VUW or Otago?

Applying to College
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<p>Having a hard time deciding between Victoria University of Wellington and the University of Otago. I received my offer this morning from Victoria and expect my offer from Otago later this week.</p>

<p>So which one? I'm looking for opinions from international students who studied at both. My major is International Relations with a focus on Conflict Resolution/Public Policy.</p>

<p>Your opinions are greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>J</p>

<p><strong>Oh, and to also add note, I've been offered placement at ANU and Sydney in Australia. Something else to weigh.</strong></p>

<p>Of the four - ANU, Sydney, VUW, Otago, which one?</p>

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<p>Definitely not Otago or Victoria if you can do ANU/Sydney.</p>

<p>ANU is the best in Australia for policy studies. Top 15 in the world. On the other hand Canberra can be boring. There are some alright clubs, a few pubs, but nightlife is not the strong point. It’s around 4 hours away from Melbourne…and once Friday rolls around the roads are jammed to get out.</p>

<p>On the other hand, Sydney is not as good in policy studies…but the experience would be awesome. I shouldn’t even have to explain Sydney. </p>

<p>Personally I would only take ANU if it were for a graduate program, because there research is off the charts. For a study abroad semester or two, no question Sydney.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I’ll be there for about 18 months. Finishing up my undergraduate there.</p>

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<p>“ANU is the best in Australia for policy studies. Top 15 in the world.”</p>

<p>Completely agree. There are so many opportunities to work in government organisations as well, or so I’ve heard. I’m pretty sure these are available to undergraduate students; ANU is renowned for policy at all levels.</p>

<p>“On the other hand Canberra can be boring.”</p>

<p>Agree. My friends make fun of me because I’m leaning towards ANU, despite the fact that my ATAR gets me full scholarships everywhere. Then again, if you like outdoorsy sort of things (like bushwalking), then Canberra’s fine. Apparently there’s a lot of wildlife around ANU - I’ve heard of kangaroos and echidnas on campus, whereas at other unis all you see are pidgeons and city buildings. </p>

<p>“There are some alright clubs, a few pubs, but nightlife is not the strong point.”</p>

<p>True. Although pretty much all of the uni colleges have internal bars, and most people live in colleges, and the drinking age is 18…</p>

<p>“It’s around 4 hours away from Melbourne…and once Friday rolls around the roads are jammed to get out.”</p>

<p>Very, very, VERY untrue. It’s more like 6 hours from Melbourne, and to my knowledge, there’s not a train link between Melbourne and Canberra (although I’ve never investigated it). It’s about 3 hours from Sydney, however. Most people who live in Canberra work for the public service, and I’m pretty sure that few people can be bothered driving to Sydney after work on a Friday. That said, there are cheap bus fares to Sydney (and some cheap flights to Melbourne), so you can easily see a bit of the country.</p>

<p>I’d say go to ANU, because it’s outstanding in politics. USyd’s good too, but it’d probably be a lot more impersonal because it’s a commuter campus (most students travel to and from uni every day, whereas at ANU a huge percentage of students reside on campus).</p>

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<p>^^^
My bad. Got the two locations mixed up.</p>

<p>One other thing to note, is that because ANU is such a big research university, it isn’t unheard of for an undergrad (even a first year) to author in various journals, etc.</p>