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Otago Halls of Residence
- Thread starter Pineapple
- Start date
Hey luna12345, welcome to MSOhey alljust wondering what halls, if any would accept someone who only passed level 2 with achieved (not merit or excellence) and what would better the chances of getting into a halls?
Wave is pretty accurate with his comment. With L2 Achieved I would probably avoid Carrington, Arana, St Mags as they probably won't accept you. So feel free to choose any of the other Colleges based on what you want in a College.
In terms of promoting yourself, don't be shy. Things like sports, volunteering, leadership, cultural stuff are all important. I'm sure you will find a home somewhere
On another note, if you're doing HSFY next year, I'd recommend looking at the Bridging Chemistry or JumpStart Physics courses in early February (unless of course these papers are your strengths). My experience working with HSFY students as an RA is that most individuals with Achieved Levels will seriously struggle at HSFY.
All the best!
Thanks for your input, Gosu. We try to avoid statements like "go to xxxxxxxx no matter what" as it's a generalization based on your view alone. There are many Colleges with excellent comfort level, perhaps some people actually enjoy getting out of their rooms, say hello to a few people, and going to the corridor bathrooms.
I agree that tutorials make little difference, but I would also argue that comfort makes little difference also. If you have good work ethic and a good grasp of how to study/what works best for you, then regardless of your College environment you should do well in your studies.
What we do on this thread is try to establish which Colleges' culture, location, facilities etc are best suited for each individual. Trust me, not everyone would be keen on Te Rangi Hiroa. Although there are positives for some, there are also many negatives for some...
someone took my name
Lurker
Halls for 2015
Hey guys. I have no idea what this website is it just came up when i Googled it. Thanks Google.
I've been accepted into Te Rani Hiroa College but from what I've heard it's not that great?? My sole reason for putting it down as my first choice was because of the ensuite rooms....
Please tell me all you know about Te Rangi so i know if I should prep for a horrible year haha. Thanks
Hey guys. I have no idea what this website is it just came up when i Googled it. Thanks Google.
I've been accepted into Te Rani Hiroa College but from what I've heard it's not that great?? My sole reason for putting it down as my first choice was because of the ensuite rooms....
Please tell me all you know about Te Rangi so i know if I should prep for a horrible year haha. Thanks
inflow
Regular Member
Te Rangi is a fine hall, it has had some tithing issues but as far as I'm aware they are all sorted now. You will be very happy there I assure you. The only problem would be that people tend to stick to their rooms more as they don't have to use shared facilities - but this may or may not be an issue to you, if your a social person then you will have no problem meeting new people.
randomhsfy100
Member
As a lot of people will say, it doesn't really matter what college you get accepted into; any one college will not give you a definitive advantage over another in terms of grades. So what comes into consideration is the environment, the living conditions, and the cost...I can't remember who it is, but one person on this site said to definitely go to Te Rangi Hiroa lol because of the rooms, so they must be pretty good. Sorry I don't know too much about it.
Edit: Oh, it's Gosu, the quote is just above your comment [MENTION=21334]someone took my name[/MENTION]
Edit: Oh, it's Gosu, the quote is just above your comment [MENTION=21334]someone took my name[/MENTION]
[offtopic]
Good that they're fixed, I hate it when my place of residence doesn't give generously to the church [/offtopic]
someone took my name
Lurker
so it won't be social suicide then? I'm a bit of a party person and yea
inflow
Regular Member
No. Plus your in dunedin, if you want to party you will be able to party, and there are thousands of things you can do as a student to meet other people.
randomhsfy100
Member
Before I went down, people said that it snowed a few times every 2 years. But last year it snowed twice, and apparently the year before it also snowed, it's not that heavy though, just a tiny bit slippery
Bluerock
Regular Member
In the last three years it's snowed a total of 5 times - and only really "settled" about 3 times. By settling, I mean there was a light dusting which stayed for about six hours. If you're in a hall for first year you almost have nothing to worry about - it snows and you can stay home and podcast the lectures!
Lego Man
Regular Member
It snowed pretty heavily in my first year - heavy for Dunedin, anyway. It was apparently the biggest snowfall they have had in 15 or so years, but even then it was maybe an inch or two thick on the flats and double that on the hills. As far as snow goes, you'll have nothing to worry about really apart from making sure you're warm. It's much more pleasant to be snowed on than rained on: much more of the snow just bounces off your clothes as opposed to rain which tends to soak everything. When you're in Dunedin, invest in a few good pairs of woollen socks, thermals, some decent gloves, and a hat/beanie. If you have a waterproof jacket that can fit a hoodie under it, or a puffer jacket, that's all you'll really need. And all of that can be bought over here unless you have some at home already or they're on special. February and March are usually pretty warm.
If you're in a hostel or a reasonable flat, you get used to the cold pretty fast. Many days between May and August have high temperatures of sub-10 degrees so you just get into the habit of putting warmer clothes on for the day. I find the cold temperatures in Dunedin to be a dry and crisp kind of cold, and very refreshing in the mornings and opposed to a dreary, wet, overcast kind. The coldest mornings usually are during high pressure systems, which means it'll be a sunny and clear day in the afternoon. Clouds trap heat in the atmosphere, which mean if it's cloudy or raining it's often marginally warmer than if it were clear skies, especially in mornings unless there's a storm front passing.
If you're in a hostel or a reasonable flat, you get used to the cold pretty fast. Many days between May and August have high temperatures of sub-10 degrees so you just get into the habit of putting warmer clothes on for the day. I find the cold temperatures in Dunedin to be a dry and crisp kind of cold, and very refreshing in the mornings and opposed to a dreary, wet, overcast kind. The coldest mornings usually are during high pressure systems, which means it'll be a sunny and clear day in the afternoon. Clouds trap heat in the atmosphere, which mean if it's cloudy or raining it's often marginally warmer than if it were clear skies, especially in mornings unless there's a storm front passing.
Probably a good idea, regardless of where you're living seedy people steal stuff (there was a guy who came through one hall with a sack and just walked around grabbing laptops out of open rooms...). It's not really that expensive if you're only insuring stuff like a laptop/mobile/personal belongings, either.my Dad wants me to ask you guys about insuring my belongings; what did you do? what companies are the best to go with if i do end up insuring? etc
Personally I'm with MAS, and was able to be insured by them in first year 'cause my folks are MAS members. If your parents happen to be with MAS then it's a good company to go with, given that most medical students end up financially involved with them in some capacity eventually.
Lego Man
Regular Member
my Dad wants me to ask you guys about insuring my belongings; what did you do? what companies are the best to go with if i do end up insuring? etc
Hi carmel97,
Hmmm this is actually a pretty long post :huh: You can also make appointments to see a couple of offices and have a chat to them. Most places are more than happy to give you quotes or recommend certain insurance plans. As frootloop mentioned, MAS are pretty good and have the added bonus of being focused on health professionals. This means that they understand the financial and vocational positions of medical students and take this into account if you need financial support (eg overdrafts and loans, student insurance plans, legal insurance wayyy down the track).
I visited a couple of insurance places in first year. I was living at a hall though and my most expensive item I owned was my laptop. I figured that the worst that could realistically happen was I'd have my laptop stolen or broken, and I didn't mind risking that since it was only worth $1000 anyway. Insurance plans generally run in the $275 - $350 per annum range. For students, the main thing that influences this price (also called your premiums) is your living situation. From a student-perspective, if you do happen to take out insurance, I'd suggest keeping the following in mind:
- Your excess: how much you have to pay yourself before your insurer will cover you. If your excess is $250 and you lose $200 worth of clothes, you won't be able to claim anything. If you lose $400 with that same excess, your insurer will only pay you $150. Also ask if the excess covers each individual item your claiming for, or everything that is being claimed from a single event. For example, if your laptop bag ($100) gets stolen and it contained your laptop ($1500) and harddrive ($200), your policy may only cover the laptop since its the only one valued more than the $250 excess. Other policies will group all three together as a single claim valued at $1800. Generally, lower excesses are met with higher premiums.
- Whether you get new-for-old replacements or the initial purchase cost refunded. Some policies only give you current market value.
- Whether the insurance plan covers accidental damage (eg spilling coffee on your laptop, even cracking your smartphone screen). I know MAS offers this with their plans.
- Whether you're covered everywhere you go or just at your place of residence. For example, if your laptop gets stolen at uni rather than at home, are you still covered? Most policies include this, but it's best toi double check.
- Their policies on locks. Some insurance policies will offer lower prices if you have a lock on your door (all halls have door locks), but if your laptop gets stolen from your room while your door is unlocked then you will not be covered. It's best to be aware of this, and is particularly applicable in flatting situations when your flatmate leaves the house unlocked because flat burglaries are much more common in the student areas.
- Contents insurance vs. personal liability. These are two different things: one insures you against damage/theft/loss to your own property, the other covers you for damage you do to other people's property (eg burning down your flat or hostel because you left the stove running). Many plans (particularly student-centric ones) bundle these two together.
My hostel ran an insurance seminar thing around O-Week which was offered by the Otago Law School and those are just a few things I remember they mentioned to us. If you're at a hostel, try emailing them and ask if they are considering running something similar as it's really informative. Insurance is pretty confusing if you've never had to worry about it before; I know it was for me. It was so confusing with so many options that I didn't get insurance for the first three years at uni. It is peace-of-mind though. There's nothing worse than having your laptop stolen and needing a replacement a week out from exams.
Most halls are reasonably security-conscious. They have after-hours locks or swipecards. Most have security cameras in public places. People tend to look out for each other and most are pretty trusting when it comes to theft
I have accidentally left many things around campus in the past, including my laptop (many times), wallets with money, my bag, my phone. Nothing's gone missing, but I may have been lucky. Good luck with sorting out insurance! It's a good thing to think about. Also, the person giving the seminar mentioned that before you get your own insurance, it's good to check your parents insurance policies. Sometimes, your parents policy also covers their children even when they aren't living at home, especially if your stuff has been purchased in their name or on their cards. If this is the case, you may not even need it if your parents are willing to be able to forward claims through their own insurer. My friend spilt coffee all over her Mac and it killed it, but her parents (who were with MAS) were able to claim against it and she got a brand new laptop (although that does make me wonder how they discern legitimate cases from those who just want a new laptop).
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