The education system of New Zealand can be broadly divided into three tiers. The first tier includes:

• Early childhood for ages 0-5 Children don’t go to school at this age. The education institutions mainly comprise of kindergartens, home-based care, play centres, childcare centres, and playgroups.
• Primary school for ages 5-10 At this stage the official ages of study start. The primary school official age is 1-6 years.
• Intermediate school for ages 11-12 This is similar to primary school and comprises 7-8th official study year. Students can complete this stage of study at their primary school or a separate intermediate school as well.

The second tier comprises the Secondary school. At this stage the students complete their 9-13th years of study. They also get the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) after the completion of secondary school.

The third tier is tertiary education. It comprises undergraduate, postgraduate as well as PhD degrees. Students can opt for Universities, Private Training Establishments (PTEs), or institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs). Generally the Universities offer degree level programs while PETs and ITPs offer vocational level programs.

New Zealand offers various programs in most of the fields. But it has some of the best programs in certain fields like dairy, dentistry management and other management programs. Some of the best courses to opt for are:

1. Business Studies
2. Engineering
3. Business management
4. Agriculture
5. Medicine
6. IT and Computer Science

New Zealand has majorly two intake sessions per year for the traditional graduate and postgraduate degrees. The two sessions are held in month of :

• January-February This intake can stretch till June as the university’s would have multiple deadlines.
• July This session is preferred by Indian students as by this time the majority of educational institutions have released the degrees/ marksheets to students. This session can also stretch till November.

There are various other intake months too like March, April, May, September, November but they’re mostly for vocational courses.

The process to study in New Zealand is pretty simple just like any other major country. You can follow the following steps for a systematic and organized admission journey:

1. Search for information: You should search for your preferred courses and universities according to your interest. Make a list of all the available options.
2. Shortlisting the options: Now that you have all the options shortlist them. First of make sure you can fulfill their eligibility criteria. Then, shortlist universities based on their ranks and possible expenditure.
3. Appear for Eligibility Exams: As such New Zealand university’s doesn’t need competitive exam scores like GMAT. But you may need to appear for English proficiency exams like OEP, PET or IELTS for completion of your application and Visa.
4. Start Application: After getting the scores results, as well as other relevant documents, you should start filling the application forms. Different universities have different deadlines. Therefore keep a track on the shortlisted Universities deadlines.
5. Visa procedure: After filling the application form, if you’re granted admission. You shall receive a proof of admission like an admission offer letter. With that and along with other documents, you shall go for visa filing. Look for your country’s visa procedure and the documents required.
6. Departure to New Zealand: After your Visa has been approved, you shall start preparing to leave for New Zealand. Book the flight tickets, and make some arrangements beforehand like the accommodation so that it’ll be easy to settle when you get there.

Whenever it comes to an international place for study. It is important to calculate and have a rough estimate of all the expenses you could possibly have there.

The major chunk of expenses would be your tuition fees.

• On average the undergraduate tuition fees is between USD 14,900-21,700 per annum.
• On average the postgraduate tuition fees is between USD 17,660-25,100 per annum with Management degrees being on the expensive side. Although the PhD programs are lower i.e. between USD 4,400-6,100.

After the tuition fees your living expenses should be calculated. It may vary depending on the location and your lifestyle. The government recommends at least USD 10200 for the first year, although universities have their own recommendations too.

The living expenses would mainly include the following expenses:

• University Accommodation – $114-320/week
• Private accommodation – $1020-2200/month
• Travelling – $96/month
• Food – $320/month
• Internet and mobile plan – $47/month
• Utilities – $62/month
• Insurance – $20
• Health insurance – $135-470/year
• Books and stationary – $340
• Clothes and footwear – $400
• Miscellaneous expenses – $148

In case the expenses are not affordable for you. You can take the help of Scholarships. They help you in your finances, they may cover full tuition, living expenses or just a part of it. Either way it’ll help you to make your education more affordable.

Some of the Scholarships in New Zealand for international students are:

1. UC International First Year Scholarships
2. University of Auckland International Student Excellence Scholarship
3. Tongarewa Scholarship at Victoria University of Wellington
4. University of Otago International Research Masters Scholarships
5. University of Waikato International Excellence Scholarships
6. New Zealand International Scholarships

If you’re coming to New Zealand for study, you would most probably have to apply for ‘Fee Paying Student Visa’. There are various other visas too for students from various countries. You can check on the official website to see if your country is there.

New Zealand student visa application procedure

The visa application procedure is not too complex. The filing process would vary from country to country. So you should visit the official site of your country to see the requirements.

Most often the application procedure goes on the following way:

1. Gathering information and requirements for the visa.
2. Collecting the required documents. This may include the education institution certificate, finances certificate, health condition certificate etc.
3. Filing the application form for Visa. Thereafter, the last interview procedure on the date given to you after successful completion of the filing of application form.