University of Auckland
Central cityNew Zealand's largest university, spread through the middle of the city. Big lecture theatres, a serious library, and a campus that never quite stops — students walk out of a tutorial and into town.
Campus experiences
See your future before you apply
Curated campus visits across Auckland's top universities for prospective students, families and school groups. Walk the libraries, labs and lecture halls, sit in on programme overviews, and ask real undergrads the questions that matter.
Years 11–13 & families
School groups welcome
Guided visits
Student Q&As
Guided walks
Libraries, labs, lecture halls
Student Q&As
The honest answers
One day, two campuses
Coach, lunch, done by 3
What's included
More than a walk around campus
Choosing a university from a brochure is guesswork. A day on campus turns "one day" into a plan.
Guided campus walks
Libraries, labs, lecture halls and student spaces — the places brochures don't show, guided at a pace that lets questions happen.
Programme overviews
Short sessions tailored to the fields your group cares about — engineering, health, commerce, law, sciences and more.
Real student Q&As
Meet current undergrads and ask what it's actually like — workload, halls, clubs, costs — answers you won't get from a website.
Campuses visited include the University of Auckland, AUT and Massey University (Albany) — with more added by demand. Tours are organised by Vertex and are not official university open days.
Where we go
Three campuses, three different lives
Students often assume universities are interchangeable. Standing in all three in one day is the fastest way to find out they are not.
AUT
Central city · North Shore · SouthAlso in the city centre, and deliberately hands-on: studios, labs and workplace-style spaces. Worth seeing straight after Auckland, because the contrast between the two is the whole argument.
Massey University
Albany, North ShoreSuburban, green and noticeably smaller. For students who find a city campus overwhelming, half an hour at Albany often settles the question one way or the other.
More campuses are added as demand grows — tell us where your group wants to go. Tours are organised by Vertex Academy: we are not affiliated with these universities, and our visits are not official open days.
How a tour runs
A typical tour day
Coach transport, lunch and a tightly run schedule — designed so school groups and families get the most from one day.
Morning
First campus
Guided walk and a programme overview session matched to the group's interests.
Midday
Lunch with students
Eat where the students eat, and get honest answers in an informal Q&A.
Afternoon
Second campus
A contrasting campus — city versus suburban, big versus close-knit — so students can feel the difference.
Wrap-up
Next steps
Entry requirements, scholarships and timelines, summarised so families leave with a plan.
Come prepared
Eight questions worth asking
Most students go quiet in the Q&A and think of the good question on the bus home. Bring these instead — every one of them gets a useful answer from a current undergrad.
01
How many contact hours a week?Then ask how many they actually attend. The gap tells you a lot about the course.
02
What is first year really like?Big shared papers or small classes? Being one of 600 is a different life to being one of 30.
03
How hard is it to change direction?Most 17-year-olds change their mind. Ask what switching costs in time and credits.
04
What does a week cost to live?Halls, transport, food. Get a number from someone paying it, not from a prospectus.
05
How do you get help when you're stuck?Every university says support exists. Ask what a student actually did last time.
06
Which papers do people find hardest?Useful for planning, and it tells you whether the course has a real filter in it.
07
What do graduates of this degree do?Not the marketing answer — where did the people a few years ahead of them end up?
08
What would you choose differently?The single best question in the room, and the one almost nobody asks.
Who it's for
Three ways to tour
1
Families
Year 11–13 students and their parents join a scheduled group tour date — ideal before subject selection or applications.
2
School groups
A booked date for your class or year group, with coach transport and a schedule matched to your timetable.
3
Visiting groups
International groups on an EduVentures programme can add a campus day to their itinerary — a look at studying in NZ.
4
Vertex members
Study Hub families get first pick of tour dates — one more reason the membership pays for itself.
Questions?
University Tours FAQs
Auckland's major campuses — the University of Auckland, AUT and Massey University's Albany campus — with others added as demand grows. Tours are organised by Vertex; they complement, rather than replace, official university open days.
Mostly Years 11–13, when subject choices and applications start to matter — but motivated Year 9–10 students and their families are very welcome. Seeing a campus early changes how students think about school.
Yes — on family tour dates, parents are encouraged to come. The next-steps wrap-up on entry requirements and scholarships is written for parents as much as students.
Pricing depends on the format — per student for family tour dates, per group for school bookings. Register your interest and we'll send dates and prices; Vertex members get priority booking.
Register Interest
Get first pick of tour dates
Tell us who's keen and we'll send upcoming dates, prices and the campuses on each tour — no commitment yet.
You're on the list!
Thanks — we've noted your interest in University Tours and we'll be in touch with dates, prices and campuses.
Registering interest doesn't commit you to anything — it just means we'll keep you in the loop for this season.