Looking at Studying Abroad in Australia

[tricia80]

My school had this great presentation done by the University of Western Sydney.. and now i wanna finish my degree in Australia.. but i know nothing about Australia..

so someone help me out on anything i need to know..

where do i look for info regarding housing? i have all the info regarding visas cuz its a company that does it up here..but im clueless at how wonderful australia is.. im coming from canada so is it a major cultural shock or no???

enlighten me..

now off to bed.. too much studying..

[starlite]

Hello, I'm an Aussie born and bred.

I originally lived in Melbourne, a very busy capital city, although 3 years ago we moved to the country for the quite life. We now live on the border of N.S.W. and VIC. in a small town on the edge of the Murray River - absolutely beautiful!

Now regaurding your question about housing, it all depends what it is your looking for exactly and what kind of budget you have. Are you single and willing to look at shared rental houses or student accomodation, are you a family with kids looking to rent your own house? Do you just want a self contained unit or bungalow or are you in the market to buy your own home and land package.

If you want to share with other students, most universities have bulletin boards and student counsellor's that advertise for room mates all the time. Do you know which Uni you will go to and where it is? You could check to see if the campus has student dormrntory's or single rooms with shared kitchens/bathrooms for rent.

If you were wanting information on private real estate to rent then your best bet would be to find out what area you would like to live in that's close to your uni and what price range (rent per week/month) you are looking in and speaking to every real estate business on the main street to see what is available and when. Explain that you are a student and wish to be close to campus and I'm sure they'll be able to show you through a few of the options they have.

Now you ask if Australia is a culture shock and I've only known 2 canadian's who have both said they love it here. We are very laid back and not as busy as you guys - your schooling is a heap stricter than our's as well. We had an exchange student from canada and he said that years 11 & 12 here were more like your 6 & 7!!! He said the homework was easy and didn't take nearly half as much effort as that from his school at home and he said that he loved the fact that we were so lazy - for want of a better word. He said he's never heard the saying "Relax! We'll do it tommorow." so many times and from so many Aussies for so many reason's in all his life. I don't know what you'll make of it but we are by and large a friendly lot that welcome tourists from abroad!

If you have any specific questions about our beautiful country please feel free to ask!

With love from starlite.

[tricia80]

thanks for responding to my post... was beginning to think there were not many aussie moms on mdc...

I am looking at universities and was wondering if anyone knew which ones are well known and good versus being bad or crappy.. (if that makes sense)

i have to decide what universities to apply to and really dont know anything about them other than their websites..

i heard charles darwin isnt good.. anyone have any opinions???

[azyre]

I think the best way to find out which Uni course are prestigious is to look at the ENTER score, and see which has the higgest. The ENTER score (Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank) is the lowest score accepted the year previously from an applicant's year 12 results.

http://www.vtac.edu.au/common/searchuni.html

You can search using that - for instace, just search using "midwifery" and the results will show that LaTrobe has a ENTER score of 89.55, higher than any others - so that's the course with the most demand to be entered. The score goes up to 99.95 if I recall correctly.

Some regional Universities might be well known for specific courses but not have a high ENTER score because of location. I know within my state which Uni's are considered "better" but none are considered bad, iykwim?? There is no such things as "ivy leage" and courses that aren't degrees are done in the TAFE system ... which I imagine is the equivalent of a community college in the US. I found this website for you which may be useful http://www.australian-universities.com/rankings.php

Charles Darwin is in the Nothern Territory and the NT is a pretty different place to the rest of Australia from what I gather - not saying bad, just a different culture again, although I havent experienced it first hand as yet and could be wrong. It'll be very hot, doesn't get below 25C in winter, at least 10 degrees hotter in summer :) It's where you'll find outback like you see in the Crocodile Hunter :) I have a friend who lived there and she says she loved it.

[JanetF]

I have friends in Canada who love it here too and find it not dissimilar to Canada in sense of humour, telly, that sort of thing.

Accommodation could be easily sorted out through your uni of choice. I have a Canadian friend at my uni who I'm sure would be ok about being emailed. PM me if you like. I'm in Melbourne.
J

[matryoska]

Hi!

I have recently moved to Melbourne from an area nearby to Uni Western Sydney (UWS) at the Hawkesbury campus. It is a beautiful area at the base of the Blue Mountains with loads of gorgeous people.

I guess, like anywhere i've been in the world, there will always be a time for making new likeminded friends, and in the area there really are the two extremes the outer urban-ness lends itself to those looking for cheap housing while there is a LOT in the way of , semi rural lifestyle options and self sustainable living.

My Australian University experience has been wonderful. I completed a BA at Southern Cross Uni in far north NSW (prob. the most well known alternative lifestyle area in Aust) and as my major was Creative Writing I found that this was a most suitable intellectual home for a while. I am now undertaking a MA at Monash Uni in Melbourne which again seems to be well suited to my interests.

I would suggest that you focus on what is offered in terms of your interests as far as choosing Uni's in Aust. A search on Google is how i found my MA. Ultimately if you're not doing what you enjoy you will not meet the likeminded contacts relevant in your field.

A lot of Aust Uni's offer online and off-campus courses (i have had two babies whilst full time studying) that allow flexibility day to day which may suit you?

Anyway, hope you find what you're looking for.