"We can't do anything but support and pray ... Obviously we're trying to go home but we can't get tickets. We want to see our parents."
Most of the students had now been able to make contact with their families but in some cases their villages were destroyed and their loved ones had died.
The death toll in Nepal yesterday totalled more than 4000.
The number of New Zealanders unaccounted for in Nepal was down to single figures, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said.
Meanwhile, Tauranga traveller Richard Curtis is preparing to hike out of Nepal's rural Annapurna circuit and back into the damaged villages this week.
He made the first contact with family members on Monday night after they had an anxious few days in New Zealand waiting to hear from him.
Mr Curtis said the earthquake had not damaged the area he was in.
"At the moment, we have a bit more walking to do to get off the Annapurna circuit ... still making a plan."