Student Accommodation Tips

Online flatting search

Accommodation for students is a significant cost of studying, often away from home, which generally involves private rent flatting, or living at a university hall of residence near or on campus. For flat hunting, this generally means searching for a suitable flat or apartment, ideally near or at your educational institute. It may require you to advertise as a flatmate or boarder, or rent perhaps with friends, in a unit to live in. This should be ideal for shared costings, making it more economical and perhaps more enjoyable as a group. This of course means shared responsibility for bill payments, cleaning, and general responsibilities, along with everybody interacting positively together. Flatmates may become friends, and perhaps interdependent, and in my past experience, more so than your own family at times. Then again family are there (hopefully) when you need them. Below are some tips for flat hunting, costings, and searching the internet for accommodation including educational institutes Image from Photostock.

 Ideal Unit and Tenant Tips
-  Suitable Tenants - responsible, and all share in costings, or fair use costs, and generally get on together
- Affordability, i.e. if you can you cope will your share of costs, perhaps monthly
- Location - On or near campus, bus or train  routes, doctors, supermarket, shops, suitable venues, etc.
- Size and general comfort and suitability of the unit and it's surrounding area and region. Ideal with your own room - for studying.
- Tasks - Scheduled system for cooking, cleaning, maintenance check lists, landlord contact, etc

Upfront Costs
A tenancy agreement, applicable fees, whether if fixed term (can include 12 months), and other important factors needs to be signed, of which bond and often advance rent payment is generally paid upfront. Visit The Department of Building and Housing regarding tenancy agreement. Their current market rents, listed by city and their suburbs display weekly rental costs. This includes the average and upper/lower quartiles for flats, apartments and houses. Also the usual living costs, need to be budgeted, along with bond and rent, often paid in advance.

Private Rental Costs
- Bond - Returned at end of tenancy, unless if payment required for damages
- Rent - Paid up in advance
- Power - Electricity and Gas -need to select a power company, compare at local distributors or visit consumer org (Powerswitch) for savings and comparisons
- Water. Depends on contract, maybe included, i.e. fixed or pay per use
- Food - Dependent on frequency of eating out, cooking, eating and shopping habits. Large supermarkets are ideal for savings, from Progressive Enterprise and Foodstuff owned stores. So it's important to budget for food. Or if desperate perhaps try (as in ask or shop) from Family, Food-Banks, Flea Markets, and the Salvation Army
- Land-line Telephone, Mobile, and Internet Connection. Shop around for broadband suppliers for bandwidth costs, cost per MB, service reliability, and customer service. Package total home deals should provide savings. Perhaps ask in forums such ac PC World NZ (Press F1/PC World Chat) for suggestions
- Furniture - Often have to buy, borrow, or rent, since many flats are unfurnished. But also bid on NZ's popular auction site Trademe. Maybe try make money by selling or auctioning items on Trademe, employing a few selling tips.

Halls of Residence
Perhaps main advantage, particularly if fully catered for, is much of general living costs and social features are laid out for you.
- No need to cook, prepare main meals, or pay power use
- Bedding, desks, and perhaps basic furniture already provided
- Quite close to lectures and classes
- access to assistants, or mangement for any issues you may have
- quick assess to faculties and facilities, e.g. computer room, library, administration, student support, etc.
- Meet others to mix and share or compare living and study experiences
- Social, recreational, sport and entertainment activities to be involved with. This might include concerts, parties, competitions, specific clubs, and movie evenings
- Possibly computer and internet access, including wireless for your smartphone or laptop
- Perhaps a choice to later move to semi-catered, or self catered flats

Flatting or living in a hall of residence is an experience, and their are many online student rental agencies, educational partnership properties, university website information, real estates and guides (PDF) for reference. Perhaps visit Google Maps, and use their excellent Street View (e.g. for University of Auckland, Open Polytechnic, or Otago) to try view your future living or institute locations, and "walk" about. Also browse City web camera websites, e.g. like Otago University. Maybe visit Design Your Dorm (DYD) to customize different size room interiors, and get ideas for adding real priced items, such as furniture, appliances, bedding, electronic, bathware,and  lighting including a move in checklist. Though it's geared for American students (and their University residence halls), but the online design utility is easy to use, and to get a good feel for design and layout for a study bedroom.

Online Student Room Interior Designer Tips
(click for larger view - from DYD)

Graph of NZ Student Total Monthly Cost Shared with Three Others

Source: Adapted from North Tec Cost of Living Document

First Time Flatting Guide - PDF from Massey University

Source: Massey University

Recent News for New Zealand Student Accommodation

Ready to Leave Home

Searching Online - Google Operator Tips for Targeting Living Venues
Search for rental advertisements, often sticky notes at your campus billboard, or chat to a student representative for accommodation. But also search for guides online published by tertiary institutes. Do a Google operator search: [site:.co.nz filetype:pdf student accommodation] (excluding brackets[ ]) which yield targeted accommodation results. Then use other terms, like "University" or "Massey" or "Canterbury", etc for further refinement. University of Canterbury and Massey have pdf publications relating to halls of residence, services, facilities, selection criteria, resident periods, costings, accommodation type, and more. This search (using site:.ac.nz and intitle: - specific Google search operators) provides results for fees, living costs, and expenses for various Tertiary Institutes and Universities. But of course you can just do a standard search for specific educational institute and their halls of residence web sites.

If required, refine your search by perhaps changing to site:.co.nz, maybe removing intitle:, and adding terms for regions or Universities, e.g. Victoria, Massey, Polytechnic, Waikato, etc. Also add common terms, e.g. "apply now", "residence" "campus" "village", etc which might display results such as UStay or Campus Living Villages. The latter, CLV, has relationships with Universities and Polytechnics, and provide fully to self catered accommodation, including for summer stays. Image of globe by cooldesign.

Google Targeted Web Search for Real Estates in Auckland

(Click For Larger View)

Google Street View and Maps of University Halls of Residence

(click inside to hover about)

O'Rorke Hall O'Rorke Hall Mount Street, Auckland
View Larger Map Grafton Hall, Seaview Road, Auckland
View Larger Map Ilam Apartments, Homestead Lane, University of Canterbury
View Larger Map Bishop Julius Hall Waimairi Road, Canterbury
View Larger Map Victoria House, The Terrace, Wellington
View Larger Map UStay Urban Apartments, Willis Street, Wellington
View Larger Map

View Multiple Street Images - Enter any Street location and select Radius

Source for Infinite Maps - Noah Veltman's website

Perform a Internet search to find flatting websites such as Student Rent, Flat Finder, NZ Flatmates, Student Accommodation (For Dunedin), NZ Herald, Auckland University, Easy Room mate, Trademe Properties, and others. Hence find a flatmate, browse listings, create a listing, and view latest listings. Also search online for real estate companies, such as Edinburgh Realty, Bayleys, Real Estate NZ, etc, as they may have student units available for rent. Or try a Google real estate targeted site search: [site:.co.nz student flatting accommodation MREINZ] again without the brackets, and using a real estate term, e.g. MREINZ, or Real Estate. Perhaps add a City (e.g. Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin) and combine with a Educational Institute name or region (e.g. Victoria, Waikato, AUT, MIT, Bay of Plenty, Polytechnic, Otago, University, etc), and/or a Suburb name to produce specific locality search results. Visual tip -Maybe also click Google's Map and Image links above or left of your search results for visual evaluation, including for the general area, to search for local shops, bus stops, parks, or venues that may appeal to you. But can also start from a basic search...

Custom Search

Videos of Tertiary Institute Accommodation

Massey Student Lifestyle	Life at Otago University

Summary
Building developments have been catered for students adjacent to tertiary institutes, e.g. around Dunedin to perhaps suit more particular student flatting needs (Otago Times). Also search and research for general information, i.e. News sites, Government sites (e.g.TEC, Study Link), and student related websites (e.g. NZUSA) for student accommodation developments, campaigns, fees, and funding allowances. Depending on your choice of study and location (City and Suburb), you may want to research local regions if suitable accommodation exists for you. Fortunately their are various student accommodation properties such as Homestays, Hostels, Halls of Residence or Student Villages (ex dormitories), Backpackers facilities (for temporary stay), and private rental homes, flats, and apartments. Hopefully you can find a suitable place, and flatmates near your learning institute.

Student Accommodation Tips

NZ Discount Internet Shopping Tips

Spend to Save

Save money, whether if a cash strapped student or cost conscious consumer, by looking for bargains both offline and online, and by using discount cards, coupons, fly-buys, price comparison websites, shopping search engines, and other types of incentive schemes. Browse local NZ auction and discount or deal websites but also include overseas retail, auction, and eCommerce online stores. Major global online shopping sites like Amazon eBay, Overstock, Walmart, Harbour Freight, Bizrate, Borders, NexTag, Macy's, and others provide a vast range of products including at discounted prices. Though there may be shipping costs and country exclusion regions (e.g. NZ) to contend with, but you can try use third part shipping companies. Image by djayo.

Generally products sold online in USA have a vast range not easily (or readily) purchased in NZ. I have purchased many watches, batteries, chargers, and car parts from USA based internet stores, cheaper than in NZ, of which some items were not available in NZ at the time. I describe in my PC blog, a segmented approach on how to purchase online Mustang car parts from USA. But of course online shopping can be dependent on consumer internet shopping or browsing habits (e.g. if goal focused or experimental) as described in this report from California State University. Also a consumer choice, e.g. transport, temporary price reductions, transport costs, bulk buys, etc in an attempt for overall savings as researched by University College London and other research institutes.

But for NZ related discounts, their are specific discount cards, stores, vouchers (e.g. grocery shopping), and websites to help with savings for purchases or services. Auckland University and the NZ Health Council Research has shown discounts for healthy food was more effective than nutritional education as described in their health food report (pdf file). So not just monetary savings, but other benefits can be attributed

 Graph of Individual Online Purchases by Age For 12 Months For 2006 and 2009

(Click For Larger View)

Source: adapted from Statistics New Zealand

Go shop...Online

Student ID Card
Generally apply when enrolled at your tertiary institution, e.g. Auckland University, Open Polytechnics, and Otago University. The password or pin coded card is often required for online services, library resources, assignments, exams, and similar services. But also useful for discounts for bus travel, academic books, takeaways, clothing, music stores, movies and related entertainment, shopping, and in-store savings. Many campuses provide brochures or booklets with current discounts, and their websites and perhaps local advertising media (e.g. radio) advertise specials and discounts. Of course always ask at stores you frequent for using it, and remember to carry it particularly at your institution. There is also the International Student Identity card (ISIC) for worldwide benefits and discounts. This include hostels, budget hotels, travel, museums, entertainment, and more. Image by ilco.

NZ Student Card
Can you as a student be without it? Might depend on lifestyle, spending habits, but then again their may be times when it might come in handy. So perhaps be prepared for such times by signing up and enjoy savings and deals on a range of products and services. This includes for travel, entertainment, automotive, food, clothing, household, and more, from major brands and companies, such as Vodafone, Burger King, Pascoes, Inter islander, and many more. Remember to carry it around, and to actually use it.

Pricespy
NZ Comparison site which compares pricing for 1000's of consumer electronic and computer products. Search by sub categories, brands, to view a range of products NZ stores offering the lowest (and highest) prices. Categories include for Computers, Home Appliances, Audio/Video, Mobile phones, and more. Can also filter based on brands, product features, user ratings, no. of stores, specifications, and more. The site is comprehensive, so may take a while to get use to it with it's vast range of comparative data. But the site links out to physical online stores for you to visit. And save. Don't forget to use the search function, if you know the brand, and to check the store (as in ring them) if the product is currently available.

Videos of Savings Reward Cards

AA Smart Fuel Discount	Air New Zealand Air Points

Priceme
Is a nice simple shopping comparison site to quickly find and compare price for various products including electronics, home and garden, fashion, beverages, gifts, office items, and more. Perhaps sign up to their newsletter, and visit their popular items, and brands section. Priceme's research indicated that pricing is an important factor, as well as purchasing from reputable brands. Product reviews and video demonstrations are also important.

Comparing Digital Cameras on Pricespy

(click for larger view)

Trademe
Well known and heavily visited New Zealand auction site to search for bargains. If new to NZ, then sign up, because you can make money by selling. But you may want to learn a few tips, e.g. auto bidding, setting reserve pricing, auto selling, photo listing, etc by visiting their help section. Some selling tips from my Trademe related blog. There is also the success secrets book. I'm sure many NZ's with a internet enabled PC visit to at least browse the site almost daily, so if you have not, them perhaps do so. But be vigilant of unsolicited emails claiming to be from Trademe that request contact details, as there have been known phishing scams, which might involve fake Trademe sites. Also cheap offers that may never occur, as described in tips for safe internet shopping.

Trademe for Bidding, Buying and Selling

(click for larger view)

STA Parts
I mention this site because of the huge discounts I have experienced for certain automotive parts, accessories and service products. Even after shipping a few products, I still made significant savings. The downside though is some parts may not be available, or you may have to wait a while before parts become available. Best to ring them.

Videos of Visa Debit and Onecard Shopping cards

Visa Debit Benefits	Onecard Shopping Features

Discount Cards and Coupons
There are many NZ discount or credit related, competition, free samples, coupon, and online survey websites (e.g. I participate in NZ Valued Opinions for gift cards) for credits. Such stores often relate to shopping (e.g. Farmers, The Warehouse, etc), airline travel, chemists, hotels, cafes, text books, hair salons, membership clubs, phone calls (chat cards), merchant stores, restaurants, cinemas, and so on. New Zealand discount and related websites include one day deals, deal a day, 3 deals, go voucher go, voucher store, ezycoupons, and many more.

So ask if your student card  is applicable when shopping (including online) or for services being done for you. But find out how discounts work, as it may based on a loyalty system, minimum spend, nominated referral, accumulated credits, survey participation, certain days or time restricted, and other types of involvement or conditions. There are also student specific discount products, notably for software, e.g. at lap shop and yoobee. Perform a Google NZ site search for finding discounts, adding relevant search terms such as products, location queries, and common deal terms, e.g. books, clothing, software, glasses, appliances, savings, competition, free, promotions, giveaways, etc.

Laptops for Online

Global Shopping Engines
For a more global perspective for best seller deals, ideas, and discounts, try well known shopping comparison, and auction sites like Amazon (best seller list - listed after conducting a search), ebay pulse, Yahoo Buzz, [Google Shopping - Google Suggest (Drop -down queries in Google Search) - Google Keyword Tool (for alternative queries and terms)], Shopping Com (Top 100), Price Grabber Com, Next Tag Com, Etsy Com, Shopzilla Com amongst many others. The trick is you need to sometimes find or think of equivalent names and related part numbers (if needed) for certain products to conduct a quick and relevant search. Laptop Image by jscreationzs.

Online Shopping Browser Add-Ons, Extensions, and Mobile Apps
These help improve your online experience, when product browsing in Google's Chrome, Firefox, and Safari Internet Browsers. Features include displaying lower prices (if available), comparisons, reviews (helpful if no reviews on your current shopping site), related items, trends, discount codes, and coupon specials. You need test to find which utility is suitable, and generally apply to US, UK, major retailers, and well known branded online stores. Popular add-ons include Invisible Hand, ebay sidebar, Price Blink, Ciuvo, Window Shopper, and Amazon "Add to Wishlist" (from any site). Pricing comparison add-ons, including for the Chrome browser are reviewed at The Hongkiat blog.

Invisible Hand Add-On displaying on a Popular NZ Online Store

(Click Image for Larger View)

Mobile shopping seems to be increasing. This is noted in IBM's benchmark report, from 500 USA leading retailers, that indicated a double increase (5.6% to 14.6%) in December 2011 compared to 2010, initiating from mobile devices. Popular Mobile Apps include ShopSavvy (scans bar codes), Shop Nearby, Compare Me, and are reviewed here. Visit Firefox add-ons, the Chrome web store, Google Shopper (for Android and iPhone mobiles), and maybe read comparison reviews. But there maybe history tracking when searching for certain products to be aware of with certain apps or add-ons.

List of Shopping Search Engines

(source: list of search engines info)

Sometimes browsing Asian supplier/manufacturer sites (e.g. Alibaba) for cross referencing equivalent names and associated part numbers can help. This has helped me a lot with aftermarket products, then search with any alternative names/manufacturers/reference numbers listed. Some items are re-branded or named differently in different markets or regions. Often I have ended up after comparison research, on Amazon (even for car parts surprisingly - after I found out equivalent part names via a Asian manufacturer/supplier site) and eBay for overall best buys. Also using Google's image search can help for quickly finding product's websites.

Recent News about Internet Shopping

Google Search - Advanced
In addition to a standard search, use Google's advanced operators to find relevant discount websites or related properties (e.g. forums, videos, shopping engines, directories, etc). Try combine operators like site search, intitle, and the quotes (" ") operators, and specifc search terms to focus on discount stores. For example start with [site:.co.nz intitle:discount "save"] which produces these search results. Then further refine by adding (or subtracting) specific query terms, such as regions, products, and other save type terms (queries) you think are relevant. For example bus travel discounts in the South Island but excluding Queenstown; Or for restaurant discounts excluding motels. But of course you need judge what a discount really means, - is it a reasonable percentage off regular pricing, is it for the day, or does it involve other conditions, etc. Hence best to ring or email once you have found online a discounted store or facility. Also check if your student card is applicable. But perhaps start with a standard Google search of which your query might be sufficient...

Custom Search

Wiki Mind Map Displaying Segments of Online Shopping

(Click for Larger View)

Created from wikimindmap.org - Visit to unfold sub categories and descriptions from Wikipedia

Summary
Internet shopping for discounts, product variety, and comparative research is increasing and has become more global. Google's "ZMOT" report from Google's Think Insights, describes consumer decisions prior to purchase as zero moment of truth, with many other online shopper behavior studies. Without doubt, online shopping benefits the consumer (including students) looking for bargains and items unavailable in New Zealand. But evaluate shipping costs and methods, currency conversion, (online calculator) secure payment method, return and international warranty policies, sellers ratings, and other buyers reviews.

The NZ Ministry of Consumer Affairs has a guide for Internet Shopping and references to the fair trading act and consumer guarantee act. Then their may be import custom duties and tax to consider, as described by NZ Custom Services for overseas purchases. Indeed their are benefits for online shopping, if you are willing to search, sometimes extensively, or by utilizing specialist shopping engines and search techniques. Apply this with a security conscious mindset, then discounts from the Internet can be easily evaluated, hopefully at least satisfactory to you, the internet shopper and consumer.

NZ Discount Internet Shopping Tips

NZ Scholarships Resources and Internet Search Tips

Scholarship - Helps

Student scholarships are generally awarded or granted as a form of monetary aid, to assist study to further their learning for higher education. Their are many types, and avenues to gain a scholarship, including being awarded from college associations prior to tertiary enrollment. Providers and sources include NZ educational institutions, companies, community groups, churches, family trusts, maori land trusts, online databases, Government organizations, and sport clubs. Therefore ask teachers, other students, clubs, local councils, search online and include specific topics that you intend to study to see if scholarships or grants are available. There are also various specifc sources and search methods to find scholarship information on the Internet. Image of award by goforcris.

Maori Land Trusts
Many maori trusts provide school, trade, and grants and tertiary scholarships. You generally either need to be a maori land shareholder or a direct descendent (i.e.usually  parent - child) of a current share holder who has succeeded in land ownership. Search MLOL (maori lands online database) at the maori land court website (MLC), starting from a owner - interest search. Email or visit a local MLC office, and ask for any trustee contact details for land that you or your family (e.g. parents) have shares, or believe you are entitled to. Then contact any trustees for further information, including for educational grants. This can be done with MLC forms supplied, or search the internet. Also browse the maori trustee website and search for unclaimed money, including other family members or friends. Also there is a application for the Sir Apirana Memorial Scholarship.

Some Iwi based trusts offer school grants, trade and tertiary funding and scholarships. Examples include The Aotearoa Trust, Tuwharetoa, Lake Taupo Forestry Trust, Tainui, Ngai Tahu and others (PDF), and references from Te Puni Kokiri. There is also the Maori Education Trust, Hauora (Maori Health), and Ngarimu VC 28th Battalion Memorial scholarships for college, undergraduate, and postgraduate studies.


Search Google for Scholarship and Educational Information
Try the Google advanced search operators to find websites and relevant online documents, specifically for PDF files relating to your topic or industry of study. Information for scholarships, and general research papers, are often online as PDF files. Refer to my guide on how to effectively search and research for PDF files using Google advanced searches. But also includes brief information about document search engines, specific education internet site searches, and tips for using PDF files. Perhaps restrict Google searches to NZ with [site:.co.nz "Scholarships" "Accounting" "Otago"]. Replace "Accounting" and "Otago" with your topic, region, or University, etc (i.e. query terms) of interest. Thought maybe start with a regular Google search...

Custom Search

Videos of Student Scholarship Recipients

Emma Studying Political Studies	Keriana Studying Medicine

New Zealand Government Website
There are several references and links to scholarship sites, such as Ministry of Education, Maori Education Trust, Education NZ Trust (for International students), Independent or Private Schools, and the Breakout Database of over 3000 scholarships for individuals.

Latest News for New Zealand Scholarships

Literature Searching For Your Summer Scholarship 2011 - Arts and Humanities

View more presentations from Deborah Fitchett

More Choices

Careers NZ
Provides advice on how to apply, the types of scholarships (e.g based on academic merit, leadership, industry and study field), and has links to Tertiary institute databases and their office information. This includes under graduate at Universities, such as Auckland (e.g. research funding grants and other types - Hardship, Masters, Doctoral, Diploma, International, etc), Otago, Victoria (Wellington), Waikato, Massey, Lincoln, and Canterbury. But also Polytechnics and Institutes of Technology such as MTI (Manukau Technical Institute), Unitec, AUT, Otago Polytechnic, Nelson, Wellington, Southern, and many more. Image of female student by Stuart Miles.

Sports Scholarships
Lincoln college provides financial aid for it's students for both sports and academic, so perhaps ask other institutions for such aid. Perhaps visit The NZ Academy of Sport for athlete, study scholarship, and career information. Also search SPARC for scholarship information.

Chart of Google Search Trends for "Scholarship" related queries in New Zealand

>

Tips for Application
Applying for a specifc study scholarship, may require certain goals, requirements and regulations that you should try aspire to, and maintain. Perhaps be involved in external or extracurricular activities, such as community work, sports, local clubs, work, and hobbies. This might indicate to sponsors about other endeavors and attributes, other than academic, that you have, e.g. leadership, involvement, people management or supervisory skills, etc. Prepare any required cv, resume, or essay with examples of achievements, relevant experiences in any work or volunteer roles.

Often referees are required, so make sure you get relevant references from those that have taught you (e.g. teachers) or worked with (e.g. senior club members, supervisors, or coordinators). Let them know early, particularly if applying for more than one scholarship. Academic and personal records are likely to be required, so send off copies only, signed by an authority (e.g. Lawyer, Doctor or JP). Organize your study with other activities, to balance yourself. Finally check eligibility and filled application, and importantly apply before the deadline or due date, preferably with track and trace courier.

Summary
Thousands of scholarships, awards, and grants are available, for a range of purposes and of varying types, from a range of sources. By actively asking people, internet searching through various educational, sporting, and community websites, databases and specific industry and relevant search queries, their should be a scholarship that suits you.

NZ Scholarships Resources and Internet Search Tips

Student Finance and Loans

Loans... When Free?

Money or Finance is generally required for higher level study in New Zealand, which can include loans, living allowance, grants, and depending on personal circumstances, earning from wages and salaries. There are avenues to apply for financial aid, so as to meet your living and educational needs as a student, important if studying full time at an approved NZ tertiary or learning institution, without employment or additional income. NZ's Study Link, Banks, WINZ (NZ Work and Income), Scholarships, Institutional, Family, Trust grants, and related entities can provide monetary aid to help for your course, semester(s), and daily living expenses when enrolled. This includes Universities, Polytechnics, Private Training Establishments (PTE's), Institutes of Technology, and Wananga (Maori way of learning Institutes). Image by Svilen001.

Loan application amount depends on a range of factors, and can include prior academic history, English language ability, school credit results or educational achievement for secondary school students (NCEA) - a section of NZQA which is a Government body responsible for ensuring that NZ qualifications are valued and credible at both national and international levels. Other loan criteria include age, marital status, no. of dependent children, NZ citizenship and immigrant status, living circumstances (e.g. if independent), asset wealth, additional income sources, whether if currently employed (or unemployed or in-course active employment), personal debt, prior outstanding Study Link loans, and perhaps a hybrid of such factors amongst others. Hence it is important to understand the type and level of finance you are entitled to, depending on your overall circumstances, including whether if your course is defined as full-time, or even part-time, to meet specified criteria in your loan application.


NZ Student Loan and Related Organizations

Study Link NZ (http://www.studylink.govt.nz/)
Since 1992, Study link has provided and maintained loans to help students with their studies, through the interaction of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Development, and Inland Revenue. There are basically two segments - Student Allowance and Student Loans, relating to living costs, type of accommodation (e.g. if renting, flatting, motel, apartment, at parental home, etc) compulsory fees,  and any in-course expenses when enrolled in a Tertiary Education Commission Approved Course (TEC). The study link site has information including entitlement regarding full time and limited full time, citizenship, refugee status, accommodating benefits, age requirement, employment earning to allowance ratio, stand down periods, and other important requirements for assistance. This includes the equivalency factor (EFTS) for full time study. There is also general information at the Ministry of Education web site.

Chart of Student Loans

(Click for Larger View. Data Source: Education Counts)

Also important once getting a loan, it needs to be paid back in a timely manner, even when overseas, as the NZ Government has implemented legislation of a student loan scheme bill to recall millions of dollars outstanding, with an averge loan (debt) of about $18,000 and around 2 billion in total owned by NZ overseas graduates. If interested, you can download comprehensive statistics in excel format, regarding amounts borrowed, forecasts of repayment times, number of borrowers, overdue repayments, and more at this Government Agency and also the study loan scheme annual reports. Now don't go running off, or forget, or whatever. However the NZUSA has campaigned with others to increase funding for public tertiary institutions, and that the Government has decreased total expenditure for tertiary education. Also that fees have risen to recover funding decreases. The NZUSA 2010 expenditure and income report (300 page PDF file - though the report seems to be multi-duplicated), has key findings relating to high education costs, student expenditure, income and employment, loan debts, and other topics.

Latest News about New Zealand Student Loans

Video of Student Allowance and Education in Wellington

The Student Allowance	Education in Wellington

Inland Revenue Department ( http://www.ird.govt.nz/studentloans/)
New Zealand's Tax agency commonly known as IRD, are responsible NZ Student loans from Study Link. Assessment, repayments, collections, debt levels, interest rates and repayment threshold, loan schemes acts (from NZ parliament) and related matters are administered by the IRD. Visit to utilize their online calculators, tools, guides and relevant forms regarding repayment of your loan. You can register online.

 

Graph of Percentage of Borrowers Who Left Study in 2000 Who Had Repaid All, Some or None of Their Student Loans by The End of 2009

(Click for Larger View. Data Source: Education Counts)

Loans Sorted!

Sorted NZ (http://www.sorted.org.nz/)
An independent money guide resource centre, encompassing a range of finance, budgeting, debt management, and saving advice, for categories such as Insurance, Investments, Mortgages, Trusts, Retirement, and also for Students. Has sound advice and tips for sources of money, discounts, budgeting and more. Perhaps utilize the student loan and qualifications calculator. Or maybe download information (PDF from IRD) regarding repayments. Also the 2010 reports from Government Stats, regarding No. of borrowers, average borrowings, and other data. Image of happy girl by photostock.

NZ Banks
Major banks provide loans, and student account packages if studying part or full time at a approved tertiary institution, and can include a graduate account. Age requirement is generally 18 years with minimum enrollment of 1 year. There are also International student packages, with a range of features not unlike NZ citizen packages, but generally include foreign exchange banking benefits. Need to compare features, services, and benefits at each bank to select what is suitable, or perhaps find out from other sources, e.g. family, friends, online forums, and the banks themselves, either online or direct contact with the banks.

As with any form of banking, need to carefully compare interest rates, any fee waivers, overdraft limit, visa debit and bank card costings and duration, mobile services, text alerts, phone banking, online access, campus access (e.g. eftpos and atm's) and other features. Some banks provide migrant consultants to help foreign students. Packages could change, with new or amended interest rates, features, benefits, and promotions to enhance banking needs. Hence perhaps check NZ bank's websites periodically to evaluate if another bank may have packages more relevant to you. Established New Zealand banks include National Bank, ASB, Westpac, BNZ, ANZ, and Kiwibank.

Summary
Being a student involves expenses for not only studying a course, but for travel, accommodation, books, materials, club membership, food, research or field trips, with personal consumer purchase and  entertainment costs. Some full time fees can cost up to $5000 or more. So balancing your expenditure, with commitment to studying and your lifestyle choice, is important to avoid any undue financial strain. But by applying your student finances and any supplementary loans carefully should help in a better position for your studies - and your future.

Student Finance and Loans

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Privacy Policy - November 2011

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Google uses the Doubleclick DART cookie to serve ads across it's Adsense content network and you can get further information regarding the DART cookie at Doubleclick as well as opt out options at Google's Privacy Center.

Perhaps get an overview by visiting Google's Transparency and Choice informational page, which list their privacy principles, tools, related privacy links, and also includes statements for many of their properties and services.

Privacy

I respect your privacy and I am committed to safeguarding your privacy while online at this blog - iStudent NZ. The following discloses how I gather and disseminate information...

RSS Feeds and Email Updates

If a user wishes to subscribe to my RSS Feeds or Email Updates (If available, and powered by Google - Feedburner), I only ask for contact information such as name and email address. Users may opt-out of these communications at any time. Your personal information will never be sold or transferred to a third party. (You will never be spammed by me - ever).

Google Analytics Tracking

Like many blogging and website platforms I use a tracking statistical package, in this case Google Analytics. This stores information such as visitor location, search queries, internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, landing page entry points, internet service provider (ISP), referring, exit and visited pages, browser used, date/time stamp, track user’s movement in the whole, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses etc. are not linked to personally identifiable information.

Google now includes absence of search queries (keywords) displayed in Google Analytics for searchers that are logged into Google Search. Generally I use stats to help optimize this blog by trying to create targeted content to improve search engine visitors experience so that they can read relevant information and possibly learn from my articles.

Cookies

A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. This blog doesn't use cookies. However, some of my business partners use cookies on this site (for example - advertisers). I can't access or control these cookies once the advertisers have set them.

Links

This blog contains links to images, blogs or sites. Please be aware that I am not responsible for the privacy practices of these other sites, unless if they are my sites or blogs - which should have a similar privacy policy to this one. I suggest my users to be aware of this when they leave this blog and to read the privacy statements of each and every site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Blog.

Advertisers

I use outside advertisement companies to display ads on this blog. These ads may contain cookies and are collected by the advertising companies and I do not have access to this information. I work with the following advertising companies: Google Adsense, Google Affiliate Network, Fishpond NZ, and Amazon. This means that this blog for example, is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. These are all well known global online advertising platforms. Please read the advertisers websites for their respective privacy policies.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact me at maw456@gmail.com. This privacy policy for this blog was first created November 2011. Thanks for reading, and I hope you understand this policy, and gain relevant information from this site. Thanks.

Privacy Policy