idk
My sister went to Whittaker for her first year as well so I might ask her for some info, she has a lot of Uni friends who went to other halls as well so the info'll be good :)
Thanks for the link, I'll check it out :)
 
Let's just say 3+ years... ;)
Haha true, but I'm that kind of person who would rather not cook if I didn't have to :lol:
Yeah, Uni Hall seems pretty good w/ the newness and the atmosphere but idk is it expensive?
A lot of people and websites have said that O'Rorke is the best but I would prefer a less party-y atmosphere so idk
My sister went to Whittaker for her first year as well so I might ask her for some info, she has a lot of Uni friends who went to other halls as well so the info'll be good :)
Thanks for the link, I'll check it out :)
It's close to 15000$, rather expensive but that's like the average prize for every hall in Auckland. So many smiley faces haha :p
 

Andromeda

Forum Lurker
Okay W O W did NOT realize it was that expensive o_O but ah well it's better than actually buying a house up there XD
Smileys smileys everywhere :) :) :)
 

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Andromeda

Forum Lurker
Thanks for the info :) my sister has a pharmacy friend who lived in o'rorke so I'll be able to get some insight from her as well :)
 

Quacks

MBChB VI
Thanks for the info :) my sister has a pharmacy friend who lived in o'rorke so I'll be able to get some insight from her as well :)
Hey SpaceSister,

I did exactly what you’re doing. Joined MSO when I was 13 and started researching HSFY and planning how I was going to get into med (and coming up with plans A, B, C and D as back up). Over 4 years later and I’m in 2nd year med at Otago and tbh I don’t think I wouldn’t have got in if I hadn’t have prepared so early. Anyway don’t let people tell you it’s too early to plan / be excited, as long as you don’t let the thought of university consume your life it’s allgood. Remember to enjoy college because university life isn’t all it’s made out to be, and I kind of regret not enjoying my high school years as much as I should’ve and being too driven rip. Enjoy having the easy life while you can :) have goals but remember to always focus on the now, you’ll never get the present back again
 

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