Sophie Wolstenholme has travelled halfway around the world, from Jersey in the Channel Islands, to study psychology in Dunedin.

“I love travelling and going to new places, and I thought New Zealand would suit me just perfectly. I really wanted to pursue psychology after studying it at school, and Otago’s psycology department is internationally renowned.

“I chose Otago over a UK university because the degree courses are much more flexible in your choice of subjects and have higher contact teaching hourse.”

With support from her family, Sophie has now started her dream course.

“Psychology is the most interesting subject. It’s such a broad subject that can be applied to so many aspectes of life. I love that there’s still so much we don’t know and that it’s always changing.

“I really enjoy all the lectures and labs and I’ve been getting the grades I wanted,

“I’m also taking Spanish and anthropology. I love how each of the three subjects offers a diffeent style of learning and assessment, Academically, Otago is definitely meeting my expectations.

“Socially, there’s a great student culture. My residential college is my home away from home and I’ve made some really great friends here. It would be hard to be unsociable because everyone is so friendly.

“The colleges also offer a lot of academic support and have plenty of activities so it’s easy to meet new people.”

Sophie knows that coming to Otago was the right decision.

“I’m quite independent and social so coming all this way hasn’t been too hard for me, especially with all the support from home. Although I miss Jersey I do love it here and don’t regret my decision.”