Otago Halls of Residence

[lalalarry]

ok, so apps for halls gonna open soon and i have yet to decide! so far my list is looking to be...
1. Arana- they sem to have the balance i want there, you can study and have a life! not too rowdy, but not too quiet either! and people should help each other is emphasised there. well, that's what the warden told us
2. Carrington - not sure if they'll take second choicers but if i weren't to get into arana, i'd def want to go to carrington
3. NO IDEA maybe studhulme? but i have no idea what that's like

does anyone know what studhulme's like? is it on campus? is it rowdy?

the trouble i'm having with arana is whether to go to a quiet floor or not. when the quiet floors got pointed out to us, they looked like the older buildings, i.e. not very nice. is this the case really? i know on the inside of the rooms, they're all pretty much the same but is like, the heating in the older parts ok and stuff?

 

[Sam]

ok, so apps for halls gonna open soon and i have yet to decide! so far my list is looking to be...
1. Arana- they sem to have the balance i want there, you can study and have a life! not too rowdy, but not too quiet either! and people should help each other is emphasised there. well, that's what the warden told us
2. Carrington - not sure if they'll take second choicers but if i weren't to get into arana, i'd def want to go to carrington
3. NO IDEA maybe studhulme? but i have no idea what that's like

does anyone know what studhulme's like? is it on campus? is it rowdy?

the trouble i'm having with arana is whether to go to a quiet floor or not. when the quiet floors got pointed out to us, they looked like the older buildings, i.e. not very nice. is this the case really? i know on the inside of the rooms, they're all pretty much the same but is like, the heating in the older parts ok and stuff?

I was at Otago for literally 3 months before I even knew studholme even existed.. For your 3rd I'd go for somewhere like hayward (very modern looking from the outside at least and very close) or maybe unicol (alcohol free floor if you want to get good work done).

 

[frootloop]

ok, so apps for halls gonna open soon and i have yet to decide! so far my list is looking to be...
1. Arana- they sem to have the balance i want there, you can study and have a life! not too rowdy, but not too quiet either! and people should help each other is emphasised there. well, that's what the warden told us
2. Carrington - not sure if they'll take second choicers but if i weren't to get into arana, i'd def want to go to carrington
3. NO IDEA maybe studhulme? but i have no idea what that's like

does anyone know what studhulme's like? is it on campus? is it rowdy?

the trouble i'm having with arana is whether to go to a quiet floor or not. when the quiet floors got pointed out to us, they looked like the older buildings, i.e. not very nice. is this the case really? i know on the inside of the rooms, they're all pretty much the same but is like, the heating in the older parts ok and stuff?

Have you read anything we've said on here? You're very, very unlikely to get into Carrington if it isn't your first choice, so it's a waste of a second choice.
Studholme is like, over the road from Arana. I know very little about it, but I gather it's no better/worse than the likes of UniCol, Cumberland, etc.
As for Arana, I think it's over-rated. I went there a few times visiting mates and such, and was at a loss to explain why it's so popular. It doesn't hold the 'classiness' appeal of Smags or Knox, and the rooms (or at least, those I saw) were probably lower quality than my room at UniCol. Arana certainly wasn't much quieter on a 'drinking night' than the likes of UniCol, either, to be honest.
I disagree with lul that Hayward would make a good third choice, it's probably far too popular for them to need to dip into third-choicers.

Overall, you pick the hall you want to go to as your first choice, and then for 2nd/3rd choice you kind of have to play it a little strategically and pick those of the less-popular-but-still-good halls that you'd be most happy (or least unhappy) with. So put Arana first if it's your first choice, then pick out of the less popular colleges (think UniCol, Cumberland, Studholme, CityCol, Aquinas) for your 2nd and 3rd preferences.

 

[Voldemort]

The only thing I have heard about Studholme (people from Studholme, please don't hate me for this!) is that it is not as academic as some of the others... But I didn't even stay at a hall so I can't really talk...

 

[tnals94]

Hi
I wanted to know what the requirements for getting into St. m or Carrington.
I screwed up in my NCEA last yr (lvl2) and now i am worried that i won't be able to get in.
I heard that St. M tends to pick people with a muscial background?
I used to play an instrument but stopped a couple of years ago. Does this put me in a disadvantage?
And since halls like st. m, carrington, etc only accepts people who has put them as first choice what would be a good, quiet, close to the library,lecture residentry hall to put down as second choice?

 

[greenglacier]

I've heard that the general requirements for acceptance at Carrington are (or at least were when I stayed there):

Putting them as first preference, and providing a good reference from your school, and
- NCEA lvl 2 with excellence
OR
- NCEA lvl 2 with merit AND demonstrated high achievement in one area of extra-curricular pursuit

Of course, I can't say what the standard will be for this year, so don't take the above too seriously - however it does give a decent ballpark figure that matches up well to the people who were at Carrington with me.

 

[Sam]

And since halls like st. m, carrington, etc only accepts people who has put them as first choice what would be a good, quiet, close to the library,lecture residentry hall to put down as second choice?

Hayward

 

[Wongtong]

Hi
I wanted to know what the requirements for getting into St. m or Carrington.
I screwed up in my NCEA last yr (lvl2) and now i am worried that i won't be able to get in.
I heard that St. M tends to pick people with a muscial background?
I used to play an instrument but stopped a couple of years ago. Does this put me in a disadvantage?
And since halls like st. m, carrington, etc only accepts people who has put them as first choice what would be a good, quiet, close to the library,lecture residentry hall to put down as second choice?

I know of a bunch of people in Carrington who weren't major over achievers and they didn't do anything extra curricular, but I would advise you to do things that would let the Carrington staff know that you enjoy participating in activities.

 

[lalalarry]

Have you read anything we've said on here? You're very, very unlikely to get into Carrington if it isn't your first choice, so it's a waste of a second choice.
Studholme is like, over the road from Arana. I know very little about it, but I gather it's no better/worse than the likes of UniCol, Cumberland, etc.
As for Arana, I think it's over-rated. I went there a few times visiting mates and such, and was at a loss to explain why it's so popular. It doesn't hold the 'classiness' appeal of Smags or Knox, and the rooms (or at least, those I saw) were probably lower quality than my room at UniCol. Arana certainly wasn't much quieter on a 'drinking night' than the likes of UniCol, either, to be honest.
I disagree with lul that Hayward would make a good third choice, it's probably far too popular for them to need to dip into third-choicers.

Overall, you pick the hall you want to go to as your first choice, and then for 2nd/3rd choice you kind of have to play it a little strategically and pick those of the less-popular-but-still-good halls that you'd be most happy (or least unhappy) with. So put Arana first if it's your first choice, then pick out of the less popular colleges (think UniCol, Cumberland, Studholme, CityCol, Aquinas) for your 2nd and 3rd preferences.

yeah maybe not carrington as second then. perhaps studhulme as second then unicol as third? then at least i'd get into a hall if i don't get into arana!

i can seethe appeal in arana. it has the balanced life style, the have fun but study hard thing. and i'd say pretty much most of the rooms are pretty much the same, unless you get put into a house or one of those huge rooms in carrington! Smags to me was toooo classy. i'm quite gumby so i'd say i'd stick out like a sore thumb there

yeah, my friend's sister who went to arana said that they got pretty rowdy thursday and saturday nights, thus the reason why i'd go to a 'quiet' floor where hopefully the noise would be more controlled. but tbh, i think everywhere would be rowdy, i mean, it's university. it's otago
unless you're at Stmags.... XD

 

[vivianyylele]

Hi guys just wondering if any of you know about residence for transfering students. Well gonna transfer from Auckland and do biomed 2nd year directly in Otago in 2013. Do you have any suggestions of halls? Are there many transfering students living in halls? Well, you know, don't really know anyone in Otago and feel like living in halls could be a better choice than flatting.

 

[Caesar]

Knox is the best and you should put it as your first choice (Knox College, Dunedin, New Zealand) Here are some videos to show you why:

Rob Cole For Sports - YouTube - sports rep campaign for student exec.
Haggis anyone? - YouTube - Address to the haggis at the fall ball.

It's a bloody great place with the traditions we have, plus there's a good balance of work and fun. Most people stay for two years as well which means one year less of flatting (this can be seen as a positive or a negative). Knox is by far the best college if you're wanting a full on university experience - we have postgrads here too in their own wing, which gives a good academic blend. Also it looks like hogwarts.
I'm absolutely loving it here.

Chur,
Another Really good video

 

[Sam]

Knox is the best and you should put it as your first choice (Knox College, Dunedin, New Zealand) Here are some videos to show you why:

Rob Cole For Sports - YouTube - sports rep campaign for student exec.
Haggis anyone? - YouTube - Address to the haggis at the fall ball.

It's a bloody great place with the traditions we have, plus there's a good balance of work and fun. Most people stay for two years as well which means one year less of flatting (this can be seen as a positive or a negative). Knox is by far the best college if you're wanting a full on university experience - we have postgrads here too in their own wing, which gives a good academic blend. Also it looks like hogwarts.
I'm absolutely loving it here.

Chur,
Another Really good video

ignore this fool, doesn't know what he's talking about. 25 min walk to uni no thanx

 

[Demimi]

At first I thought I wanted to be in a quiet dorm so was opting for Mags as first choice...but after some researching, is it considered a very...I dunno, dreary hall? The culture there if you like, is it all too quiet?

And is Hayway possible for second choice or not really?
Aquina or Cumby?

 

[Zion]

Hi guys,

So apparently from today they have started to accept applications. I have read all 46 pages of this and am really freaking out here. I always thought I would choose Knox (since I was in year 12) but something has put me off, I don't know what though, maybe I just need to know more about it. So anyway, my three choices would look something like this:

1) St Margaret's
2) Selwyn
3) Hayward

St Margaret's seems to be a little hard to get in but what chance do I have to be in Selwyn or Hayward if I put them in that order. I've got Level 2 with Excellence (just over 50 credits though) and doing ok this year with a few extra-curriculum stuff. I really don't want to go flatting, I live in Wellington and always have my parents around so to be honest, flatting does sound scary for me. Do you guys think I have a good chance?

 

[greenglacier]

Selwyn = 1st choice only (unless things have dramatically changed in the last year or so)
Hayward = verging towards 1st choice only, wouldn't be confident putting it 3rd

With those 3 choices you're effectively looking at St Margaret's or nothing. You'll need to put one of the less popular halls as 3rd pref (and ideally as 2nd).

With regard to Knox, I understand it's changed quite a bit in the last year. There was a bit of a scandal when a routine review was very critical of some of the practices there - as a result the warden has resigned (and they're yet to appoint a replacement), the pub has been closed, and some of the rituals stopped (including initiation and having to wear formal attire to all dinners). [MENTION=5278]Caesar[/MENTION] will know more about this. I don't know how much this matters to you.

 

[Caesar]

Selwyn = 1st choice only (unless things have dramatically changed in the last year or so)
Hayward = verging towards 1st choice only, wouldn't be confident putting it 3rd

With those 3 choices you're effectively looking at St Margaret's or nothing. You'll need to put one of the less popular halls as 3rd pref (and ideally as 2nd).

With regard to Knox, I understand it's changed quite a bit in the last year. There was a bit of a scandal when a routine review was very critical of some of the practices there - as a result the warden has resigned (and they're yet to appoint a replacement), the pub has been closed, and some of the rituals stopped (including initiation and having to wear formal attire to all dinners). @Caesar will know more about this. I don't know how much this matters to you.

The Bar /might/ reopen, probably won't though. This move was like saying we have a problem with car accidents, let's get rid of all the roads.
But at the moment it operates as a canteen and a place in which we can communally drink alcohol and party when appropriate without disturbing any first years. We also have the cam hall which seats about 200 people I think, in which we have hops (parties) a few times throughout the year. Our first ball is at larnach castle. This is very cool. It's a proper ball where you dance slowly to music that the band plays, we have a more jumpy-dancy ball in the second semester.

Initiation should still happen, but you know what they say, what doesn't kill you... doesn't kill you. I've got a little something planned for any health scis too... which I'm sure you'll all enjoy... (muahahahaha) Granted it has been toned down, but it will still be happening. It's a real shame the Master had to retire - he was a really good guy.

Any MSO health scis wanting to go to Knox, I'll be here next year so you'll essentially have a 2nd year (well, a bunch of us really) who is (/are) MORE than happy to help with study - like back when your parents could actually help with your homework if you needed it. Plus we have an on site library with 50ish seats and a mezzanine, which is boss.

In terms of pastoral care we have a Dean, the Master's usually available etc. We also have the grandparenting system; where a second year is given a first year student as their grandson/granddaughter - this is a MASSIVE help during O-week, having someone to show you the ropes, tell you not to wear a lanyard, all that stuff. You end up being really good friends with your grandparent; and the 1st/2nd year interactions opens up to a massive social life for when you'll eventually become a second year - because your grandparents (my generation) will be throwing parties quite often.

This is purely my biased opinion, but a college that you can call home where you have a new family is a damn sight better than a college where you're churned through the gears of a giant academic machine year after year. Here we all support each other, we all want each other to succeed.

Yeah, there's a walk, it's ~15min. I like because it wakes me up for morning lectures gets the blood flowing and all that. Plus you get to walk though the fresh air of the botanical gardens; and it's all downhill anyway.

Knox is damn cool, despite a few of the traditions going, the important ones which give us our character have remained.

/rant

 

[Sam]

Knox traditions sound really weird, it's like going to a 1800s school.. GROSSS

[OFFTOPIC]ew[/OFFTOPIC]

 

[Caesar]

Knox traditions sound really weird, it's like going to a 1800s school.. GROSSS

[OFFTOPIC]ew[/OFFTOPIC]

Haha some of it is old fashioned, I mean the college is 103 years old. But ew is definitely the wrong word - the only thing that's /really/ an old fashioned tradition is the formal dress at dinner - and it's only 4 nights during the week and on sunday.

I also forgot to mention that we have a really formal dinner on Sunday nights, full suits for boys, dresses for girls, dinner is by candlelight and tables are waited on. Not just the standard blazer, collar, tie and dress shoes mon-thu. For girls it's covered shoulders and a skirt or dress through the week.

You guys can PM me if you have any questions

 

[Zion]

I always love old stuff so I think I would enjoy my first year in Knox or St Margaret's, which I heard are the halls that have traditional feel to them. It's really hard when they only accept the first-choicer and you don't know if you will get your first choice or not. How hard is it to get into Knox, St Margaret's or Selwyn guys?

My boss was in Selwyn and she loved it, though she said Selwyn looks for people who do heaps of extra-curriculum stuff. How do Salmond and Studholme choose their people, does anyone know? My Biology teacher was in Cumby and he didn't like it because it was too rowdy, is it true?

 

[Caesar]

I always love old stuff so I think I would enjoy my first year in Knox or St Margaret's, which I heard are the halls that have traditional feel to them. It's really hard when they only accept the first-choicer and you don't know if you will get your first choice or not. How hard is it to get into Knox, St Margaret's or Selwyn guys?

My boss was in Selwyn and she loved it, though she said Selwyn looks for people who do heaps of extra-curriculum stuff. How do Salmond and Studholme choose their people, does anyone know? My Biology teacher was in Cumby and he didn't like it because it was too rowdy, is it true?

Don't go to Selwyn, they're dickholes (there's a bit of a rivalry). If you put Knox as your first choice you'll probably get in, just write in the college application exactly why you want to be here, plus if you're into extra-curricular stuff throw that down too, it's not a must for getting in but it'd help. Cumby is rowdy as all funk, amirite [MENTION=11852]Shaunasaur[/MENTION]?

My priority list was Knox, Arana, Selwyn (I think)

St Margs you just have to academic as hell, straight Ms & E's I hear. For Selwyn you have to meet the aforementioned criteria. For Knox you have to be cool, i.e. get good grades, maybe play a sport, or do community work. I however, failed NCEA lvl 3 the first time I did it, played zero sports and the only community stuff I really do is donating blood plasma. I think what's more important is your intentions at Knox (or any college for that matter), for example I made it quite clear in my application that I'm here in Otago to get a medical degree; whether it takes me 6 or 16 years, and that I wanted to do the whole extracurricular thing if I had the opportunity - but study came first. Then I got in. Shit's been so cash.