University of Mannheim vs The University of Auckland vs Le Cordon Bleu Paris vs Victoria University of Wellington - VUW vs University of Waikato

Side-by-side comparison from 193 verified student reviews. Scan one row at a time — winners are highlighted

Quick verdict
Higher overall rating: Le Cordon Bleu Paris (4.70)
University of Mannheim: wins 0/7 categories
The University of Auckland: wins 0/7 categories
Le Cordon Bleu Paris: wins 3/7 categories
Victoria University of Wellington - VUW: wins 0/7 categories
University of Waikato: wins 1/7 categories
Auckland University of Technology: wins 2/7 categories
Curtin University Mauritius - CURTIN: wins 1/7 categories
Comparing
Mannheim, Germany
4.20
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20 reviews
×
Best programme: Chemistry
Auckland, New Zealand
4.00
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46 reviews
×
Best programme: Arts
4.70
Top
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9 reviews
×
Best programme: Culinary Arts
Best programme: Chemistry
Hamilton, New Zealand
4.40
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12 reviews
×
Best programme: Bachelor of Management
Best programme: Business and Marketing
Best programme: Banking and Finance
Category ratings
Facilities
4.28
3.82
4.56
Win
4.22
4.50
4.17
3.00
Location
4.11
4.05
4.78
3.96
4.45
4.20
5.00
Win
Professors
4.22
4.02
4.67
Win
4.26
4.58
4.13
4.50
Internationality
4.33
3.96
4.67
Win
4.24
4.42
4.00
3.00
Student life
3.94
3.66
4.00
4.07
3.75
4.10
Win
3.00
Value
4.33
3.87
4.00
4.14
4.25
4.37
Win
4.00
Accommodation
3.78
3.63
3.22
3.99
4.08
Win
3.81
3.50
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • +Strong reputation and career opportunities
  • +Supportive faculty and engaging course content
  • +International exchange and diverse specialization options
  • +Passionate and supportive faculty
  • +High quality education and learning resources
  • +Valuable career guidance and growth opportunities
  • +exceptional quality of teaching and knowledgeable, approachable instructors
  • +strong emphasis on precision, quality, and professional skill development
  • +welcoming environment and supportive alumni network
  • +Helpful and expert faculty
  • +Real-world learning and industry connections
  • +Welcoming and inclusive environment
  • +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
  • +Strong employability support and career readiness.
  • +Relevant and up-to-date academic programs.
  • +Professional and accommodating faculty.
Cons
  • -Administrative and management issues cause frustration.
  • -Outdated facilities and resources are a recurring problem.
  • -The curriculum lacks relevance and practical application.
  • -Outdated curriculum and repetitive content.
  • -Poor teaching quality and insufficient feedback.
  • -Lack of student support and impersonal administration.
  • -Administrative and management issues cause significant frustration.
  • -Outdated facilities and technology hinder the learning experience.
  • -Lack of career support and industry relevance leads to dissatisfaction.
  • -Stale and uninspired curriculum with outdated materials.
  • -Repetitive and uncreative assignments.
  • -Lack of valuable learning outcomes.
  • -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.
  • -Poor communication and lack of transparency regarding school policies and decisions.
  • -Outdated facilities and insufficient resources for modern learning.
  • -Unsupportive or inaccessible administrative and teaching staff.
Rating summary
What students say

This university is rated highly across several key aspects, particularly excelling in **Internationality** and **Value**, both scoring 4.33. Facilities also received a strong score of 4.28. Student life and accommodation, while still positive, represent areas with slightly lower ratings, with student life at 3.94 and accommodation at 3.78, suggesting these might be opportunities for further enhancement.

This university receives strong endorsements for its Location, with a rating of 4.05, and its Professors, scoring 4.02. Internationality also ranks well at 3.96. Conversely, the areas needing the most attention are Accomodation, rated at 3.63, and Student Life, at 3.66. Facilities and Value fall within a respectable mid-range.

This institution receives high marks for its Location, scoring 4.78, and for its Professors and Internationality, both at 4.67. Facilities also rate well at 4.56. Student Life and Value are both solid at 4.00. The weakest area is Accomodation, which received a rating of 3.22.

This institution demonstrates strong performance in several key areas, with the highest ratings awarded to its Professors (4.26), Internationality (4.24), and Facilities (4.22). Value for money also scores well at 4.14. Conversely, the Location (3.96) and Accomodation (3.99) received the lowest scores, suggesting areas for potential improvement. Student Life is rated moderately well at 4.07.

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.

This institution demonstrates a strong performance in its location, receiving a perfect score of 5. Professors are also highly rated at 4.5. Conversely, facilities and student life are areas with moderate ratings at 3. Accommodations and internationality sit comfortably in the mid-range. The overall value of the university is positively assessed at 4.

Reviews summary
Highlights

With a 4.15/5 average rating from 20 reviews, ~95% are positive. Students highlight the university's strong reputation, extensive international opportunities, and excellent academic quality, including experienced professors and relevant course content.

Approximately 74% of reviews are positive, praising passionate lecturers, supportive faculty, and high-quality learning environments. A small percentage of negative feedback notes repetitive course content and limited instructor feedback.

All 9 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.67/5. Students highlight exceptional teaching quality and knowledgeable instructors, along with impeccable facilities. The curriculum and emphasis on precision are frequently praised.

Of 74 reviews, ~99% are positive, highlighting helpful and expert staff, enjoyable courses, and real-world impact. A single negative review mentioned a stale curriculum and repetitive assignments.

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 4/5 from two reviews, feedback is overwhelmingly positive. Students highlight satisfaction with employability services, workshops, and career preparation. Some note challenges with off-campus accommodation and limited campus activities.

Rating distribution
5★
20%
30%
67%
16%
42%
30%
0%
4★
75%
48%
33%
78%
58%
57%
100%
3★
5%
15%
0%
4%
0%
13%
0%
2★
0%
2%
0%
1%
0%
0%
0%
1★
0%
4%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
Most useful review
Most liked
Great professors and close relationship with companies

The university offers very interesting courses and allows in the Psychology programme a wide range of possibilities to choose your courses from. The classes are pretty small so it's easier to discuss topics. Every year there is a career fair organized which brings together students and companies and underlines the importance of the University of Mannheim for recruiters. There are also plenty of student organizations which you can volunteer for. It was a great time studying in Mannheim and I have the feeling that it prepared me very well for my future working life.

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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My Experience

The program has been tailored to accommodate the ever-changing world of tech and fully equips pupils with the relevant industry specific knowledge they require as well as a broadened perspective on a plethora of subjects through electives and workshops. The campus is very small and there are very few activities to participate in. This makes the school-life balance hard to maintain as the semester is very intensive and requires consistent study. The lecturers are very professional, accommodating, eager to help and approachable.

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