Melbourne: The Place To Be! Past Review
By Michelle R (Art History, Tulane University) for
IFSA: Melbourne - University of Melbourne
I feel that my time in Melbourne really effected me. I fell in love with the city and the people in it, and am now considering getting my masters degree at University of Melbourne.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The grading system is very different in Australia. I did find that H1's which are the equivalent of an A was difficult to achieve in a liberal arts class in Melbourne. Apparently they very rarely give H1's for papers. The classes are much larger in Australia to what I was used to, but you have smaller sized tutorials which are really helpful. If you live in a residential college you have live in residential tutors who are amazing and will read as many drafts of a paper that you give them. They are a godsend! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everyone in Australia was extremely sympathetic and efficient. They made any difficulty I met extremely easy to deal with. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in a residential college mainly with Australians and international students. It was so nice because I was able to make friends immediately with Australians. They are extremely friendly and go out of their way to make you feel comfortable. I am still friends with the Australians I lived with, and got to see so many smaller towns in Australia that I may have never heard about had I not lived with them! |
| * Food: |
College living's one downside is the food. They try hard, but like most dorm food it was not the best... |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
IFSA-Butler took us on so many wonderful field trips! We went to see an Australian Rules Football game, Phillip Island and a winery tour in the Yarra Valley. Our leader, Yogi, was so sweet and really cared about her group! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Melbourne is extremely safe. Especially in comparison to New Orleans. As long as one takes the normal precautions, there is no real danger to be afraid of. |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Not sure how much per week, but Melbourne is a very expensive city. Luckily the majority of my meals were at the Residential college, so that saved a fair bit of money. But, the cheapest meal I had during my time in Melbourne was around 12 dollars Australian. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Try not to spend too much money on drinks, it is any easy way to drain your spending money and ends up leaving very little money for travel. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
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 did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | My best advice would be to live in a residential college and really make a point to make friends with Australians. They will bend over backwards to make your experience amazing! |
