New experience that was mostly positive Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The academics were much less rigorous than I was used to. Most of my classes had two assignments and a final exam versus weekly homeworks/projects and two to four exams. However, a lot of material was covered throughout the semester. Exams were almost like the SAT or AP exams; they were proctored and you weren't allowed to bring in bags or water bottles or anything extra, which was new to me.

On-site administration of your program

Our coordinator Leanne was very helpful with any questions we had about Australia in general, our university, or anything else. She planned wonderful events for us too!

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in Uni Hall, which was all singles. The rooms had just been redone, so the rooms were nice and had AC (super nice in the middle of a heat wave). The bathrooms were coed, which I did not know about before going, but it wasn't that much of an adjustment. The bathrooms were in the middle of a breezeway for each floor, so it was semi open to the outside and sometimes wildlife would find it's way in, especially on the first floor

The dining hall had two or three options for every meal, but overall the food wasn't that great. There were some dishes that were really good, but many were just variations of curry or potatoes which got old toward the end of the semester. The dining hall was only open for two hours for every meal, which created some conflicts with classes, and didn't offer meals later than 7:30 pm. If you didn't get to a meal on time, chances were they would run out of at least something.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I didn't realize how big drinking culture was in Australia; some people would go out three nights a week easily. There wasn't much to do on the weekends if you didn't go out, but besides that it was easy to get included with the rest of the dorm/culture.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I did not personally have any health issues, but a friend was in and out of the local hospital a couple of times for various reasons and care was not as polished as at home (she would sometimes get different doctors to say different things were wrong with her), but got the job done. No vaccines were necessary, no health issues in host city.

I did not encounter any situations which made me feel unsafe, but I was never out very late in places that weren't busy or by myself, so I can't speak for the entire city. Around campus you could run into possums, snakes, and other wildlife at night, but most wouldn't do anything to you.

The food was probably the weakest part, but looking back I remember the things I did and saw, not the bad food.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I could have loaded up on snacks/other foodstuffs or gone out to dinner a lot to supplement the dining hall, but refrained to keep my money for sightseeing. Most people would probably want to spend more on food than I did.

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• Dorm

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• Local Students
• Americans

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• Local Students
• Americans

• IFSA Butler events
• being in Australia

• Food

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