Otago Halls of Residence

[randompsych]

Hey guys, sorry for dropping in even though I'm not a med student (going for psych-neuroscience in BSc), but I found this thread coincidentally and it's a great thread for residential halls in Otago, so I'm hoping for advice

I'm 99% sure I'll put Hayward in for 1st choice, though I haven't seen too much about it in this thread unfortunately. Is there anyone here who's been to Hayward here (though I'm not putting my hopes up since it seems like most people here aim for St. Marge/Knox). A friend on mine who lives in NZ (I'm an international student) said that she thinks Hayward is very unpopular because her friends aren't aiming for the hall, but apparently everywhere else says that it's a first-choicer. Just a question, why's the hall so popular? (Aside from its humongous beds/rooms haha).

Also, does anyone know anything about Te Rangi Hiroa? I haven't been thinking of putting it down as a 2nd/3rd choice until recently, because the pictures on its website seemed great, but that's really all that I'm basing it off. I've read that there may be small problems because it's new, but I'm curious, does it sound okay so far?

Thanks guys! So excited to apply once applications open!

 

[bambino]

What put me off Hayward when i visited it was the 'man floor' which seemed pretty grim to me . There's a considerable chance you'll get randomly put in it (assuming your male). Having said that, the hall is very close to the Uni campus and its pretty modern so its not all crumbly like some of the others *cough* 'selywn' *cough*.

 

[randompsych]

Grim? How so? And thankfully I'm a girl, haha.

Ooooh alright, closeness is a plus then, thanks bambino

 

[lalalarry]

Hey guys, sorry for dropping in even though I'm not a med student (going for psych-neuroscience in BSc), but I found this thread coincidentally and it's a great thread for residential halls in Otago, so I'm hoping for advice

I'm 99% sure I'll put Hayward in for 1st choice, though I haven't seen too much about it in this thread unfortunately. Is there anyone here who's been to Hayward here (though I'm not putting my hopes up since it seems like most people here aim for St. Marge/Knox). A friend on mine who lives in NZ (I'm an international student) said that she thinks Hayward is very unpopular because her friends aren't aiming for the hall, but apparently everywhere else says that it's a first-choicer. Just a question, why's the hall so popular? (Aside from its humongous beds/rooms haha).

Also, does anyone know anything about Te Rangi Hiroa? I haven't been thinking of putting it down as a 2nd/3rd choice until recently, because the pictures on its website seemed great, but that's really all that I'm basing it off. I've read that there may be small problems because it's new, but I'm curious, does it sound okay so far?


Thanks guys! So excited to apply once applications open!

My friend went there and thoroughly enjoyed it but said the food was terrible. Rooms are very spacious however around 3x the size of the biggest rooms at Arana but it requires a longer walk to uni (even then, it'll still only take like, 5-10mins) and is really close to the supermarket and city

 

[Lucca]

Hey guys,

Trying to sort out my preferences for Halls of Residence at the moment
What I've been thinking so far is 1. Carrington, 2. Hayward and I'm thinking of something for third choice atm.
How far is City Col from Campus? I've got myself some short legs so walking can take ages for me! :3

I've also looked at St. Margs but it's a first choice hall isn't it? Nearly wanted to put it into 2nd place before I realised that.

 

[el123]

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone knows whether the residential colleges limit the amount of people they accept from the same school when it comes to applications??

 

[Zion]

Hey guys,

Trying to sort out my preferences for Halls of Residence at the moment
What I've been thinking so far is 1. Carrington, 2. Hayward and I'm thinking of something for third choice atm.
How far is City Col from Campus? I've got myself some short legs so walking can take ages for me! :3

I've also looked at St. Margs but it's a first choice hall isn't it? Nearly wanted to put it into 2nd place before I realised that.

City Col is really close to St David, where most of your health science lectures will be in. It's about 5-10 minutes walking to St David, so it won't be a problem for your short legs It's modern, almost everything is new, and it's also right next to Liquor Store so it's a bonus if you drink occasionally. The only downside is that it's on one of the main streets and there are quite a few second and third year-student flats around it so it can get a bit noisy during the weekend. But the amount of noise you get depends on where your room is inside the College.

 

[randompsych]

My friend went there and thoroughly enjoyed it but said the food was terrible. Rooms are very spacious however around 3x the size of the biggest rooms at Arana but it requires a longer walk to uni (even then, it'll still only take like, 5-10mins) and is really close to the supermarket and city

Eh? The food there is horrible? That's surprising, 'cause one of their sellers is that they have excellent food (true that they may have been biased, but you know, that's still got to come from somewhere). It'll be harder for me now since I'm a picky eater, but all the other pros really outweigh it, so I'll just learn to cope/buy instant noodles from the supermarket hehe :b Thank you!

 

[frootloop]

Eh? The food there is horrible? That's surprising, 'cause one of their sellers is that they have excellent food (true that they may have been biased, but you know, that's still got to come from somewhere). It'll be harder for me now since I'm a picky eater, but all the other pros really outweigh it, so I'll just learn to cope/buy instant noodles from the supermarket hehe :b Thank you!

It's hall food, by definition it isn't great But to be honest, having eaten at 5 (I think?) different halls, none of them serve 'horrible' food.

 

[randompsych]

It's hall food, by definition it isn't great But to be honest, having eaten at 5 (I think?) different halls, none of them serve 'horrible' food.

It probably won't be a five-class restaurant, I understand that, but when I heard horrible, I just thought "prison food"... Haha, but that's good to hear though!

Is Hayward known to be a party hall or is it mostly just balanced by the way? I'm a huge introvert so I'm hoping that being around other extroverts would help me come out of my shell a bit more.

So far I've got: 1. Hayward, 2. Cumberland College/Te Rangi Hiroa, 3. Te Rangi Hiroa/Aquinas. Can anyone please comment on this? Obviously I'm still very unsure about Te Rangi Hiroa because all I've heard is decent... But not much after that. Sorry if I seem to ask too many questions, I'm just an overworrier by nature. Thanks!

 

[stevo140]

Hey guys, sorry for dropping in even though I'm not a med student (going for psych-neuroscience in BSc), but I found this thread coincidentally and it's a great thread for residential halls in Otago, so I'm hoping for advice

I'm 99% sure I'll put Hayward in for 1st choice, though I haven't seen too much about it in this thread unfortunately. Is there anyone here who's been to Hayward here (though I'm not putting my hopes up since it seems like most people here aim for St. Marge/Knox). A friend on mine who lives in NZ (I'm an international student) said that she thinks Hayward is very unpopular because her friends aren't aiming for the hall, but apparently everywhere else says that it's a first-choicer. Just a question, why's the hall so popular? (Aside from its humongous beds/rooms haha).

Also, does anyone know anything about Te Rangi Hiroa? I haven't been thinking of putting it down as a 2nd/3rd choice until recently, because the pictures on its website seemed great, but that's really all that I'm basing it off. I've read that there may be small problems because it's new, but I'm curious, does it sound okay so far?

Thanks guys! So excited to apply once applications open!

The sole reasons why Hayward is popular, in my opinion, are the bedroom sizes and the location.
Downsides I'm aware of are the lack of common areas, the street noise and the man floor.

Te Rangi is quite different than the other Colleges. It's got a Hotel feel to it which means the corridors are quite dark and unsociable (good for study, but not good for interactions). Every bedroom has an ensuite although I wouldn't necessarily call it an en-suite, it's more like a bathroom in the middle of your room. Great common areas but no outdoor areas. A fairly quiet College, it's located almost outside of the student precinct, but still only ~12 min walk from St Davids.

It probably won't be a five-class restaurant, I understand that, but when I heard horrible, I just thought "prison food"... Haha, but that's good to hear though!

Is Hayward known to be a party hall or is it mostly just balanced by the way? I'm a huge introvert so I'm hoping that being around other extroverts would help me come out of my shell a bit more.

So far I've got: 1. Hayward, 2. Cumberland College/Te Rangi Hiroa, 3. Te Rangi Hiroa/Aquinas. Can anyone please comment on this? Obviously I'm still very unsure about Te Rangi Hiroa because all I've heard is decent... But not much after that. Sorry if I seem to ask too many questions, I'm just an overworrier by nature. Thanks!

Hey randompsych,

Your choices seem logical. Te Rangi is fairly quiet and it's the smallest College (apart from Abbey which is post-grad). Definitely not a party College. Hayward seems to have a good party/study balance. Cumberland is more on the party side of the spectrum (though the staff are working hard to counteract this). I would say Aquinas is slightly on the quiet side of the spectrum, not big drinkers there but they're always heavily involved into events and punch above their weight in sports.

All the Halls you have chosen do indeed have a solid academic focus. Probably Te Rangi and Aquinas a cut above though. Aquinas has a staff member solely dedicated to study support which is kinda cool.

 

[Verdigris]

Hi guys!

I've been lurking on this thread for a while now, but the more I read the more I get confused about my choices
My current choices are
1. St Margaret's
2. Cumberland??
3. Haven't decided

I'm limited because I can't walk for long distances (problem with hip joints), so a college more than about five minutes walk away from lecture halls would not be ideal. I'd also prefer a quieter hall because I'm not into partying/like a quiet atmosphere. However I am worried about which halls will accept me because, due to a health problem, I've missed large chunks of school. I've kept my grades high, but I have few other activities to commend me - only some choral stuff, Grade 6 piano, lunchtime tutoring, being a senior student librarian, running a small writing club, and attending the Rotary Science Forum.

 

[ahsfan]

I've been reading this thread, and my current choices are
1. st.mags/carrington
2.te rangi hiroa
3. aquinas/salmond/studholme

Do you guys think this is a good pick? Help please! applications open tmrw!

 

[emqq]

Is there a college with better law tutorials or more suited towards a LLB/BA major? Thanks ^_^

 

[inflow]

I've been reading this thread, and my current choices are
1. st.mags/carrington
2.te rangi hiroa
3. aquinas/salmond/studholme

Do you guys think this is a good pick? Help please! applications open tmrw!

My advised choices in bold.

Is there a college with better law tutorials or more suited towards a LLB/BA major? Thanks

I can't speak for any other halls, but Carrington has MANY law tutorials.

 

[Cogswell]

I've been reading this thread, and my current choices are
1. st.mags/carrington
2.te rangi hiroa
3. aquinas/salmond/studholme

Do you guys think this is a good pick? Help please! applications open tmrw!

Gotta agree with inflow, but probably: carrington > st margs > te rangi hiroa > studholme, in that order.

Anyways, my friend was in Salmond last year and he said it was horrible. Since the Christchurch earthquake, Knox college had to have a few million in repairs to make it earthquake safe. Since Salmond and Knox are owned by the same people, they took funds from both colleges to do this. Apparently all the students were complaining about the bad food and budget cutbacks - the headmaster of salmond tried to be nice and give more to the students but got fired and now there's a new headmaster.
Just a heads up about Salmond.

 

[stevo140]

Is there a college with better law tutorials or more suited towards a LLB/BA major? Thanks ^_^

Tutors change all the time. One College who may be good this year may not be good next year because they've graduated and the College has to find a new tutor. As far as I'm aware, most Colleges offer Law tutorials but it's a lottery knowing which College will have the best tutors next year.

 

[frootloop]

Anyways, my friend was in Salmond last year and he said it was horrible. Since the Christchurch earthquake, Knox college had to have a few million in repairs to make it earthquake safe. Since Salmond and Knox are owned by the same people, they took funds from both colleges to do this. Apparently all the students were complaining about the bad food and budget cutbacks - the headmaster of salmond tried to be nice and give more to the students but got fired and now there's a new headmaster.
Just a heads up about Salmond.

Similar situation at Knox, master got the boot, and they got a new one. The new one has now left, because of sickness. And his number two (who pretty much *was* Knox) left as well.

 

[stevo140]

Hi guys!

I've been lurking on this thread for a while now, but the more I read the more I get confused about my choices
My current choices are
1. St Margaret's
2. Cumberland??
3. Haven't decided

I'm limited because I can't walk for long distances (problem with hip joints), so a college more than about five minutes walk away from lecture halls would not be ideal. I'd also prefer a quieter hall because I'm not into partying/like a quiet atmosphere. However I am worried about which halls will accept me because, due to a health problem, I've missed large chunks of school. I've kept my grades high, but I have few other activities to commend me - only some choral stuff, Grade 6 piano, lunchtime tutoring, being a senior student librarian, running a small writing club, and attending the Rotary Science Forum.

Hi Verdigris,
St Margaret's sounds like a good #1 pick for you (quiet and ~2 minutes from St David's). Plus you have choir experience which is really helpful to get into St Mags. Cumberland would be a good #2 (5 min from St David's, though a bit noisy/rowdy). I would lean towards City College for #3. Less than 5 minutes to St David's, with a good balance of study/noise/play. te Rangi Hiroa, although ~8 min from St David's, would also suit your needs

 

[randompsych]

The sole reasons why Hayward is popular, in my opinion, are the bedroom sizes and the location.
Downsides I'm aware of are the lack of common areas, the street noise and the man floor.

Te Rangi is quite different than the other Colleges. It's got a Hotel feel to it which means the corridors are quite dark and unsociable (good for study, but not good for interactions). Every bedroom has an ensuite although I wouldn't necessarily call it an en-suite, it's more like a bathroom in the middle of your room. Great common areas but no outdoor areas. A fairly quiet College, it's located almost outside of the student precinct, but still only ~12 min walk from St Davids.



Hey randompsych,

Your choices seem logical. Te Rangi is fairly quiet and it's the smallest College (apart from Abbey which is post-grad). Definitely not a party College. Hayward seems to have a good party/study balance. Cumberland is more on the party side of the spectrum (though the staff are working hard to counteract this). I would say Aquinas is slightly on the quiet side of the spectrum, not big drinkers there but they're always heavily involved into events and punch above their weight in sports.

All the Halls you have chosen do indeed have a solid academic focus. Probably Te Rangi and Aquinas a cut above though. Aquinas has a staff member solely dedicated to study support which is kinda cool.

Hmm... I think I'll put Aquinas for third choice then, just to be safe. The others are going to be Hayward and Cumberland. Thanks for your advice!