What is university life like in Australia?

[Guest 7Liam7]

Can any give me some detailed insites of what its like to go to university in Australia?

I'm a 19 year old student and my sister lives in Aus and my mum is going to live in spain.

I want to go to uni in melbourne australia rather than going to spain with my mum but i'm not sure now simalar an experience i'm going to get to Uni life in the UK.

I want a good education but i also want the other things that university brings like a great social experience and going out having fun.

Can anyone tell me all they know about going to university in aus or past experiences? Maybe storys from other people?

I really don't know what i want to do and i need some more insite before i make my decision, as moving to aus to go to uni would be a huge leap for me. And an exspensive one at that!

Thanks alot

[Guest 7Liam7]

IS ther no one who can offer me any insite into this topic?

I would greatly appriciate any information no matter how small!

Thanks alot

[Quoll]

Both my boys went to ANU which scores well on any ranking systems. The biggest difference is that in order to get honours you have to do 4 years study rather than 3 and the 4th year is usually more of a research year than plain old course work. The courses all have quite substantial fees - if you are a citizen you can defer payment of the course fees until you are earning (usually between $5k and $10k pa) but if you are a permanent resident then you pay the domestic fee rate but have to pay it up front every semester (2 semesters a year). If you are a temporary resident then take out several mortgages because it will cost you mega$$$

 

From what I could see, the courses, especially the first 3 years, are broader and you can cherry pick what you do because you are trying to accrue points which will go towards your degree - many kids just do a BA or BSc and so their courses can be incredibly varied. If you are doing a more vocational degree then of course there are particular requirements eg DS1 did BPsych and so there were some compulsory subjects but he did a double degree so his BA part was hugely varied. Many kids do double degrees - you can usually get a double pass degree in 4 years.

 

Neither of them seemed to find it much of a struggle - there were fewer exams than I remember from Uni (but that was in the dark ages!) and some units had no exams at all or you could choose an exam or a continuous assessment. Both my boys complained about the assessment process - there is lots of cooperative learning/group presentation and you get graded on your group rather than your individual contribution. They were both incredibly frustrated that there were always people who didnt pull their weight (they learned after the first time and tended to try and gravitiate to groups of mature students who were more inclined to put some effort in). There are many non English speaking students and it can be a real challenge for them to follow the course and it can be hard for them to contribute to group processes and often the rest of the group have to do the work for them. The overseas student ratio looks very high as you walk around a campus and often hardly hear English spoken at all.

 

Facilities wise they tend to be well established and there are usually lots of activities going on. The last govt abolished compulsory union fees and as a result people are not quite as inclined to contribute so there are reports that things like sport are not as well funded or attended but if you want to participate and are prepared to pay then the facilities are there.

 

Most Aussie kids tend to go to the uni closest to home and many live at home while they study which is a bit different from UK uni behaviour. Most kids need to have a job while they study unless they have a rich daddy.

 

Hope that helps.

[Guest 7Liam7]

Quoll, thanks alot mate that was a very detailed distription and answered alot of questions that where lurking around the back of my mind. So thanks very much.

Are there any uni students who studyed in an Aus uni who could possibly tell me about there experiences there?

Thanks alot

[Midget]

I studied at a particular uni in South Australia - twice - from 1996-1998 and then from 2004-5.

In the early period there was plenty of social events happening - clubs for every possible group, social nights, always bands at the bar and so on. When I went back to uni again it was part time as I worked full time and did one subject at a time, so I didn't really partake in the social side. There still seemed to be plenty of notices up about events, but as Quoll said with the move to voluntary student unionism I think there would definitely be more $ investment required on your part to join a club etc.

 

As for the actual study, well I hate to be negative but the standard at that uni dropped dramatically between my first and second stints. In one subject the lecturer allowed students to continue to resubmit assignments until they passed ! I can understand compassionate or medical reasons and giving people a second shot or a supplementary exam, but this was beyond that.

 

Also agree with Quoll re the group work - I was in a subject where out of 25 students only 4 of us spoke native English and we struggled to get anything useful out of the other 21. I'm sure I would do equally badly at a uni in another country where I didn't speak the language, but then I wouldn't bother trying for that reason! Considering that I was studying at Masters level it left quite a bitter taste in my mouth as I would expect a Masters level student to at least competently speak the language the degree was taught in. At first year level I could understand foreign students struggling with the language, but I would still expect a basic competency.

 

I also found a lot of the interaction was missing - a large part of the uni study I did was tutorials where you discuss the work, and the student group participates and almost self directs the study, as opposed to memorising facts. When a large percent of the class is restricted by their language skills, it makes it a lot less worthwhile for the rest.

 

I can't speak for the standards at all universities though, so don't feel like uni isn't an option for you because of my comments ! I honestly wouldn't worry about the social side though - there will be hundreds of people your age on campus and you will have no problems finding some mates to hang out with on or off campus.

[connaust]

Not sure what your objective is?

 

I would strongly suggest looking at TAFE or private Vocational college in Melbourne (e.g. AUD3300 half year Diploma Business) from where you can transfer onto university. It is muuuuch cheaper, start working and then look at what you really want to do.....before blowing loads of money....

[Guest Jane1991]

Aus uni's are okay - just that ... Its nothing like the "college experience" offered by US universities ... but then instead of paying 50k USD/ year for LACS in US you pay a mere 25k/year AUD ... so its cheaper ... and good value for money ...

 

Very cheap flights to Singapore , HK ... Air asia so thats one good thing ... you can go back over a long weekend ....

 

If you are looking for a fast track degree then come to Aus ... but if you are looking for a college experience that we all hope for while studying for SATs and APs then I suggest you look to US

 

 

With economy on the rebound... iconic names like SUNY , NYU ... the more modern ones .... a huge economy .... less discrimination against non-pr .... US seems like the way to go

 

You will be denied practical education because such opportunities are limited to PR students only

 

All in all ... if I had known so much about Aus ... I would have picked US anyday

[Guest guest30038]

The post is 2 yrs old Jane :biggrin:

[Guest Jane1991]

The post is 2 yrs old Jane :biggrin:

 

LOL I think I have been just a little late :-)

[Guest guest36762]

Can any give me some detailed insites of what its like to go to university in Australia?

I'm a 19 year old student

 

not good if you're Indian