The University of Auckland vs Le Cordon Bleu Paris vs University of Otago vs Mount Allison University - MTA vs University of Waikato

Side-by-side comparison from 189 verified student reviews. Scan one row at a time — winners are highlighted

Quick verdict
Higher overall rating: Le Cordon Bleu Paris (4.60)
The University of Auckland: wins 0/7 categories
Le Cordon Bleu Paris: wins 2/7 categories
University of Otago: wins 0/7 categories
Mount Allison University - MTA: wins 0/7 categories
University of Waikato: wins 2/7 categories
Auckland University of Technology: wins 2/7 categories
Nigerian Defence Academy - NDA: wins 1/7 categories
Comparing
Auckland, New Zealand
3.90
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49 reviews
×
Best programme: Arts
4.60
Top
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10 reviews
×
Best programme: Culinary Arts
Dunedin, New Zealand
4.10
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74 reviews
×
Best programme: Accounting
Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
4.30
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12 reviews
×
Best programme: Accounting
Hamilton, New Zealand
4.40
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12 reviews
×
Best programme: Bachelor of Management
Best programme: Business and Marketing
Best programme: Forensic Science
Category ratings
Facilities
3.77
4.40
4.13
3.83
4.50
Win
4.17
3.00
Location
4.02
4.70
4.07
3.27
4.45
4.20
5.00
Win
Professors
3.96
4.60
Win
4.16
4.17
4.58
4.13
3.50
Internationality
3.98
4.60
Win
4.09
4.33
4.42
4.00
3.50
Student life
3.62
3.90
3.91
3.92
3.75
4.10
Win
3.00
Value
3.82
3.90
4.19
4.00
4.25
4.37
Win
4.00
Accommodation
3.59
3.00
3.99
3.70
4.08
Win
3.81
2.50
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • +Passionate, supportive, and world-caliber faculty
  • +High quality education and academic support
  • +Valuable career guidance and opportunities
  • +Exceptional teaching quality from passionate, experienced instructors
  • +Unmatched precision, emphasis on quality, and professional skill development
  • +Welcoming environment, strong support, and valuable alumni network
  • +Exceptional academic programs and expert, supportive faculty.
  • +Stunning campus and vibrant student life.
  • +State-of-the-art facilities and research opportunities.
  • +Small class sizes and close professor connections
  • +Supportive and friendly community environment
  • +Engaging and approachable professors
  • +Supportive staff and accessible resources
  • +Relevant coursework and flexible learning options
  • +Vibrant campus life and social opportunities
  • +Hands-on learning and industry professionals
  • +Supportive and collaborative student community
  • +Diverse and practical course offerings
  • +Experienced and approachable lecturers
  • +Postgraduate focus and manageable class sizes
  • +Convenient academic calendar
Cons
  • -Outdated curriculum and repetitive content.
  • -Poor quality teaching and insufficient feedback.
  • -Lack of student support and focus on financial gain.
  • -Administrative and management issues cause frustration.
  • -Outdated facilities and lack of modern resources are disappointing.
  • -The curriculum feels irrelevant and disconnected from real-world needs.
  • -Administrative and management issues are frequently cited.
  • -Facilities are described as outdated or poorly maintained.
  • -Course content and teaching methods are often deemed irrelevant or ineffective.
  • -Outdated facilities and poor maintenance.
  • -Ineffective teaching and lack of instructor support.
  • -Administrative and management issues, including poor communication.
  • -Administrative and management issues cause frequent problems.
  • -Facilities and equipment are often outdated and poorly maintained.
  • -Communication from staff is frequently unclear or lacking.
  • -Administrative and management issues frustrate students.
  • -Outdated facilities and a lack of resources are a concern.
  • -Course content and teaching methods are perceived as unengaging or irrelevant.
  • -Administrative and management issues are frequently criticized.
  • -Outdated facilities and equipment are a common complaint.
  • -Communication gaps and a lack of responsiveness are significant frustrations.
Rating summary
What students say

Overall, this institution garners positive feedback across multiple aspects. Its strongest suit is **Location**, receiving the highest marks. **Professors** and **Internationality** also score very well. Conversely, **Accomodation** and **Student Life** represent the weakest areas, though still receiving fair ratings. **Facilities** and **Value** fall within the mid-range of assessments.

This university demonstrates exceptional strength in its **location** (4.7), **professors** (4.6), and **internationality** (4.6). Students are particularly impressed with the quality of instruction and the global environment. Conversely, **accommodation** stands out as the lowest-rated area at 3.0, suggesting room for improvement in this aspect. Student life and value for money also received moderate scores.

This university demonstrates a strong performance, particularly excelling in **Value** with a rating of 4.19. **Professors** also receive high marks at 4.16. Conversely, **Student Life** is the lowest-rated category at 3.91. While **Facilities**, **Location**, and **Internationality** are all well-regarded, the student experience beyond academics appears to be an area for potential improvement.

This institution garners strong approval, particularly excelling in **Internationality** with a score of 4.33. Other highly rated aspects include **Professors** (4.17) and **Student Life** (3.92). Conversely, **Location** represents the weakest area, receiving a 3.27 rating. Overall, the university demonstrates a robust offering with some room for improvement in geographical accessibility.

An evaluation of the university reveals generally positive feedback, with standout scores for Facilities and Professors, both receiving high marks. Location and Internationality also perform well. Student Life emerged as the area with the lowest rating, while Accomodation and Value received solid scores, indicating a generally favorable university experience.

Overall, this institution receives strong marks, particularly for its **value**, which is the highest-rated aspect. **Location** and **Professors** also score very well. The primary area for improvement seems to be **Accomodation**, where ratings are noticeably lower compared to other categories. Other factors like Facilities, Student Life, and Internationality are all rated positively and consistently.

A mixed but generally positive university profile emerges from these ratings. The location stands out as a significant strength, receiving a perfect score. Conversely, accommodation presents the weakest area, rated at 2.5. Professors and internationality are well-regarded at 3.5, while facilities and student life score a solid 3. Value for money is also a strong point, with a rating of 4.

Reviews summary
Highlights

Around 74% of reviews are positive, highlighting passionate lecturers and supportive faculty. A small percentage (~6%) express concerns about course content repetition and limited feedback.

Students highly praise the exceptional quality of teaching and knowledgeable instructors. Facilities are noted as impeccable and the learning environment welcoming, contributing to professional and personal growth for ~100% of reviewers.

University of Otago garners overwhelmingly positive feedback from ~100% of reviewers. Students praise academic programs, supportive faculty, and vibrant campus life. No negative reviews were recorded.

All 12 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.33/5. Students highlight strong academic programs and a close-knit community with approachable professors and small class sizes as key benefits.

With 100% positive feedback and an average rating of 4.42/5, students praise supportive staff, relevant coursework, and flexible learning options. The campus environment and social opportunities are also frequently highlighted.

Students highly praise the university, noting a supportive atmosphere, hands-on learning, and diverse program offerings. Friendly student interactions and helpful staff are frequently mentioned. No negative feedback was reported.

With an average rating of 3.5/5 from two reviews, feedback is predominantly positive (~100%). The single positive review highlights suitability for postgraduates, experienced lecturers, and convenient infrastructure and academic calendar. No negative reviews were provided.

Rating distribution
5★
29%
60%
11%
33%
42%
30%
0%
4★
47%
40%
85%
67%
58%
57%
50%
3★
18%
0%
4%
0%
0%
13%
50%
2★
2%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1★
4%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
Most useful review
Most liked
Not great

I found that the overall university experience was not really worth my time and money. Respected professors were only actually lecturing for 1-2 weeks per course, with PhD graduates teaching the majority of the course. Sometimes these PhD graduates weren't able to speak fluent English, which made the learning and teaching actually going on very questionable. In addition to this, you would submit a 3000 word essay, and receive a 15-20 words of feedback. I am certain that very little learning, improvement and education can occur when the feedback loop is so minimal, often generic. In addition to this, many of the "lab" or "tutorial" components were actually university students completing post-graduate experiments as part of their thesis studies. For example, in my psych201 tutorial, we had to spend 2 hours looking at a screen only pressing the "X" or "Z" key a total of 1200 times, and if we did not attend this lecture, we would lose 2% of our total grade. Overall, I question how much education and learning goes on, specifically in the Commerce and Science Faculties. I found my high school classes to go into more depth, with the teachers actually providing many one-on-one conversations to ensure learning is taking place, and this is the learnings that allowed me to pass my first 3 years of papers before any new content was covered, after which, the lectures would have half the class walk out because they couldn't speak fluent english, with students opting to self-teach themselves. If you are requiring students to partake in a study, they must be reimbursed for their time, especially if no learning is taking place. If you are charging students $1000 per course, then the university can afford to pay for staff to assess all of the PHD candidates fluency in English, before they are allowed to teach. In addition, no learning can take place when a question is asked in a foreign language, and the tutor/lecturer replies in a foreign language.

Student in 2013

I really enjoyed my time at LCB! I've found that my skills when I entered the work force were much higher than others. I think though there was a big portion missing in recipe development and composition. True- we did learn it through memorizing the recipes, but we really were missing classes on how different ingredients affect the final textures.. how you can change them... etc. That I still am not an expert in .. and I create recipes! Ouf! Also, I don't know if you still do a month of sugar work... but that really wasn't necessary and should be either cut or minimized to just 2 lessons. It's such a niche skill to know that I would have really preferred more technical skills. I loved the old location. The "rumors" I'm getting about the new location are that it's not as good, unfortunately - that i's become more of a money focused/marketing machine. I really hope that this image can be fixed as I love LCB and enjoyed my time there! Oh also - there should be more help for students to get jobs and featuring old students accomplishments - from cookbook launches to new bakeries so that current and old students can support them.

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ALL-ROUND SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

Firstly, the institution is a Postgraduate-only institution, so it's tailor-made for Postgraduate students and it's not crowded Secondly, the lecturers are all matured (not old) and experienced both personally and professionally and easily approachable Thirdly, the institution's infrastructure (specifically laboratories) was manageable for my course (forensic science) but for social sciences, arts and management sciences, I highly recommend them The academic calendar was convenient and ran accordingly The fees are moderate and not too expensive You also get to connect with some highly placed persons in the society who could become extremely useful to you in life, business, career etc Admissions process was completely online and without hassles- very very smooth and convenient. Also, securing admission is almost guaranteed up on successful application Non-Nigerians can also apply

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