I Could Return to Live in Australia Past Review
By Kristin C (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS., Providence College) for
Arcadia: Sydney - Macquarie University
I gained independence and a stronger sense of responsibility from this program. Because I lived in a culturally diverse area, my cultural awareness was expanded. I never planned on travelling much before I studied abroad.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
My host country program, Arcadia, was very well organized and well run. Every question I had was answered in a timely fashion. They were very helpful with every problem I came across. I was constantly in contact with my program advisors throughout my entire study abroad process. The program size was a decent size. It was not too large, but there were enough students to make the program weekend trip fun. My program went beyond my expectations. The advisors were pretty much surrogate parents while we were abroad. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The apartment complex that we lived in was not at all what I expected. It was a safe area and only took about ten or fifteen minutes to walk to classes. The nightlife in the area was also very good. However, the cleanliness of the apartments is sub par. My American roommates and I had a very hard time getting our apartment fixed when we first arrived. We spend about 9 hours cleaning the kitchen and our rooms. We were unable to use the kitchen for the first few days because it was so dirty. The roommates who had already been living there were really the problem because they were so messy and never cleaned. The Village (where we lived) administration dragged their feet when we asked for them to fix up certain things in our apartment. However, the problems were dealt with once our Arcadia advisor contacted the Macquarie International office. We did end up having to buy a couple things for the kitchen because the Village Admin did not provide them when they were supposed to. We did have to supply most items for our bedrooms. Overall, I liked the area we lived in but cleanliness was definately an issue. |
| * Food: |
I made my own food at my apartment. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Traveling into the city was always fun. The nightlife in Sydney is awesome. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
We never dealt with any safety issues. My fiend broke her leg while abroad and she said everything was very simply dealt with. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Internet expenses were a surprise to me. Also, bus and train costs were a bit higher than I expected. Plus, students who lived in the Macquarie Uni Village had to pay to join the gym which was sort of expensive. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Australia's cost of living is much higher than in the States. Their minimum wage is much higher though. If you study aborad in AU try to get a job. It is very helpful because going out eats up a lot of your weekly funds. |
